Impressions of Seoul
September 2008
We started our day at Namdeamun market...
...with these yummy pancakes for breakfast, made of rice dough and filled with sweet dried bean powder.
Making "kimchi", the ubiquitous fermented vegetable (most typically cole) dish spiced with garlic and...
...a dried chili mixture.
We went on to Gyeongbok palace; originally built by the founder of the Joseun dynasty, it was burned down in the late 1500s and only rebuilt in the 1860s, thereby completely ruining the state finances. The luxury didn't last for long - the palace was destroyed again during Japanese colonial rule in the early 1900s, but has now been largely reconstructed.
Strolling through the main street of lively Insadong in the rain on Saturday...
...and in the sun on Sunday.
Street stalls were selling freshly made Korean rice cakes based on a dough made of steamed rice, "beaten into submission" with a heavy hammer.
Our culinary highlight: the meat we had for Korean barbecue was extremely tender and tasty (you can guess from the the intense colour).
In the streets of Myeongdong, a young and trendy shopping area, we stumbled into a delicious "jjimdak" place...
...were we had fun cutting the endlessly long glass noodles with a pair of scissors (probably the only chance to handle them!).
Finally a few impressions from the vicinity of our hotel, which had a little temple in the garden...
...and a surprising view of the nearby mountains from the window - the one to the front is even within the city area.
