Searching the web for weekend destinations in Korea I stumbled upon a few weblogs that described a camping trip to an uninhabited island off the west coast. The information was very sparse, especially regarding the exact whereabouts and how to organise a trip but that only made it sound even more adventureous and we snapped at the first chance and literally set sail towards Sa Seungbong-Do from Incheon.
From business class to layover in Frankfurt in 5 days
It could have been a great week: On my way back from Korea, Lufthansa had decided to upgrade my seat from economy to business class for free. Good stuff! Plenty of room for my legs and a massage chair make a long distance flight so much easier to bear 
Only five days later I was sitting in a plane from Zurich to Frankfurt again. When the pilot announced a 30 minute delay I got a little worried about my connection but there was still hoping – until I got off the plane way past boarding stop. And of course at the security check they had to swipe my camera equipment for explosives. And even though I told the woman that I had to run she sent me to the checkpoint where the officer asked her why she had brought me over. Her reply: “I’m so bored, I wanted to do something!” – thank you soooo much, bloody idiot!
So yeah, obviously I had missed my plane by a few minutes. An hour later, while waiting for the shuttle bus to a hotel, I witnessed the discovery of a bunch of suspect packages. The police blocked the whole area but then my bus left so I don’t know if there was really a bomb or not.
Now I’m sitting in the lobby of the NH Hotel Möhrfelden, my new flight is tomorrow via Munich – let’s hope the weather doesn’t act up again!
Hwayanggugok
Want to get out of Cheongju for a bit? Get some sun and enjoy the beauty of nature? In about an hour the bus headed for Hwayang-Dong brings you to Songnisan National Park. Get off at the stop for Hwayang Valley and hike along the river for about 20 minutes. You’ll get to sandy beaches and smooth rocks where you can sunbake or go for a swim in the river.
Cherry Blossoms in Korea
Every year during spring time many Asian countries are organising festivals where they celebrate the time of the cherry blossoms. Only for about two weeks the trees are in full blossom, and around this time there are a few annual cherry blossom festivals in Korea, too. I hadn’t been in the country at that time but thanks to a relatively cold spring, the time of the blooming started a little later then expected. You can see the cherry trees in various places all over Cheongju, for example along the river that runs all the way through the city.
Danyang
A little while ago Christina and I took a day trip to a town called Danyang near Chungju. Photos are already up but here’s now a little report about the trip.
Gallery Update
There are new photos in the gallery from my recent trip to Danyang | View album
Bella Sardegna
After five months of Kimchi and Korea, my vacation was more than welcome (don’t get me wrong, though, I had and I’m still having a great time in Korea, it can just be, well, exhausting at times). Luckily Thorsten and Alex were able to join in for some climbing and it didn’t take much to convince us that Sardinia would be the perfect place to go. However the trip started with a moment of shock when we discovered that Alex’ VW leaked some oil and a mechanic advised us not to use the car as there was immediate danger of fire. As you can imagine we weren’t too impressed at gave it a shot anyway. And in order to come to the point – the car was just fine and never caught fire! | View gallery
Korea, 2nd stint
Some weeks have passed already since my short trip back to Germany. Not much has been happening since then, for the last couple of days I’m trying to get rid of a nasty flu (without swine), other than that work is keeping me busy and doesn’t allow much action during the week. On weekends I usually play some pool or foosball at Road King. The weather changed from sunny blue sky to gray and cold, sometimes it rains so I haven’t really been outside of Cheongju lately.
But I finally managed to go climbing! There is a bouldering gym only a five minute walk from Ramada Hotel with polished holds and strong climbers. Although communicating is rather tough they are all really nice and helpful.
Back home
Unlike the previous days the sky was clear and blue this morning. A shame that I had to return to Seoul to catch my flight back home. But the trip form Sokcho to Dong-Seoul was really stunning: Leaving the houses behind there were only hills, covered with this amazing patchwork of red and green and yellow forest. And above it all the granite towers of Seoraksan. I had this Idea of asking the driver to stop for a little while but quickly dismissed the thought because a: he wouldn’t have been able to do so and b: there was no way I could have made him understand me anyway.
Only two hours later I was back in Seoul, hidden in thick mist. I dropped some postcards off at the post office and went on to Incheon International Airport where I’m preparing some blog posts that I’m going to upload later in Dubai – unlike here they have working WiFi over there.
Seoraksan National Park
From Sokcho Intercity Bus terminal I took bus number 7-1 to Seorak-Dong. This small place is the gateway to the National Park and offers accomodation and basic supply – assuming you have cash, international ATM’s don’t exist up here. I checked into Han Gang Park Motel and fell asleep after a long day.
