Sunday, August 23, 2009

Best of Photos...











































































The Highlights

Through out our trip I was kicking around several ideas as to how to tell you all about our wonderful vacation. Hopefully I've come up with a way that is fun and easy for you all to read and entertaining at the very least.


Numbers of our trip:


# of Cities visited 6 cities (Munich, Rupholding, Salzburg, Cesky Krumlov, Cesky Budejovice, Prague) (Left: Munich Frauenkirche Church)


# of Towers Climbed 2 (St. Peter's Tower, Munich; Tower in Cesky Krumlov)

# of Castles Seen 4

# of Castles went into 0


# of Beers Drank 4 beers a day x 2 people= 8 beers a day mininum
8 beers a day x 14 days= 132 beers
Round up to 150 beers for days when we drank extra
# of Hangovers NONE!!!





# of Pigs Eaten Maybe 5 whole pigs

# of Pig's Knees Eaten 2














# of Falls by Jen 2 (once down the steps at the Mirabell Gardens in Salzburg; once out of the canoe in the Vitana River in Czech Republic. Take a look at my bruise after the fall).

Best Of:
Best place we stayed: Rupholding. The owner spoke no English and made her grandson and guests who spoke English translate for her. Still the best place though because the room was huge and cheap.
Best Breakfast: Na Ostrove Pension in Cesky Krumlov; the only place that served eggs for breakfast.
Best Meal: Indian food in Prague for me; Pig's Knee for Ed

Best Beer Service: I think the place was called Zlateno Tygra. They never let your beer glass empty, and not in Lonely Planet.

Best Beer: Me: 1543 Weiss Beer from Rosenheim, Germany
Ed: Kozel Dunkel Beer, Czech Republic








Best View: Rupholding, Rauschberg Mountain

Best Place to Meet Koreans: Cesky Krumlov

Others:

Hardest Activity: 20 km bike ride around Bavaria. We were both sore for about five days after.

Scariest Thing: Me: Gondola Ride up Rauschberg Mountain. We had to walk down the mountain or risk me peeing my pants if I had to get back on that thing.

Wildlife Seen: Bavarian Cows, Bavarian Sheep, Cesky Krumlov Castle Bears (not really wild life though)

Tourists Mistakes: Buying First Class German Railway ticket, then having first class be full; exchanging money at Western Union in Prague (stupid girl gave us a really bad rate); Ed loosing his tram ticket in Prague and getting caught by tram ticket security (we had to pay 700 krona about 50 bucks).


Most Surprising: How many Koreans we saw in EVERY city we went to.


Overall, we went, we saw, we drank, and we ate. It was a fabulous trip filled with fun moments, great food, wonderful beer (that left us with noooo hangovers!!). We met some great people and had a wonderful time!

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Oh Korea



Well, I was going to write a top 20 list or something to mark this fabulous anniversary, but my friend Dave wrote this poem on his blog post as a going away memoir. For the moment, I think it does just fine as to explain how I (and Ed) feel about Korea!


Ode To Korea-(From a Waygook's Perspective..)

By David Peterson


To Korea! The Land of the Morning Calm.

(But the blame might lie in the last Soju bomb...)


To Korea! They say "Woori Nara (our country)" and put the 'we' first.

(However with shopping, traffic, and in lines it becomes ME first...)




To Korea! Where Kimchi is eaten morning, noon, and night.

(But not in the wee hours when your colon starts its fight...)


To Korea! Our dearest Yeosu, City of Flowers, Sea and Light.

(But never forget to be careful- the zombies come out at night...)


To Korea! Where hiking lush mountains can inspire raw power.

(Just ignore the men in the business suits and the occasional cell tower...)


To Korea! Where eating live squid is considered appealing.

(And dog too!! Shhhh- animal's don't have feelings...)


To Korea! Where Jimjilbangs allow people to be comfortable in their skin.

(The beach is a different story; only the fully clothed may swim...)




To Korea! Of Swine Flu, Crazy Cow and Fan Death the people have learned.

(As for the Nuclear Neighbor to the North-not too concerned...)


To Korea! The President, Lee Myung Bak might be too pushy.

(Now you have your own version of George W. Bush-ee...)


To Korea! The people bow and use two hands to be polite.

(But Dong-Chims to me just don't seem right...)


To Korea! Corporations like Hyundai work with amazing precision.

(In reality, we all know that Kai-Bi-Bo makes all the decisions...)


To Korea! Where after a year, a piece of my heart will say.

(For this one I'm afraid I have nothing funny to say...)

Well to me, that's a pretty nice poem about Korea and what it can be all about. Just click on the links for the references (so that you can fully understand the humor of this poem). Oh and for those of you who are intrigued by this Dong Chim thing (or poo-needle as it is roughly translated into here) you can play this wicked awesome online game!!

And We're Back!

We are back in Yeosu, Korea! Surprisingly, Ed and I noticed that we landed in Korea on the same day that we landed last year, the 18th. So not only does this post mark our end to our European Vacation, but also our official One Year Anniversary in Korea.

Of course I have much more to write about both, but both will have to wait as Ed and I are editing pictures on the computer.

Do not worry though, full break-down will happen soon!