Perfect ending - Club, Spa, food, new people, 1 old good friend, 1 oyster and 2pm!

Anyong,

one last time I will torture you with my adventures in Korea!

Like last time I spent the last day in Seoul with the one and only Mr. Ben Hur (Son Hjong)!

We met at Seoul station and both of us had a really big smile in our faces. We haven't seen since 1.5 years but it felt like yesterday.

Haha, I could copy the last post nearly, because we took my luggage to his friends restaurant and we had coffee at the same coffee shop. But then the plan changed!!!

Did we have a party? - No we had drinks, food and a shower!

ANYONG SEONG YONG!

I will not give you the satisfaction in starting with "today" or "last night" this time, so I will just take a Misuri-Shower and relax a little before I start.

It is time to say goodbye to my friends in these days again. So thats what we did last night. At 7 pm I met with Seong Yong and Yuee in Seomyeon. In fact it was maybe 7:30 when Seong came over. In the meantime Yuee and me were frozen to death!

In order to reactivate our heartbeats we took us to a really phenomenal BBQ store. It was japanese feeling inside, like the interior and the side dishes, because there was so less amount kkkk

But the food was still korean, I guess it would be like we would go to a spanish tapas restaurant and they just have sausage kkk

Christmas Time!

Anyong,

yesterday I wanted to go to Nampo-Dong one last time to get the tie I saw weeks ago... it was still stuck in my head. I just had to get it!

So I texted my Nampo Nuna if she has some free time during the evening. Surprisingly she told me to show up 1 hour later. So super spontaneous! I love it!

We just went right away to the christmas decorated road in Nampo to get some last shots for me. 

it was so lovely, I just looked at the lights and Natasha asked me right away, you wanna go there, taking some pictures? Yes of course!!!

Louisiana feeling in korea - These boots are made for walking

Anyong,

last night I had a Daegu stag party revival! I met up with the guys I met in Daegu to have one of the unexpected and int he beginning (for me) seriously sad parties.

We went to Kyungsung University area where a lot of bars and clubs are located.

In the beginning I walked around with Tyron and his friend Ellen (I guess) to bring donation boys for Re-Buidling the Philippines to the most popular party places. So the drunk people can donate instead of more drinking.

Afterwards I realized, that I forgot my camera at home! Damn!!! 

Finals are coming....

Anyong,

next week I will be going home and so I will be kind of busy next week, even if it doesn't feel like. It is different to the last time where I wanted to meet everyone again, because I am not able to see him/her again ever kkkk

Now that I am a little more grown up and a little more experienced in changing continents, I know that I will see the people I really care about again in my live.

Like my 브러 . Even this year we did not plan to see each other and we saw us 1/3 of the year. Sounds a little bit strange, but every time it was very spontaneous. First time when he came to europe he asked me one day, "hey can I stay at your house"? And 4 weeks later he arrived haha.... Next time, me to come over to korea was same way. I told him maybe 3 weeks before kkk because we didn't know more early for sure kkkk

So I will see him again anyway, I am super sure!

Last night I met with him, 채원 (I really like her), Kelly and her BF (cute)!

So it was a really small, familiar group of people.

Kelly had to work until 11pm at OliveYoung, so we went to Haeundae so very late to meet.

Daegu - Unexpected stag party!

Anyong,

last weekend was very full of excited stuff.... after visiting the village with Dawoon I met with Dan to go to Daegu in order to get an impression of the old capital of Korea and of course to party a little. I heard, that Daegu is a quiet good place to party, so I had to check out before going home.

We took the KTX for cute 50 min and then went directly downtown to the "Downtown District" haha

Arrived there it felt like a mix of Nampodong and Seomyeon, like Dawoon promised me before. Lots of stores and bars mixed up in a bunch of streets. I had some Korean street food and then we directly went to the party location, the "Urban", which sounded pretty american to me.

Yes, it looked really western style....

감천 (Gamcheon) Cultural Village - Busan

Anyong,

after having this delicious sweet Yubuchobab Dawoon and me went to Gamcheon CUltural Village. I guess it was the last "tourist attraction" I didn't see in Busan.

Now I have seen everything... maybe Dawoon has some more food to surprise me with, but I think I am saturated with places kkkk

We took  the bus and went directly to the entrance (after changing to taxi hahaha). Arriving there we had a wonderful sight from one of the top spots of Busan. 

I think the cultural village could be called art village haha there were more sculptures and pictures than in the museum of modern art...

유부초밥 (Jubuchobab) - Dawoon made my day, thanks to this food!

