Seoul

Seoul - Amazing blend of tall buildings, neon, killer traffic, and ancient palaces and temples.

At Gyeongbok-gung Palace - "Palace of Shining Happiness" from the Joseon Dynasty.  A large complex of buildings - structures that date from 1394, but which have been destroyed and rebuilt.  

There is also an excellent museum we visited to learn more about the sophisticated civilization which created these structures and many advances in astronomy.  

We spent two hours exploring the Palace grounds - and meeting some young children who wanted to practice their English with us.  Their mom gave us candy.  We found a restaurant nearby and had a bowl of bibimbap - rice and veggies with soft cooked egg on top.

Close up of roof - You can see the elaborate carvings

Wouldn't dad be a great Joseon warrier?

Me 

The Blue House

One of the gates to the Palace

The Blue House - which is home to the President of South Korea - sits behind the Palace grounds.  We're not allowed onto the premises - and must take a photo from across the street.




The first night in Seoul we stayed at the Alps Motel, near Wangsami subway Station.  These are called "love motels" since folks can rent them by the hour.

We went to the War Museum - this statute outside depicts two brothers, one fighting for North Korea, one for South Korea, who meet on the battlefield.

The museum and grounds are dedicated to all the wars that Koreans have fought in - but focus quite a bit on the Korean war.  There are large amounts of military hardware - planes, tanks, boats - on display outside the museum.   Very sobering.  There are displays about the impact of the war on the civilian population as well as lots of military ones.        

We went to the top of the Seoul Tower by cable car and got a great view of the city by daylight and as the sun set.

Though the windows of Seoul Tower

Seoul after dark

And we got to eat sweet potato pizza in Seoul - the crust is made with sweet potatoes.  Delicious.