Fortresses & Palaces

Due to weather and the cold Keith has had for the past 2 weeks we chose to not go climbing this weekend:( Despite how much I hate to admit it- rock climbing season is over and winter has settled in. Instead, we took the weekend to visit Suwon Fortress and Gyeongbokgung and Cheongdokgung Palaces. The views from Suwon Fortress capture the intricate combination of old and new found all over Korea. We had fun walking around the 5km wall that encircled the city in years past. Now Suwon extends far beyond this boundary and the wall serves as a mere memory of the past.
Gyeongbokgung and Cheongdokgung are both palaces found in the city of Seoul. They were both beautiful and it was interesting to learn about Korea's past through exploring the palace grounds. Both have views of Bukhansan National Park to the north while high rises and the numerous large buildings of Seoul are visible to the South. While in Cheongdokgung we were able to enter the infamous "secret garden" that I long to see in the spring when flowers are in bloom and the trees have leaves. Within the garden we were able to view a 750 year old Chinese Juniper tree! It was beautiful. For those of you planning to visit us in Korea- add these palaces to your list of destinations!