What most people don’t know is that Ljubljana above all has one of the biggest shopping complexes in Europe. This is BTC City, located in suburbs, that spreads on a little less than half million square meters. Retailers, shopping centers, car washes, restaurants, clinics, cinemas, swimming pools, hundreds of car parks, everything is at your fingertips. It scares me a little bit, because it spreads without even noticing. Skyscrapers grow out of nothing.

There are only few places we can go to avoid constant euphoria and shopping rush, and one of them is Šmartinski park. Just few years ago, there were little gardens, cultivated by the citizens. But the late mayor forced them to remove their belongings and then demolished the place. The good thing that came out of this is the new park. It will need few years to become popular among neighboring citizens, they say it is kind of sterile.

But I don’t agree with them. The park is very wide, the mayor even left some (fruit) trees that give shade and in the autumn apples, pears, apricots and cherries blossem. It is big enough to play football or Frisbee game. The park also has a monument and cemetery Žale, designed by architect Jože Plečnik, that are also worth a visit.

Smarna gora is a hill at the most northern part of Ljubljana. It’s a butte and looks like two humps of camel. You can reach it with city bus number 8 (Gameljne). The bus drives in 10-20 minute period.

There are many ways to reach the top of Smarna gora. There are paths that are a bit steep, but take only 20 minutes. There are also more gentle paths, which are most of the time full of climbers, especially on Sundays. But if you are not walking on the main paths, you can relax and enjoy the fresh air.

Smarna gora has two peaks. Smarna gora and Grmada. The first peak is the popular one and is full of guests. On this peak you will also find an inn called Ledinek. Here you can buy some typical Slovenian dishes, a cup of tea or a beer. It has a nice view on Ljubljana, especially when the weather is nice.

Grmada is a located a bit higher and only has a bench on the top, so it doesn’t have so many visitors. It’s better if you would just like to relax, read a book or study.