Anyong,

even 1.25 years after living in Korea Dawoon introduces me to new food. This time we met in Nampo in order to go to the Cultural Village. But before we had to get a recharge... We have been out on friday night, so on saturday we had to get new strength to explore more of Busan. 

We went to the closest store to have some 김밥 (Gimbab) but we found something much more interesting. 

Career aka Construction

Anyong,

on friday I slept a little bit longer and started the day very comfy. I took a long shower, I did my laundry, I cleaned up my half of the room and got rid of the trash.

During the time I had to wait for the washing machine I had a wonderful breakfast with a huge sandwich.

While hanging my laundry I saw some construction worker I guess taking a break on top of their construction.

A new week - A new dinner with Natasha!

Anyong,

during the last few weeks it became kind of a ritual, that Natasha and me met during weekdays for dinner. Almost once a week we had different kinds of delicious food!

CU - Family Mart Action!

Anyong,

I guess it is time for a post about normal stuff in Korea, what is kind of special for us in europe. 

The korean "Spätis" have other priorities than the german ones. The german "Spätis" highest priority is to sell alcohol to the people during the night. The korean ones are kind of a snack bar. They have everything you need to prepare a really gluten-packed meal! 

Gwangalli like it is supposed to be!

Anyong!

Like I told you before I cosy weekend was not over with DVD Room and dinner.... We also went to Gwangalli in order to show Claudio the beauty of the beach in Korea. 

Actually I just knew Gwangalli, Songdo and Haeundae as Korean beaches. Last week when I met for Kimjang with Seong I saw a beach, which looks like the german coast in the north.... I think Ill visit there again in maybe 1 or 2 weeks. 

Anyway, after getting a lot of rest I met with Claudio for sunset. 

It was incredible. Everytime I go to Gwangalli there is a different mood int he air... this time (like at christmas 2011 with John) it was a very romantic touch kkkkk

Claudio and Dawoon - SuperNurseTeam!

Anyong,

This weekend I have been sick. I caught a bad cold which affected mostly my throat and caused a bad pain in there. Anyway, on friday I was able to rest the whole day and then on Saturday Dawoon took me in the early morning to the hospital near my university. Thank you so much my bro!!

He was a little bit confused how nobody was able to speak english in the hospital, but I guess that was just random, because during my year in Busan I remember, there was a really nice doctor with high english speaking abilities. 

But even after getting a bunch of medicine I had to rest this weekend a little. The medicine you get here makes you kind of high... You feel better approximately 30 min after taking, as if you never had anything.

And yes, this time Supermen needed help!

김장 Kimjang celebration day with Seong Yong!

Aynong,

in these days koreans all over the country prepare their kimchi resources or the winter time.  They prepare seriously a lot of Kimchi!

Robert and Haeyoung always want to prepare Kimchi at John's and my home, because it is supposed to be a little bit smelly (because of all the spices).

On sunday I asked Seong when they will prepare... actually they did today, and I was able to join him and his family. 

So I worshiped Kimchi today!

I took the subway really early (too early kkk) to go to the very south west of Busan. His family's restaurant is located in Dadaepo, so kind of far away from my dormitory.

When we arrived I realized that there will be so much Kimchi to prepare kkk There were tons!!!

Eggs, eggs, eggs and more eggs....

Anyong,

last sunday night I guess it was Eggs-eve.... and I was the only person who didn't know.... maybe Ratchel didn't know either.... she was kind of addled too 

Actually we asked Hoon to bring us to some place, and he acted like he didn't know where to go, I guess it was their plan to distract us before getting us all confused to the Egg - Place kkkk

When we entered it was like a normal korean restaurant, but once at the table they told us about the restaurants special...

Hoon just told us, very proud, pointing on the bowl of eggs..... UNLIMITED!

LEGO adventure - Best coffee shop for men!

Anyong,

most of the coffee shops in Korea are really cute, and girls really love it! But on saturday I visited a coffee shop with Dawoon.... it was just like "made for boys"... not men actually kkk 

Of course it has been cute, but in a really manly way kkkk 

It was a LEGO coffee shop. We just saw the giant LEGO Minifigure in the shop window and were mesmerized! 

Bexco - Gwangalli beach

Anyong,

on friday I went with Binod and Nitya to Bexco for some algae presentation stuff. It was kind of fun, but of course not real fun kkkk

Afterwards we separated and in the afternoon I wanted to check out the beach at Gwangalli, because it was a really sunny day. 

Outdoor Kitchen - A new BBQ experience!

Anyong,

on saturday night I met as usual Dawoon and Chaewoon kkkk

We met at PNU to have a special BBQ this time!

