Just Because...

360 Degrees...

Pulled a Green Tortuga today. Spent 4 hours accomplishing something I've wanted to do ever since visiting Seoul a couple of years ago (not for the first time but for the first time AS A TOURIST!). :) I kept waking up to see Namsan Mountain with Seoul Tower looming overhead and just had to explore it.

We decided to circumnavigate Namsan Mountain!

The entire mountain!

Just because!

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Before today we'd been about 45% around it in a clockwise direction and 35% percent around it heading counterclockwise. Today, we were going to go for broke and do all 360 degrees of it in one outing!

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We started our journey from the apartment and headed through the Huam Market and up the hill toward the Northwest corner of the 'edge' of the mountain. We staked out our section of the sidewalk in this massively populated megalopolis whose residents are known for their dedication to healthy living and daily exercise (especially on weekends!) and started in a clockwise direction.

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We followed the massive wall (in some spots it's about 10m high!!!) that edges the park of Namsan Mountain to the North. The mountain is very steep and its 'green' areas have been fenced and cordoned off to the public for safety reasons and to discourage folks from foraging in through the shrubbery (I presume to reduce the chance of the hillside eroding during the monsoon season that hits each summer). During the Korean War from 1950-1953 virtually every tree in the country was destroyed either from the intense artillery/fighting that occurred or because starving/freezing residents resorted to using all of the trees around the countryside to heat their homes or to use for cooking. Ever since the Armistice, South Korea has dedicated massive amounts of resources into revegetating the country and improving its greenspaces--especially in the more urban areas. Namsan is one of those areas they're trying to revive.

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We wandered past multiple staircases that lead straight up to the summit of Namsan Mountain which is where the famous Seoul Tower is located. There exist about 12 different trails or 'monster' staircases from all sides of the mountain that would lead one up to the summit. The stairs seem to go straight up and last about a half mile. Great workout but going up and over the mountain wasn't our objective today--we were going 'around' the mountain--no short cuts allowed!!! We forego these stairs and opt to remain on the surface street that circumnavigates (with some creative interpretation in those spots where the streets/sidewalks fade away into oblivion) the entire mountain.

We soon reach the Rope Car station where tourists can hop on a rope car (cable car) and shuttle their ways up to the summit with relative ease. Not for us today. We opt for the tortuous workout instead. Quickly we find we must fend for our lives and cross the street in front of the rope car station because the sidewalk on that side of the street ended. Any time you must cross a street in Korea you're putting your life at risk--drivers around here don't really have a reputation for stopping at red lights (or stop signs for that matter)--so when you see the 'green pedestrian' figure lightup at a crosswalk--you take in a couple of deep breaths, clear your vision in both directions a couple of times, stick your toe out in the street, look again and then dare to cross--and you sprint when you think it's clear! Always a scary proposition!!!

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Once past the rope car, we see signs for the Textile and Quilt Museum; something I'd thought about visiting on a previous visit knowing that Korea is so famous for its textile industries. We follow the arrows pointing to the museum that says it's only 100m away and soon find ourselves at the Chinese Embassy instead. Huh? There's a giant building under construction across the street from the Embassy and we presume that IS/WAS/WILL BE the Textile & Quilt Museum--so we decide to bypass the museum for the day (& probably the entire trip because it doesn't look like it'll be finished before we return to the US). We make our way back to the 'sidewalk' and soon find ourselves in the midst of the 'Cartoon Industry' section of town. Who knew? We snap some photos with cartoon characters that look familiar to us but we aren't quite able to spout off their names. We just recognize them as figures that appear when we channel surf on the Korean cable television channels. One sort of reminds me of a 'transformer' toy, another looks like a Disney character or a Lladro statuette. There are a bunch of others little characters that are seated at benches, under arbors, in front of buildings, you name it.

We soon run out of sidewalk and any view of the mountain and must take a leap of faith as we wander through what appears to be a heavily fortified parking lot of some sort of government facility. We later learn it's the fire department & emergency services headquarters for all of Seoul. Our leap of faith pays off and we quickly find ourselves in a beautiful lush green park area that appears to be something for 'international youth'? I wonder if it was built for the 88 Olympics? We also see a sign for International Youth Hostel (BINGO!!! for any future visits to Seoul we might plan when we'll be apartment-less in the city). We wander our way up through the trails (that we have entirely to ourselves now--definitely a rarity in Seoul) and notice more Namsan Mountain green further up the slope. Thankfully, we're on the right path! The trails soon lead us to a running/walking lane on Namsan Mountain and we quickly find the hordes and hordes of Seoulites who are out for their exercise. There even seems to be a marathon going on!

