We exited our Uber at the town square shown
above.
Tomislav square was decked out for the 196th edition of Fasnik, a two-week
celebration highlighted by musical performances in the square
and masked revelry everywhere. Appropriately, the square was
festooned
with attractions for the children and a large stage for
performances.
Perhaps out of caution, its famed fountain was covered with a
decorative cloth. Perhaps the highlight of a visit to Samobor
(at least
to our Croatian friends) is stopping at the U Prolaz Cafe to
sample
their kremsnite, a
type of
cream cake
that Samobor is famous for, and this cafe reputedly serves the
best
version of this Croatian
treat. Although Tracy and 
Hans
were somewhat
skeptical about this "tourist trap" venture, they quickly
changed their
mind upon sampling it--heaven for only 12 Kuna (2 dollars). The
photo
to the left shows the outside of the cafe, while the creme de la
creme
of cream cakes is featured in the photo to the right.
At
the bottom left is a photo of the interior.
There
is a small stream running through the town, with the two
sections
joined by three bridges, the most scenic of which is the Most
Grada
Velesa, or Velesa city bridge, shown in the photo to the left.
The
majority of the historic sites are located on the southern side
of the
bridge, including the Church of Anastaziaj and the Sambor
Museum, both
described in the virtual tour below. Walking along the banks of
the
stream offers any number of picturesque views, as shown in the
photo to
the right.
There
is also a version of this tour
designed specifically
for VR headsets such as Google Cardboard, and it
works with both iPhone
and Android devices. It may be accessed by
scanning on the QR code to
the
left. If you are viewing this on a mobile phone,
you may access the VR
tour by following this
link.
For iOS devices: scan QR code with your device's camera app, tap on the prompt to open Safari. Select "Allow Device Motion" and the next prompt, "Allow Access to Motion Orientation." Turn the device to landscape mode and a split screen will appear. When the screen turns white, swipe up for fullscreen mode, and place in headset. Here is a video of how to do this--it is simpler than it sounds! [The video opens in a new window--close when done to return to this page]
For Android devices: Open the camera app and use the built-in scanner to scan the QR code above. Confirm that you want to open the website, and wait for it to load--it should load in stereo view. Select the fullscreen ("X" option) from the menu at the bottom. Turn the device to landscape mode and you are ready to go. Here is a video of how to do this--it is simpler than it sounds! [The video opens in a new window--close when done to return to this page]
Following our tour of the town
and the nearby Samobor Castle, we stopped for a late lunch at
Restaurant Krčma Gabreku 1929
for
a late lunch. The restaurant
came highly recommended by locals and guidebooks alike, and was
bustling with a late lunch crowd. The restaurant is located at
the
parking lot for the Samobor Castle, about a ten minute walk on
the main
road from the west side of King Tomislav Square. The photo on
the
left shows the restaurant's modest exterior, which belies its
interior
space, shown in the photo to the right. We started with a double
order
of the fried mushrooms, and then Tracy dined on a veal soup,
while Dale
and Hans tucked into a duck dish featuring large pieces of duck
on a
bed of mlinci, which
is made
with flour and tastes like a cross between bread and pasta. It
is
served with Turkey in traditional Croatian Christmas
gatherings.
The duck was tender and the mlinci
was filling.