ST201906

MY CITY

Howlonghaveyoulivedin thecity?
I movedtoLjubljana 20 yearsagotostudy.Originally,
I’mfroma smalltowncalledRadovljicanexttothe
famousLakeBled.I movedhereat 18 tostudy,fellin
lovewiththecityandneverwantedtoleave.Thething
I remembermostfrommystudentdaysistheimposing
red-bricklibrarydesignedbythefamousarchitect,
JožePlečnik,whoisresponsibleformanyoftheiconic
buildingsinthecitycentre.

Telluswhatmakesyourcityunique.
ThebestthingaboutLjubljanaisthatit’srelatively
smallcomparedtoothercapitalcitiesI’vebeento.It’sa
verypicturesquecity,withtheriverf lowingslowly
throughit,cafésontheembankment,cobbledstreets
anda castleanditsrampartsasa backdrop.Wander
aroundthecitycentreandyoucanstumbleacross
Romanruins,medievalhouses,communist-era
buildingsandGothicchurches.Wealsohavegreat
restaurants,lotsofparks,andtheatreandclassical
performancesinourmagnificentoperahouse.

What’sit likein June?
InJuneyougettoseehowmuchgreenerythereis,as
everythingisbloomingandthetreesgivewelcome
shadefromthehotsun.It’seasytoseewhythecity
wasnamedEuropeanGreenCapitalin2016.It’sa time
tobeoutdoors,tositoutandhavea drinkinthecity
centreorina caféontheriverbankandwatchthe
localsandtouristspassby.It’salsothebeginningofthe
LjubljanaSummerFestival,hostinga varietyofevents.

Whattimeofdaydoyoumostenjoyandwhy?
I likemornings,especiallySaturdays,whenlocals
descendontheCentralMarket.Wewanderamongthe
stallsandstockuponfruitandvegetablesandlocal
produce.Thenweheadtooneofthecafésontheriver
bank,readthemorningpaper,chatwithfriendsand
makeplansfortheweekend.

What’sthenaturelike?
Ljubljanaismostlyf lat,butwe’resurroundedbypeaks,
whicharegreatforhikers.Thismeansthecitycanbe
easilydiscoveredonfootorbybikewhileenjoyingthe

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• There’s no better way to get to the heart

of a city than through the people who live

there. Every month we ask someone,

clearly in love with their city, to take us on

a personal tour and tell us what makes it

so special. You may feel inspired to visit

one day or to rediscover the charms of a

city closer to you, but for now just sit back,

relax and enjoy some vicarious travel.

(^1) The castle, peering
overLjbuljana’s
picturesquestreets.
(^2) Messing about on
theriver:cafés onthe
embankment.
(^3) Greens! Get your
greens!Ljubljana’s
CentralMarket.
(^4) A quietalleywayin
thecitycentre.
(^5) Here be dragons:
Dragons Bridge, to the
north of Central Market
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