Day Trip to Samobor

Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2016--Day Outing to Samobor

It was cooler and cloudy when we got up this morning for our trip to Samobor, a old, small town on the side of a mountain about 30 minutes from Zagreb.  I wore a long-sleeve shirt, but Wes kept on a t-shirt which I think he regretted later.

We got up earlier than usual and ate breakfast faster than usual.  By 10:00 we were at the bus station boarding a bus.  It took us through parts of the city we had not yet explored including areas that have lots of modern office buildings.

When we arrived in Samobor, it was at a new, modern bus station on the edge of town.  It's a small town, though, so we made it to the center without a problem.  Actually, we passed the center on purpose and headed first to the ruins of the old castle above the town.  After looking into a small chapel on the edge of town below the castle ruins, we headed up a rather narrow, steep trail.  It seemed a bit dangerous and as if it hadn't handled lots of traffic.  Eventually, we were at the top of the mountain entering the old castle gate.  There are just a few walls still standing to give the idea of towers, rooms, etc.  They are dramatic and pretty ruins, however.  No one else was up there while we were.

After our exploration of the ruins, we found a different path back down--a bit wider with more steps in place of steep inclines.  It led us down to the narrow river that flows through the town.  We walked down a nice pathway lined with sports facilities and parks until we reached the center of town which has a combination of buildings from the 1600s and earlier and more decorative buildings from the late 1800s.  Even though it was cool, people were sitting at sidewalk cafes on the main square.

Samobor is a delightful little town to visit.  We continued wandering up and down narrow streets until we felt the weather getting worse--colder with a threat of rain.  Then we headed back to the bus station and caught another bus back to the city.

Unfortunately, our return bus didn't go all the way to the bus station which is near our apartment.  Instead, we were diagonally across town and had to buy tickets for a tram ride home.  At least one of the trams (Line 12) that runs right in front of our apartment began where our bus stopped, so it was a nice ride home rather than being out in the weather.

I made coffee and we watched some of the Olympic sports on TV.  Light rain continued to fall.  It was in the 50s F by the time we went to bed.