A Weekend in Seoul

I'm feel refreshed from a weekend spent in Seoul. When I first lived in Korea I never really liked it's capital. It felt too crowded and the places I went to didn't feel special. Nowadays, I enjoy every time I go. Despite the freezing cold weather of Saturday we both had a fun time and can't wait to go back the next chance we have.

On Saturday my wife and I went to the Andy Warhol exhibit at the Seoul Museum of Art. I thought parts of this were good - I'm no big art fan - but there were too many people packed into too short a space. I saw some pieces that I hadn't seen before, which was good. The translated English grammar was very poor though, and there weren't enough details explanations about the paintings in English or Korean. Too many kids as well, but what can you expect on a Saturday. It would have been nice to have been able to take some pictures of the exhibit but they prohibited.

After leaving we were temporarily lost but chanced upon a procession. We followed this and it lead us to the royal ceremony of the changing of the guard at Deoksugung palace which takes places three times a day. We enjoyed this and I've been looking to watch one of these for some while. I took many photos (see below) though most were of low quality and were we were standing wasn't the best of places. I'd like to check it out again next time in Seoul.

Later on we met my wife's cousin and her husband. This was the highlight of the weekend as her husband actually spoke some English. So far most of the relatives of my wife that I've met haven't been able to communicate with me. It's a challenge that we live with but it does limit how well I've been able to get to know her family so far. We had dinner at a Thai restaurant and later went for drinks. Hopefully we can meet up in the coming months.

Sunday was pretty relaxing. We went shopping in Myeongdong as we always do. I really like that area and we both ended up buying things we can't get in Daegu. Later we went to Itaewon where I went looking for books. I picked a few up but not as many as last time. We had some beers with fish and chips and nachos before heading home. Sounds uneventful but we had fun getting out of Daegu. I'm now looking forward to my February trip off the peninsula.