Springtime exploring

The weather has really warmed here, and as you can see from the photo, it's finally nice enough to enjoy the amusement park near our home. The kids tried the water ride (they didn't get too wet) and the bumper cars. Smiles all around!

Another fun ride we had this week was on the new bikes. Barry has taken a lot of time to get us two bikes to cruise around the city on. He bought one for George and I (we are now the same height) then decided if Barry was to ride with George, George should have a more efficient bike to make it easier to keep up. So, below, you can see The Red Fox - aptly named for George. Barry is still on the lookout for a bigger and better bike for himself.

I know he doesn't look happy, but he does seem to enjoy himself while riding. I think he especially liked touring me around yesterday to a place I hadn't been. He was in charge and kindly reminded me many times to stay back and just follow him. 

On Saturday morning we impulsively decided to hop a train to a city north east of Seoul. The ride took about an hour and a half, and thanks to the good infrastructure and cheap pricing here, the ride cost all of $2.50 per person. So cheap! Anyway, we had a pleasant ride through the countryside. It's the first time our kids have seen anything but urban life here. They were finally able to gaze out the windows and see the mountains, smaller cities, medium size town, and the odd old village that made you feel like you were going through a time warp. This area was mostly destroyed in the Korean War, so there aren't many old buildings to admire. 

Speaking of the war, I was proud to walk by a memorial and see the Canadian flag flying amongst many other nations' flags. Canada fought hard and lost many here.

Because we didn't plan ahead much for the day trip, it turned out we should have gotten off the train about 10k south of town where the sites we read about were, instead of the main part of the city. We knew something was up when most of the hikers and tourists got off the train earlier than we expected. So we missed some the main attractions, but we still enjoyed seeing another city and getting out for a walk along the river that seems flooded with spring mountain runoff. 

We stopped at a restaurant to have the region's specialty - Dukgalbi - chicken, rice cakes, turnip, cabbage, lettuce, sesame seeds, etc, all fried up in a large pan right on the table. The lady who served us was lovely, which always make an experience more pleasant. The kids were brave and tried the strange looking concoction, and discovered they actually like it! Whew, we were starting to wonder if Molly would like any food here. She's usually our adventurous eater, but like me, she hates fatty meat and she really hates the look of the eels and fish in the tanks outside the restaurants trying to lure customers in for something fresh. Finding her favourite Korean food may take a while.

Notice that some of the chicken still has skin...not my favourite.

You can pick your food right out of the pan or wrap it in a fresh lettuce leaf for a bite-sized tasty treat. 

Now, I have tried hard not to shove my camera in people's faces, but I had to sneak a photo on the train of these hikers on Saturday morning. This is the standard hiking uniform: sun hat, plaid shirt, fleece sweater, jacket, multi-pocketed stretchy hiking pants, hiking shoes and a backpack full of food and essentials. Hiking poles seem optional. At the train station, there were hundreds, if not thousands of people dressed just like this for their weekend outing. Despite my gentle mocking of the colourful uniform everyone seems to wear, I love how Koreans get out and explore. Exercise is very important to them. Even these exercise machines are everywhere in the city, including many sets in our park. I use them all the time.

I'd tell you more about he week, but Barry is waiting for me to go for a bike ride...