Well, I guess that after more than a year and a half in Ireland it is high time to write a post about a Croatian destination. In case that you are stuck in Zagreb during the weekend, and you have no idea what to do (common scenarios, business trip to Zagreb or overnight stay waiting for early morning flight) I’ll tell you what to do.
So in case that you are searching for things to do near Zagreb or day trips from Zagreb you should consider visiting Samobor.
I’ll give you a few good reasons for that, but since this is my personal blog I’ll first explain why this photo to start with, taken in Samobor. 🙂
There are certain places on this planet (namely, Belgrade, Amsterdam, London, Paris and Australia so far) that turn some craziness switch in me whenever I travel to mentioned destinations. It means that verse of some famous song or some quote that refers to my future destination will be stuck in my mind and I will be constantly singing it, humming or saying out loud.
Second last time when we were in London it was Fergie and her London Bridge, or even more precise just two verses “How come every time you come around, My London London Bridge want to go down…”. It can be quite annoying, I admit. This time it was a sentence from one commercial where a lovely young lady with a bit bigger front teeth says very sensually – “Get the London look”.
To be honest with you, I picked it up somewhere by the way, had no idea who is the lady, but it seems that it’s Georgia May Ayeesha Jagger. Yep, famous daughter of even more famous father. And so, after all day repeating “Get the London look” and “I got the London look”, I finally arrived in Samobor and this cute rabbit was there. Fcors, “I got the London look” immediately and was bugging me for the rest of the day. 🙂 (Yes Georgia, if you somehow end up on my blog, and that would be awesome, make sure to visit Samobor, and to know why – keep reading! And yeah, do share my post on twitter? 😀 )
As we booked one of well known restaurants well in advance for lunch with family and friends, for the first time I did what I usually do when we visit foreign countries. I’ve checked the local specialties and decided to try them all. We asked for some of them and those were considered pre-ordered, which was great. Those others that we did not mention were not on the menu that day, but will try them next time. 🙂
Wine and local drinks
We started with Bermet – local aperitif drink from Samobor, made of red wine and various herbs. Writing this post, I’ve learned that it is considered a specialty in Zagorje region in Croatia and around Fruška Gora in Vojvodina, Serbia. Apparently, Bermet was considered as a really posh drink among Austro-Hungarian aristocracy. It’s no wonder that it remained as a specialty in these regions.
As we were all chatting and drinking local aperitif, our appetizer plates were served.
Food
Locally the upper left part we call “pan fried brains”, and it’s exactly what it sounds like, breaded brains. The right part we call “brizle” [breeze+le], and I’ve later found that in English speaking countries it should be a variation of sweetbreads. Difference is – we don’t bread them, we grill them and serve with garlic.
As a foodie I can tell you that I was pleasantly surprised with brizles. I expected a taste that is more similar to liver, but nope. Texture is similar to liver, soft and spongy, but tastes like nice meat. Definitely a thing you should try!
I did not like fried brains too much. I ate brains earlier as a kid, but prepared with scrambled eggs, and prepared in such way they taste more like bone marrow, and it is way better. It was too greasy prepared like this and you could feel the taste of breaded part only. Still, some people prefer it that way to hide the fact that they are eating brains. 🙂
Nature and walking in it
If you don’t like that kind of delicacy, you should definitely try “Rudarska greblica”. It’s a fine savory pastry made with home made dough and fresh cheese with secret local recipe.
Once you are well fed, you should take a walk along the Gradna stream. It is lovely, especially in the spring when many people walk along the path. It is a bit less romantic in the autumn but it still has it own charm.
Traditional customs
As you come closer to the town center you can take a walk through a town market. It’s a good chance to experience some local customs and see old ladies in traditional costumes, but you’ll need to speak at least a bit of Croatian in order to get the full experience.
If you take just a few steps away from the town market you will end up on the main square.
Don’t get fooled by this photo. It’s one of rare moments when this square is empty, as it is a good old Croatian tradition to enjoy the coffee and deserts outside on the fresh air, and talk for hours. Just a day earlier we waited 20 minutes for a free table, and almost 30 minutes to get our deserts for home. Yes, on this square you can eat the most advertised must try thing from Samobor – Samoborska kremšnita, or cream pie from Samobor.
It is a local specialty and it is served warm. It can be due to the reason that it is so good that they can’t bake enough to serve them cold. Just for the record, during these 30 minutes in line to take twelve pies for home, I’ve seen with my own eyes more than 150 pies sold. So, just sayin’. 🙂
Awesome deserts
If for some reason you are not a fan of cream pies, then you must be the fan of ice creams, right? Well, since recently there is a place that makes all different variations of non standard ice creams.
On the photo above you can see black ball of Mexican hot chocolate, ginger ice cream, beetroot with poppy seeds and something with lavender. To be honest, it was an average ice cream, as I would make hot chocolate hotter, lavender and beetroot stronger and ginger was more or less OK. Still it’s worth trying as those tastes are still non standard ones in Croatia.
Hiking
If you are visiting Samobor in the spring or during the summer, make sure to take a walk to nearby hills of Samobor (Samoborsko gorje). From there you can see the town from above, and if weather serves you right you can even see Zagreb.
On the top of Plešivica [Plesheeveca] hill, you can try the mentioned Greblica as well as some other local specialties. Beside food you should try local wines, as hills of Samobor are again famous by its vineyards.
If you don’t have time to climb the Plešivica, you should climb up to Vugrinšćak, leftovers of old castle just 10 minutes away from town center.
As you can see it looks awesome during the spring.
Beside all this you should buy yourself a “Licitarsko srce” very special gingerbread cookie in a heart shape that is an original souvenir from Croatia and it is listed as UNESCO heritage.
Unfortunately I can’t find a single photo of it in my collection(?!) but Google is our friend.
All that just 20 minutes ride away from Zagreb.
Are you sure you want to miss it again?
As you can see I’ve re-checked all that (except greblica and licitarsko srce) in just one day back home… 🙂
Till the next post…
Love,
Balky
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