LJUBLJANA

My kayak cuts through the Ljubljanica’s bottle-green waters. On its right bank, the Central Market is in full swing: vats bubble with fermenting sauerkraut, ice-filled buckets shine with Adriatic sea bass; sourdough ovens puff woodsmoke around stone colonnades. On its left bank, cyclists wheel under the watchful gaze of dragons crouching, mouth agape, on Zmajski Bridge, poised for battle.

The Ljubljanica is key to life here; a central artery where students come to drink craft beer, where artists and antique sellers peddle their wares, and where musicians come to entertain tourists. To feel the pulse of Ljubljana’s watery heart, I decided to kayak the length of the city, paddling past the cobbled streets and clay-roofed buildings of the city centre, where restaurants such as Monstera Bistro and Atelje are revolutionising Slovenian cooking. Their creative spins on local, sustainably sourced produce so impressed Michelin that, a pork sausage that’s doused in a spicy mustard and horseradish topping — I catch a whiff as I paddle close to Klobasarna, its most famous purveyor. It’s best eaten kerbside, as are (tarragon-laced cottage cheese dumplings) and (a cheese-filled pastry), the city’s other street food staples.