To ring in the new year we headed to the top of Seoul-Seoul Tower on Mt. Namsan. The day was unfortunately overcast and snowy which made for less than optimal views, but it was lovely nonetheless.

The snowy view from our hotel room

We took the subway to the other side of town, and then after a short walk through a middle class neighborhood, caught the cable car to take us to the base of the tower. I joked that the only form of transportation we didn’t use on this trip was boat!

Going up the mountain by cable car.

At the top of the mountain was a park with ancient signal fire stoves used for conveying messages before the days of twitter. The tower itself was originally a television signal tower but now houses several restaurants, a teddy bear museum, and an observation deck.

Signal fire stove.

The view from the tower really drove home how big Seoul was. We were also thrilled to see Mongolia acknowledged.

After getting our fill of the “high life,” we took the cable car down the hill and went to check out the Myeong-dong shopping district. Filled with upscale and cutesy stores it also was home to street stalls selling giant dried octopuses and curly fries made out of entire potatoes. We had lunch in a Japanese restaurant which was so good I had to take a picture of it.

A wonderful statue hidden behind a department store.

Wandering without a plan took us past the Myeongdong Catholic Cathedral built in 1898, the Seoul City Hall, and Deoksugung Palace, which is the smallest palace in Seoul.

Myeongdong Cathedral

City Hall

Deoksugung Palace. A restful interlude in the middle of the city.

We warmed up with some hot coffee and Dunkin donuts (sweet potato is my favorite) and then headed back to the hotel for one more night of pizza and corny movies on television. Korea you are great and we can’t wait to visit again.