Spring in Seoul

Just a few pictures for you to enjoy.

 

Namdaemun 남대문

After hiking Seoul Fortress wall we headed to Namdaemun, the south gate.  This gate was destroyed by fire several years ago and has been rebuilt.  The weekend we were here was the week before the grand opening, so they were busy finishing the grounds.

Namdaemun is a famous shopping area of Seoul.  It is full of craft and paper supplies, food, toys, and clothing.  We had a great time exploring while I was looking for (but not finding) feathers for a cub scout project.  I did find a great place to buy gift bags, art supplies, and Korean trinkets.  Shopping anyone?

The newly rebuilt Namdaemun gate.  Nam means south, dae - great, and mun means door.

Walking down a street of the market.

Food vendors at Namdaemun.

Seoul Fortress Wall 서울성곽

Seoul fortress wall is not as well known as The Great wall of China, nor as big, but it sure is a great place to visit.  Built in 1397, the fortress wall circles most of downtown Seoul.  Much of the wall was destroyed during the Japanese invasion as well as the Korean War, but today many parts are being restored.

We took a hike a beautiful Saturday morning to enjoy the stairs and the view.  The wall itself is a 18.2km hike, but we only hiked half of it this time around.  We have plans to finish the loop just to say we did it.


The map of our hike.  We started in the upper right hand corner near
Sungkyunkwan University, after traveling by both bus and subway. 

Both new and old portions of the wall.

Security check point.  To hike this section of the wall you must have a passport as wall is just
behind the "blue house" the home of the Korean President.  Much of the area
does not allow photography for security reasons.

Guardians on the gate roof.

Near the top, with Bukhasan in the background.

Talk about a few steps!

We took a side hike to climb up to the Gichabawi (Bawi means large rock). 
The Bawi was a huge granite rock on the peak of this mountain..

A look at the wall.  There are many sections along the wall where you cannot take pictures.

Our hike map.

Map with elevation change.  Wow!  I think we hiked 9 miles that day!

Hotteok - 호떡

This Korean pancake is a great winter street food, usually filled with nuts and brown sugar.  We can't try the street variety, so we made our own using a recipe from a local library book.  Mine didn't turn out quite as nice as the thin pancakes you will find around town because I didn't have the nifty squisher. (Guess I need to make a trip to Bakers Alley to find one)  Thankfully, looks weren't everything and my customers were more than satisfied!

How it is done on the street.

My version filled with chocolate chips or dulce de leche.

Hotteok waiting for the frying pan.

Sangdang Sanseong 상당산성

On our way back from Daegu we stopped in Cheongju, a city in central South Korea to visit Sangdang Sanseong.  Sangdang Sanseong, a fortress originally used by the Baekje troops, saw battle in the 1590s, and was rebuilt in the 1700s during the Jeosan Dynasty.  Today you can walk along the fortress wall and enjoy the amazing view on a clear day.

Map of the fortress, which still contains a small village (mainly a tourist trap) inside the fortress wall.

One of the fortress gates.

Walking along the wall.  We made the entire loop.

One of the hidden gates.

Daegu 대구

Depending on which Romanized spelling you use this city is called Daegu or Taegu. Officially the city changed the Romanization to Daegu prior to the Summer Olympics of 1988 (many names were changed at that time to standardize Romanization), but you still see it both ways.  Daegu literally means large hill.  It is the third largest city in South Korea, but area wise it is larger than Seoul.  It is much more spread out, making it fill a little more manageable (not so crazy as the megatropolis of Seoul!).

We were hoping we would see some cherry blossoms (since Seoul wasn't quiet read for spring).  We saw some on the drive down, but Daegu itself was already leafing - no blooms in sight.

Cherry trees in bloom lining the tollway.

Greenhouses.  Much of Korean produce is grown in greenhouses so they have fresh produce year round.

There are many things to see and do in Daegu.  We hiked, shopped, explored, played, and managed not to get lost.  We saw a parking maid, which looked like a google maps car, out snapping photos of license plates(I really wanted a photo, but I was driving at the time).  We visited the Jungangno subway station, the location of the infamous train fire which claimed nearly 200 lives.  It was even warm enough we went to the pool!  Granted it was indoor (as in a greenhouse) but all the windows were open.  If felt like summer.

The view from our hotel room at the Novotel.

Out exploring the Daegu nightlife.

Our bathroom!  The first room is the shower. Obviously the designer is not a woman from a house full of boys!

A crane below the falls of Sincheon River

The hotel bidet.  Most western toilets have bidets here.



hmm... who's up for trying out the bidet?

I have yet to figure out what the zig zag yellow line means.

Yeongnam Jeil Gwanmun, reconstructed south gate in Daegu.

Our "Korean room" at our second hotel with ondul (heated floor), which had our room at a stifling 80+ degrees!

Cherry Blossom Festival

We attended the Yeouido Cherry Blossom Festival here in Seoul.   Unfortunately Mother nature missed the memo and due to the long winter, the blossoms weren't quite festive.  We still had a fun time exploring and enjoying the festival activities.

Hiding out among the huge pots of flowers.

Blossoms almost ready to burst.  The following weekend they were beautiful.

Playing games at the festival.

Prizes won.

Making Korean fans.

Learning about CPR...at a blossom festival?

Health care fair at the blossom festival.  Make sure you brush your teeth...

And eat a well balanced meal.

The boys at the National Assembly (a 300 member legislative branch of Korean government).