There have been moments in Istanbul, like when I threw the pushchair off the bus because I needed my hands for shopping and helping Anton down steep stairs (and getting Neve's head safely through the door) when I have fantasized about a small city planned with its citizens (other than those who drive in convoys to compounds) in mind. Ljubljana is this place. For one week life was so easy we barely felt it flow. No barriers to break, no stairs to climb. In the morning we walked out of the house and a short distance to a large pedestrian zone on the sides of the river and dawdled all day. If you want a holiday that requires little effort, even with little ones, this is the place. I was so relaxed I barely noticed that we actually did a lot with the kids, and none of it required me to breathe deeply and gather my determination. So here are some of the best things to do in Ljubljana with kids  (the three we had with us are 7 months, 3 and 8):

The House of Experiments was a complete hit with all of us. We were there for about 3 and a half happy hours. This is no huge glossy museum but the activities are brilliantly designed. There is a bed to lie on that grows nails, bubbles to encase you, and science to fascinate adults too.

In Tivoli Park you can see parents out on their own with kids and looking completely relaxed. It is park perfection in that it has a waterside cafe with toys and a teepee next to the outside seating so we could watch them without getting up from our beer and prosciutto. The autumn colours were a perfect backdrop to our happy kids. There is also a big playground but as this would have required us to move about we pointed out the ducks on the other side of the path as we walked quickly past.

The castle that watches over the town has wonderful views over the city and a cafe where I tested whether their tiramisu is consistently perfect. The castle itself is not so much more than a set of function rooms with a chapel and tower to visit, but once we had taken the steep funicular up to it on the first day we knew we would be back daily to indulge Anton. So every day we travelled up by funicular, tested the tiramisu and travelled back down.

Ljubljana Zoo is great. It has a decent range of animals and several brilliant playgrounds surrounded by sun-loungers. More relaxed, happy parents.

We went to both the National Gallery and the Museum of Modern Art. Matti loves galleries and makes sure we see every single exhibit however long it takes. Anton carries a bag of cars where-ever he goes so he just sits himself down for a play when this exceeds the span of his attention. Neither of these galleries has a cafe but just a few minutes away you can take a lift to the top of the 'Skyscraper' and enjoy the view from what was the 9th tallest building in Europe in 1931. Ljubljana has beautiful examples of architecture from every decade, the modern as good as the old.  My favourite is the Cooperative Bank, an example of Slovene national style, we trailed the kids inside to see the loveliest working bank I have ever seen.

On one day we took the train to Postojna to explore the caves there. This is really worth the small effort. The tour begins with a train ride through several kilometres of caves before the walking tour (offered in several languages) even begins. Not much else to see in Postiojna, but very good pizza.

Oh to be back in Ljubljana or as Matti would say Lah-jub-la-jah-na.

Every day we spent in Ljubljana, as the sun began to set, Ville and I sat and had a beer next to Butchers' Bridge sitting so we could watch Anton and Matti playing on it. This new bridge has been designed so that bikes have to zig-zag carefully to get onto it and it has become a great place to stand about and look down the river, or play with cars. Actually Anton abandoned his cars for a while in order to move the padlocks that hang on the steel wire railings from one end to another. This was how we noticed that they all have names or initials written or engraved on them. Couples who have locked their hearts together have come (as they have in Paris, Pećs and Florence amongst other places) to hang a symbol of their commitment. Sitting watching two of the the manifestations of our locked hearts laughing, while we nuzzled the other, I sort of wished we had a padlock for the purpose. When we return I will bring one from the 'everything shop' on the Island, engraved in Karaköy, and watch the children run it along the wire in the lessening gap.

A couple of years ago, feeling a bit daunted by the claustrophobic chaos of Istanbul, I flew over Slovenia and saw paradise. Laid out under me was the geographical representation of personal space (not so popular in Turkey as in the UK or Finland!). Villages and towns nestled under mountains surrounded by forests pumping out far more fresh air than the inhabitants could ever breathe (Istanbul can feel a little like living in a lift). I pictured myself cycling between small, well spaced villages occasionally looking backwards to give the kids a wave of encouragement (in my dreams they don't need to wee or eat). Cycling with the children has always been part of my daydream mothering and though it will be possible here Istanbul cannot offer the feeling of direction-less, day long exploration by bike that I loved in the Yorkshire Dales, or in my Dad's Derbyshire tales (obviously this is a petty complaint, this city does have compensations!). My other parenting fantasy involves Inter-railing with all our children. Both Ville and I have great memories of the freedom of month long, Europe wide train tickets and I would love to give our brood the gift of those rare moments where anything (or anywhere) feels possible.

A few weeks ago a friend from Ljubljana needed to come to Istanbul and asked if we were interested in swapping homes for a week. Yes! So we have just returned from a week in Slovenia and the map I looked down on has now been heard and felt, and found to be more lovely than I even expected. My favourite thing was that when we climbed into the train that took us to explore the caves of Postojna we found the compartments and couchettes that we remembered from our teenage adventures. So for a few hours I sat with the children travelling past mountains and churches and daydreaming that we could go anywhere.