July 15, 2018 - We're headed to Seoul to meet up with Meg for the last leg of her Branner Fellowship Trip. She has spent the last 2 months visiting Switzerland, Italy, Hungary, Morrocco, France, Iceland and Finland researching the architecture of bath houses. We left Indianapolis at 10:30 in the morning with a stop in Toronto before the 15 hour flight to Incheon airport in Seoul. By the time we met up with Meg at our AirBnB, we had been traveling for almost 24 hours. We were so happy to get to tag along on Meg's big adventure!
We're packed and ready to head to the airport
We're headed to Seoul
We found MEG!!!
We made it to our AirBnB.
We went down the street for some dinner
dinner is on fire!
Yum!
After dinner we explored the area around our AirBnB
N Seoul Tower on Namsen Mountain
Cute little street our AirBnB is on
weird ice cream cone we bought for dessert
Our apartment is quite small, but just right for the 3 of us. Meg has a small room (that you can't stand up in, in the basement). To go downstairs you have to lift up the flooring that opens up the down stairs (her hands are on a hinged part of the flooring). This saves floor space on the middle floor since it is the main living area.
July 17, 2018 - Today we're headed out for some sightseeing.
The window of our apartment looks out to this tiny street
hanging around the island in the very small kitchen
better pic of the little kitchen, small fridge, sink and stovetop
It was a 3 block walk to Seoul Station (subway). We grabbed breakfast on our way.
what a cute coffee cup!
Daehanmun Gate at Deoksugung Palace. The palace complex was where the Joseon Royal Family lived until 1910 when Korea was annexed by Japan. It is one of the "Five Grand Palaces" built by the Kings of the dynasty
The changing of the Royal Guard
the King's seat
ornate ceilings
painted scene behind the throne with 5 peaks and sun and moon
the walls can be stored above the room or dropped down to close off a room
pretty archway
Clay figures are on the eaves of the tiled roof, act as guardians
We walked through Namdaemun Market
Interesting, but not sure what it all is
we picked up a few treats
old building/archway among new buildings
a FEW air-conditioning units
We're headed to Seoul Tower next.
We took a cable car to the top of Namsan. What nice views of Seoul
There are lots and lots of locks
KSLP
never ending locks
Seoul Tower
Cass Beer - Korean beer
Be happy!
dinner
A walk after dinner
Seoul Station
Seoul Skygarden, the elevated walking path near our apartment
there's that smiley face again (2 smiling faces!)
July 18, 2018 - We're headed out for more sightseeing today. We're headed to Dongdaemun Design Plaza to see the futuristic building designed by Zaha Hadid. In the afternoon we'll spend a few hours at Siloam Spa, so Meg can do some bath house research.
"Relief Goods Storage" in the subway?
Dongdaemun Design Plaza designed by Zaha Hadid
It was interesting to walk around the plaza and see all sides of the huge, crazy building
the Dongdaemun History Museum is inside. The museum wasn't the best, but it was fun to see the building from the inside
Kevin found a friend
Cheonggyecheon is a 6 mile stream running through downtown Seoul, it was restored in the early 2000's and has become a popular area to walk along (although it doesn't look too popular right now, maybe more popular on the weekends)
Jeon Tae-il Bridge crosses over Cheonggyecheon river. The statue on the bridge commemorates Jeon Tae-il who worked as a tailor in Seoul in the 60's. He protested the terrible conditions that workers dealt with and set himself on fire, while yelling "Do not let my death be in vain". His death prompted the formation of several labor unions
It's fun walking about different areas of Seoul
a shop full of buttons?
lunch out
Next we're off to a Jjimjilbang! This is a Korean spa that is quite popular. with Koreans It costs about $10 for the day and there are pools, steam rooms, game rooms, video rooms, and food.
It was a fun afternoon of exploring at Siloam Spa
warm stones for your feet?
the Siloam locker room
Til next time!
Tonight we're headed to a Korean restaurant where they bring you raw meat and you cook it at the table
we put the meat on the grill while we ate out salads
Our server could see that we didn't know what we were doing and helped us out. She cut up all the meat AND the all the fat and cooked it for us. She then wanted us to eat the fried fat (which I was thrilled about doing, but didn't want to offend her, and it wasn't too bad!) It was quite a fun experience!
July 19, 2018 - Today is our last day of sightseeing in Seoul, before we fly to Japan. We're headed to Gyeongbokgung Palace (built in 1395), which is the largest of the Five Grand Palaces, and was the main palace of the Joseon Dynasty until it was destroyed by fire during the late 1500's and left abandoned for 3 centuries. It is located in Northern Seoul. Much of the Grounds (over 500 buildings) were destroyed yet again by the Japanese during the occupation in the early 20th century. Restoration efforts have been ongoing since 1990.
Kevin thinks we have a monkey living in the basement and he throws her a banana every morning
not sure how this vegetable truck made it down our skinny street, but it did!
Gyeongbokgung Palace with Bugaksan Mountain in the background
I love the painting detail on all the buildings
The king's seat looks just like the one at Deoksugung Palace, with an identical painting of the sun, moon and 5 peaks behind the throne
Many Koreans visit these sites in native clothing
courtyard of a building, with an interesting statue on the wall
Gyeonghoeru Pavilion was used for special state banquets
gateways everywhere
more clay figures on the roof of this building
beautiful gardens to walk through
I love the stone work
do they look alike?
the National Folk Museum of Korea
We wandered by this room, and found a family of 4 had taken off their shoes, turned the fan toward them, and were taking a nap
Jangseung are Korean totem poles that are placed at the edge of villages to mark the boundary and scare away demons
Some jangseungs are made of stone
What???
That was a big day!
This wonderful whale mural is around the street from our apartment. I'm going to miss seeing it every day.
Meg's room (she's in the middle of packing) in the basement of our apartment. This apartment worked out perfectly!
ready to leave for Japan!
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