Not only is it a beautiful Spring day but the cherry trees are in full bloom and everybody is out enjoying them. We quickly learn that catching the windswept cherry blossoms in your hand is good luck and set out to catch them for the remainder of the walk. Over the course of our 4-hour outing I think I caught 3 in my hand and about a dozen in my 'chaotic' hair. rnrB's a quick learner and is able to catch them effortlessly. I think she caught at least a dozen of them!

Further around our 'ring' we spy some blue roofing tiles through the trees about 50 m straight-down below us. We realize that this is Namsan Gol or the Korean Village that has been created to show tourists what traditional Korean villages looked like before the appearance of the skyscrapers and subway systems. It's a venue that we had previously visited and it immediately brought back fine memories of that visit.

We continue walking and are almost 50% around the mountain now. We're looking for a couple of landmarks along the way that will help us keep tabs on our progress. The first is the Hotel Shilla (one of those 5 star hotels) and the second is the Hyatt (another one of those luxury hotels in town). Thankfully, we soon see the Shilla and realize we're over halfway finished. Our next goal is to see the Hyatt. Once that appears in our sights then we'll wander off our route for a bit and explore the meticulously maintained paths of the gorgeous arboretum that's downslope from the walking/running path.

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We arrive at the arboretum to a hustling park full of visitors dressed in the traditional Hanbok formal wear. Absolutely gorgeous! The cherry trees are blooming as far as the eye can see. Magnolia trees in whites, pinks and purples are putting on an incredibly display. There are blazing yellow Forsythia everywhere and deep purple and red Azaleas blooming at the bases of the large trees. We also notice that the lacy leaves on the Japanese maple trees and vines are just peeking out now. All of these gorgeous flower colors are intensified with the backdrop of deep evergreens from the pine, yews and redwood trees that seem to permeate throughout the hillside. Gorgeous sights and incredibly fresh spring aromas waft in the breeze. We see many more Magpies, gorgeously colorful pigeons, a pheasant flying in the air and a tiny black and white bunny (which we learn is pronounced 'tookie' in Korean) munching on the new growth of English boxwood bushes that edge the paths.

The children quickly find the 'barefoot park' and navigate the 'obstacles'. I opt to keep my boots on thanks to my still-lingering Achilles tendon injury but still negotiate the course. We wander over footbridges, through wildflower gardens and around old wagons and kimchi pots. It's a delightful setting and the weather couldn't be any better.

We cover the entire walking paths of the Arboretum and then return to our goal of circumnavigating the mountain. We climb back up the slope to return to the path and then dip down into dry creek beds, exercise stations, water 'dipping' stations and other 'unique' venues that the city has developed on Namsan Mountain.

The children find yet another boulder to climb upon and demand we snap a photo of it.

At this point we're about 90% finished and we see a few more beautiful views of Seoul Tower. The sun is now shining on the tower from this angle and illuminating the gorgeous colors of the blossoms quite spectacularly--making perfect frames for pictures of the tower.

I can't resist snapping more photos of the tower. It seems with each 'turn' in our walk I see a more beautiful angle of the mountain and the tower. This is our last 'vista' of the Tower before we complete our 360 degrees around the mountain. It took us 4-hours to accomplish and who knows how much 'distance'? We kept a pretty decent pace so it was probably around 8 miles or so? Not bad for an afternoon stroll. We learned several new things about the region (cartoon headquarters & museum?) and even found the Youth Hostel in town. It's in a great location that is quite central to the 'hip' things to do in the city.

Finally, our walk had to come to an end. What goes up must come down! Here's rnrB negotiating the super-steep staircase on the way down Namsan Mountain to the little village of Huam. The stairs you see in the picture are only 'half' of this staircase. There's a 2 m landing in the middle and the incline is so steep that the first set of stairs hides the second 'upper' set from view. Crazy, isn't it? We find that any outing in Seoul involves stairs. Lots & lots of stairs! We're also starting to wonder if the stairstepper Nautilus machine was invented in Korea? Couldn't imagine where they got the idea from...

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All in all our circumnavigation of Namsan Mountain turns out to be a great selection for Saturday afternoon. It was a perfect way to enjoy the cherry blossoms and a great opportunity for some exercise--not bad, eh?