Seoul – Korea

We flew to Seoul for a few days, and I admit that we are experiencing and doing so much here that I haven't had time to write blog posts and will need to catch up on the reports from China and Germany later. After we completed the visa application for my wife (Chinese citizens need a tourist visa, Germans do not) in Beijing right after arriving in China three weeks ago, we are ready to explore the capital of South Korea. From the airport in Tianjin, which is only two and a half hours of travel time by city bus to Cangzhou, train, and metro in Tianjin from our apartment, we fly to Seoul-Incheon in just about one and a half hours. It’s just a stone's throw over the Yellow Sea. We have time and are saving money, so we take the slow train from Cangzhou to Tianjin, allowing me to visit the newly renovated train station in the city center of Cangzhou. At the airport in Tianjin, the absolute friendliness of the Koreans is already evident with Korean Air. The service mentality has found its perfection here. Even though we initially have problems registering in the Tmoney app for using all public transport in the Seoul metropolitan area upon arrival at Seoul airport, luckily I have a total of 4 free internationally optimized credit cards for such cases, so it's quick to the city area of Seoul via metro. Tip: take the slow metro instead of the express train, as it is significantly cheaper and only marginally slower. The elevator in the hotel works and the room door opens with a code, so no plastic card or key is needed. We take a stroll around the hotel and stop by a small Korean eatery. There is so little space, it feels like being invited to a meal at the cook's home. We eat 비빔밥, which is Bibimbap, a typical Korean dish. Very delicious. After that, we marvel at the light and music show at Dongdaemun Design Plaza. Upon returning to the hotel, I completely rearrange our plans for the next three days because rain is forecast for the last day, so I move most of the museum visits to that day and advance other visits. I’m curious to see if the plan still works out. The days are jam-packed with sightseeing. By the way, we are back to the time constraint for blog writing.