My amazing visit to Samobor – friendship, tradition, and food

(Photo: Ane Strazicic Rodriguez)

By Ane Strazicic Rodriguez

My arrival to our beautiful homeland Croatia began in Samobor, located just west of the capital Zagreb. 

Lovorka and Alen, my friends who have been coming to the island Mljet for 30 years, welcomed me at the airport and took me home with them. 

(Photo: Ane Strazicic Rodriguez)

There, Alen, who is a fantastic cook, prepared a Samobor specialty for dinner: turkey with mlinci. The next day was a reunion with my old friends who have been coming to our house, my parents’ guesthouse on Mljet, since 1966, when I was just 6 years old. 

That’s when my parents started intensively engaging in tourism alongside fishing and agriculture. In my memory, those were wonderful times when we socialized, sang, and danced together on our terrace in Pomena under the old pine tree, where I still continue that tradition. 

(Photo: Ane Strazicic Rodriguez)

My wonderful parents, Miše and Zdravka, greeted everyone with open arms, offering a jug of wine, a cup of brandy, and seafood specialties made from the fish, crayfish, and shells caught that day. 

The same group, Beba, Zvonko Marek, Mali Zvonko, Toni Irenka, Marjan, Olga, and Marjan, spent every summer under our pine tree with my parents. 

Like some of my parents’ friends who are no longer with us, and the others who are not up for long journeys anymore, so I promised them that I would visit them when I come to Zagreb. It was wonderful and emotional to spend a few hours with old friends with whom I have always stayed in touch.

After Zagreb, I went to Samobor to visit my other friends, Karmen and Kruno, who have also been coming to Mljet for over 25 years. 

(Photo: Ane Strazicic Rodriguez)

They prepared Samobor specialties for us: buncek under the bell and a wreath of bread filled with ham and cheese, and for dessert, princess doughnuts.

(Photo: Ane Strazicic Rodriguez)

(Photo: Ane Strazicic Rodriguez)

(Photo: Ane Strazicic Rodriguez)

(Photo: Ane Strazicic Rodriguez)

Samobor is a town located 25 km away from Zagreb, situated on the eastern slopes of the Samobor Hills at the entrance to the romantic valley of the Gradna stream. It is one of the most beloved and oldest tourist destinations in Croatia.

The most significant historical fact about Samobor is that in 1242, King Bela IV granted the Charter of Free Town to Samobor because the town protected and aided him in the fight against the Turks. 

(Photo: Ane Strazicic Rodriguez)

Thus, Samobor obtained the status of a Free Town before Zagreb. You can explore it on foot, enjoying the Baroque architecture and atmosphere at King Tomislav Square, through the Anindol promenade all the way to Tepec Hill. 

From the center, head to the remains of the old Samobor castle from the 13th century, with the path leading from the Church of St. Anastasia, through St. Anne’s Street, offering a beautiful view of the surrounding hills. Be sure to visit the Samobor Museum and one of Croatia’s most beautiful caves, Grgosova Cave, which is protected.

(Photo: Ane Strazicic Rodriguez)

(Photo: Ane Strazicic Rodriguez)

If you want to eat well, then go to the oldest and most famous restaurant, Gabrek, opened in 1929. You must try Samobor specialties: turkey with mlinci, buncek with sauerkraut, cheese strudel, and of course, kremšnita, which has a cult status in Samobor. 

It is a dessert with two layers of crispy pastry with vanilla cream in between. While it is also made in Zagreb and its surroundings, Samobor kremšnita is special. 

Of course, I had to try it with my dear friends Lovorka, Silva, and my dear friend whom I met long ago in New York, Marica Dubić, who brought me a bottle of BERMET – a flavored wine made from black grapes, dried figs, carob, wormwood, and mustard. 

(Photo: Ane Strazicic Rodriguez)

This original Samobor liqueur goes perfectly with kremšnita. We toasted to this beautiful meeting, which surely won’t be the last, and sent greetings to my husband Luis A. Rodriguez and Marica’s husband, Ivica Dubić, manager of CroatianTVAmerica in America.

(Photo: Ane Strazicic Rodriguez)

Another important aspect of Samobor is LICITARI – Croatian Heart, decorated honey cookies of various shapes, but the heart is the most famous. 

The secret of making licitari has been kept within the circle of family craftsmanship since the 16th century. Generally, young men give hearts to girls for Valentine’s Day as a symbol of love, and they are also given to friends for luck and good wishes. In my opinion, LICITARI is the most beautiful Croatian souvenir because they exude love and beauty, just like our love for our homeland Croatia. 

(Photo: Ane Strazicic Rodriguez)

Every person I’ve given them to has had a big smile on their face. Every year I take them to America and give them to friends for Christmas or for birthdays, or when I organize something. 

They are a wonderful decoration on the table, whether it’s promoting Croatian food, wine, or cultural heritage. And my Christmas tree, decorated with licitari, is surely the most beautifully decorated tree in America.

(Photo: Ane Strazicic Rodriguez)

My friend Silva Krajačić, who has a souvenir shop in Samobor called SRČEKO, makes glass, ceramic, and wooden licitar hearts. The SRČEKO craft was founded in Samobor in 2003, thanks to the entrepreneurial idea of Silva Krajačić, who decided to secure her livelihood through her own souvenir production. 

(Photo: Ane Strazicic Rodriguez)

The beginning of the craft’s work is based on cooperation with the Samobor Crystal Factory. The founder’s initial idea was to make various objects of crystal glass into useful souvenirs through creative painting, inspired by the rich Samobor tradition. Her favorite motifs became licitar hearts, kralus, lajbek, and other motifs from traditional life. 

Through persistent work and continuous improvement, the author’s works soon reached far beyond the Samobor region. Today, Silva Krajačić’s painted glass has become an indispensable item that many Samobor visitors gladly take with them as a lasting memory. The pictures on glass with a specially decorated motif of a licitar heart, into which a suitable text and personalized messages can be inscribed, are the original idea of the SRČEKO craft and are protected by copyright law. 

(Photo: Ane Strazicic Rodriguez)

Painted ceramics also have an important place in the SRČEKO craft offer. Hand-painted ceramics, licitar hearts, licitar horses, ceramic cups, glass bottles, and glasses catch the eye because each of these souvenirs is individually created, the result of the author’s momentary inspiration. 

(Photo: Ane Strazicic Rodriguez)

Likewise, the craft’s offer is complemented by its own souvenir publishing. This includes, above all, the award-winning book “Only Samobor,” which was included in the Top Graphic Design Series for 2012 in the strongest global competition, created in collaboration with the famous designer Boris Ljubičić. Sets of “Samobor postcards,” belote cards with Samobor motifs called “Samobor madarice,” and thematic wall calendars are also souvenirs under the copyright protection of the SRČEKO craft. 

(Photo: Ane Strazicic Rodriguez)

For her contribution to preserving the Samobor glassblowing tradition, Silva Krajačić has been awarded the Green Flower of the Zagreb County twice and has received the plaque of the town of Samobor.

(Photo: Ane Strazicic Rodriguez)

So, don’t leave Samobor without SRČEKO.