The place was called outdoor kitchen! What can I say... It has been an outdoor kitchen. We were able to choose our table inside or outside in a tent. They wanted to gave us the whole camping feeling. Even the seats were camping seats. Kind of uncomfortable kkkk

Songdo Beach lampion Festival - So cute!

Anyong,

after hosting Elisa and Claudio I was seriously exhausted for the week. I have been to bed every night at 11pm and I just went to the gym after laboratory, chilled for 2 or 3 hours and travelled to the land of dreams....

Anyway on friday night I met with Dan to check out the Songdo beach festival. I just got a little nap after lab and then I started all my way down to Nampo-Dong where we met to take the bus to Songdo.

Arriving there we were a little bit disappointed, because we didn't see any lights from the bus station.

But after going down to the beach I was pretty amazed. It was really cute what the people prepared.

Birdy friends - Disappear in every possible direction

Anyong,

after having half of my Berlin friends here in Korea it feels kind of weird to stay here while they are leaving in all directions the sky can offer.

Elisa is back to Berlin and Claudio is traveling around asia.

This week I have been in lab kind of all day long to prepare a lot of experiments and stuff. I liked to be there in some way. Maybe because it distracted me, maybe because this week the lab work was kind of successful. Anyway, the two first nights after being alone I woke up in the morning totally confused with where I was.

I was thinking about my home in germany, about Taiwan and about the Motel room I have been with Claudio on Sunday. Anyway, It was good to have them here and to travel with them Taiwan and Seoul.

Monday night was the last one I saw Claudio... I picked him up at his Busan located home office ...

Secret Garden - Changdeokgung, Seoul

Anyong, 

at our last day in Seoul we decided to visit the "Secret Garden". On the one hand it is close to our guest house and on the other hand Elisa, Claudio and me have never been there. 

Now that it is fall in Korea I have been very excited about the garden. I expected a lot of colors and different kind of trees... And yes, there have been so many trees. Haha

Claudio, Elisa and myself in Seoul, fast forward please!

Anyong,

last thursday Elisa and myself left Taiwan and came back to Korea! We had a very convenient flight with Korean Air back to Seoul. In Seoul a new playmate waited for us! Claudio came over to Asia to say hello!

Of course we had to visit all the tourist attractions in Seoul and all the cool and hip districts in fast forward. It was great to see Claudio again! I don't think, that I have to write any comment to the pics, because I have written a bunch lot of stuff about Seoul like 5 times before kkk Just to share some pics!

Buddha Memorial Center - Thousands of golden Buddhas

Ni hao,

our last day in Taiwan we spent at the Buddha Memorial Center which is located in a small city next to Kaohsiung. We had to take a bus for about an hour from Kaohsiung Central station. During our bus ride we met two germans (Robert and Katrin). So we had some companionship for the buddha area. We were pretty late, because we decided to sleep a little longer. The center closes at 5pm and the last bus back was 5:40pm... We arrived at 3pm... 

 All over the internet and travel guide's they told us, that the area is so super huge.... with a little bit of a hurry you can check everything in 2 hours kkkk

 So, all the buddhas represent a dead monk, there were a lot!

 In the huge Buddha statue are the graves of all the dead monk.

 Even if there were so many dead monks we had a really wonderful evening. The sun was tickling us and we enjoyed a nice sunset. 

 The areal was divided into two different areas. The old and the new one. The new one was kind of impressive. Even the entrance walk was impressive. 

 You see what I mean!

 Buddha is trying to snip the marble kkkk

In the building there was a museum with old artifacts and paintings.

We had a great last culture packed day in Taiwan! Afterwards we took the bus back to the station and then the travel bus to the airport, then the airplane and so on....

Lotus Lake - Enter the Dragon and exit the Tiger!

Ni hao!

after leaving Taichung we arrived in Kaohsiung.  I liked this city much more than our second stop! It was more relaxing and more quiet down there... even if it is the second biggest city of Taiwan. After arriving in our very, seriously very nice hostel we took the subway to the Lotus lake. The walk from the station to the lake was quiet confusing, but after arriving there we were kind of rushed.

There were temples and pagodas and statues everywhere, even a shrine is located at the lake. 

Sun Moon Lake - Kind of Bodensee feeling in Taiwan

Ni hao,

after travelling around Taipeh/Taipei we decided to go south to the center of Taiwan. We took the High Speed Railway to Taichung (it took 1 h) and from there we changed to the tourist shuttle bus to the Sun Moon Lake. 

Taipei 101 - Lets hike to the sky...2nd highest building in the world

Ni hao,

the second day in Taipei took  Elisa and me to the Elephant mountain. At the end of the first day we had some drinks in the drinking location behind the red theatre in the Ximen district. There  we met a german guy with hie taiwanese friends. He was a kind of a recreation of myself. He studied in Taiwan (6 years) like I did in Korea. So we told him where we wanted to go (Taipei 101). He told us to change our plans!

"If you go to the top of the building you will see a big city, nothing special about that. Maybe you should try Elephant mountain..."We thought: Yeah of course, lets do this!!!!

But while walking up the mountain we realized, that we don't have the fastest elevator in the world (like in the building).... nope, we had to walk up the mountain!

But the moment we got up to the top it was worth it!

Kkkk Elisa started some posing with the building....

Cute! You gonna hear me roooooaaaaarr!

Of course, the "Double-Finger-Michael-Approved-Picture-Flip"!

Thinking about our time during university. It has been a really good episode in both of our lives!

I finished posing with the building kkkk like Godzilla!

We even waited till the sunset. The bad thing was... it started to rain while we were waiting... so we had to walk down the mountain during the storm... we were a little wet. But Arriving in the city again we didn't feel cold anymore. It was again just humid...

Beitou Hot Spring 90 °C of pure hotness!

Ni hao,

still on the first day of Taipei we went to the hot spring in the north of the city. We were a little exhausted and of course it was super humid. And yes.... it even started to rain. So water was everywhere!

We had to go to the maybe last station (Xi-Beitou) of the subway. There was even a special subway to the spring. Just one stop kkkkk

Anyway, when we arrived at the station we just followed the crowd to the hot spring. We were kind of confused, because we were still in the middle of the city. With lots of LED lights, Starbucks and so on... But after a little walk we were in the Jungle. 

Konfuzius Temple - Taipei

Ni hao,

second temple in Taipei! Was great, was not really different to the first one, but still Elisa is mesmerized by it's beauty.  

Funny story by the way... One taiwanese man just came over to me and took me on a spiritual journey trough the temple. He just told me what to do at which station. So now I am able to pray in the konfuzius temple! Yeah! After the first round we came back to the first point and I was a little bit afraid, that I had to do another one.... but the start was even the finish line.

Mengjia Longshan-Tempel - Taipeh

Ni hao, 

right now we are still in the Republic of China ROC!

Of course we have to visit a lot of temples! The first one in Taipeh was the Langshan Temple. The weather is quiet good over here. We are in subtropical climate zoneso it is very hot and very humid. Little princess Elisa is not used to such a clime... When we entered the temple Elisa initially got a headache. All the incense sticks the praying people burned were a little bit too much for her. 

Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall - Taipei

Ni hao,

we arrived in the very morning at our guest house, so it has been a very short night for the two of us. After getting up after 4 hours of sleep we took the subway to our first tourist spot. We went to the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall. The impressive monument located in central Taipei has a roof, designed like the temple of Heaven in Bejing (I heard) which is topping a pyramidal body. 

 The large plaza in front of the Hall is flanked by the National theatre and the National Concert hall.

Taipei - Taiwan - First impression

Ni Hao!

First Impression is amazing! But before the adventure started we had to go to Taiwan... long journey...FIrst we took KTX to Seoul and then we had to get to the airport and then take the airplane to Taiwan Taoyuan airport.

 We got the couple seats in the airplane. Even here everybody thinks we are the cute german couple... After getting to the airport at 3pm we had to take a taxi to Taipei city, in the end to or hostel. Little information blast: Fee was about 1200 NT and Hostels are not allowed in Taiwan... Long story....

From spicy chicken to heavenly Makkoli!

Anyong,

in order to show Elisa more of korean culture I have to show her more food I think. The korean food culture and of course the drinking culture are the biggest cultural influences over here. 

I took her to PNU in order to show her another part of Busan. I have to admit all the restaurants I used to know are closed... Everything changes over here.... It is kind of crazy.  

SISTAR - 씨스타 - at DSU!

Anyong,

the day before yesterday there was the University festival at Dongseo University. I didn't think about going there actually.... BUT when my roommate told me that there will be one of these K-Pop girl groups I was a little bit curious. He told me that Sistar would come to our university. It was kind of unbelievable.

But then Elisa found a poster which told us the same. Even my coworker proved the fact, that they will come over to our campus.

Elisa and me went to the festival around 7 pm and then we watched a talent contest where students sang, danced and did other stuff.... of course it was a nice atmosphere and the contestants were really talented. At 9 pm Sistar has been introduced by a huge firework! And the second it has been finished Sistar came to the stage to perform.

Sunday Shopping and Sunday Sightseeing

Anyong,

after sleeping long on Sunday we were a little exhausted from last night. But Elisa is for the first time in SK and so we had to do something!

I took her to Nampo-Dong for some shopping.