falling in love with busan in 17 hours

Due to the short term notice nature of my trip to Japan I had to keep flight prices in mind (since it was also Easter Weekend and on top of that prime Cherry Blossom season) so I ended up booking a trip over Korean Air with a 17 hour layover in Busan on the first leg of my trip.

 

 

Busan is South Korea’s second most populous city after Seoul and is nestled between mountains and the sea on the southern-most tip of Korea.

 

I had been to Korea before in 2012 to Seoul but never Busan and welcomed this short stopover as a good opportunity to get a glimpse of this city. After some issues with public transportation (due to late arrival at Gimhae Airport and lack of Korean language skills) I arrived at my couchsurfing host for the night. Luckily, Koreans are some of the most friendly and helpful people I have ever met, so I managed to get to my host just after midnight. He lives in a cute little apartment right next to the beach with stunning views of the beach and the towering high rises along the coast (see picture above). 

 

The next morning I set out to explore the area by the beach and head down to a street supposedly lined with cherry blossom trees. The weather wasn’t too great but I enjoyed the walk on the beach, people playing with their puppies and jogging along the shore. After a delicious pastry from a cute bakery on the way I took a stroll through the streets lined with cherry blossom trees. Magnificent!

 

 

Since my flight was at 4pm in the afternoon I decided to collect my things and make my way to another area of Busan, Gamcheon Culture Village. It was again a bit of a challenge to get there, but once again the people of Busan were so helpful and friendly (someone even paid for my bus fare as I didn’t have any change and only large bills!) so I managed to get there in the end. You have to take a tiny little bus that takes you up the winding little streets up to the “village”, which is famous for it’s colorful houses nestled close to each other on the mountain. They even call it the “Favelas” of Korea!

 

 

I was lucky that the sun came out for a bit while I was there but unfortunately I didn’t have a lot of time to explore the little alleys due to my tight schedule… so I hailed a cab and headed back to the airport, where I tried some seafood noodles that proved that I have no tolerance towards spiciness…

 

 

I am really glad I had the opportunity to combine two places in one trip – and one thing is for sure: This wasn’t my last time in Busan… :)

xxx
Ines

These nights never seem to go to plan

First off I want to show you some touristy shots of Madame Liberty and Manhattan during sunset! Seeing the statue of liberty was high up there on my to-do list – but I was surprised how small it is! From the shots on TV I thought it would be huge! Of course it’s still big (Just the nose is 4 feet long) but not as big as I expected.

Did you know you can skip the overpriced boats and get on the Staten Island ferry FOR FREE? It will take you past this lovely lady and after a bit of waiting back to Manhattan. ;)

xxx

 

Moved into heaven

Well hello there!

I don’t actually know where to begin! It’s been a couple of wonderful weeks in NY and I am actually in LA now! Turns out I am going to be here the second month so it’s all pretty awesome. Haven’t decided which city is better yet… but I have TONS of pictures!

 

First of all I just have to show you the apartment in NY… it’s just incredible…

 

I will probably never have the chance to live in a place like this again – because, you know, I’m not rich and all. But hey who knows… maybe one day! :P

 

The view is just unbelievable. It’s on the 29th floor and there is a sweet rooftop on the 41st and a gym and pool in the basement. I have died and gone into heaven!

 

I’ll be posting some awesome rooftop shots soon. :)

 

Sunday Update #1

Thought I’d start doing a little weekly update on life and what is happening and what day would be more suitable than Sunday? (Of course I know that this is not a new idea but it’s not like I could care less.)

So it’s the first Sunday of the year and I just drove my sis to the rail station to catch her train back to Vienna. In two days I will be leaving for Beijing again and it felt like these couple of weeks went in a blink of an eye. I managed to see all my best friends, spend a lot of time with my family and even sneaked in some nice little shopping (Primark hehe) but I always feel a certain melancholy when I pack my bags and leave for another place. When I am in Germany I don’t want to leave, when I am in London I want to stay and I never want to say goodbye to Beijing. I am still waiting desperately for a teleport so that I can finally be at all the places and with all the people I love…

I am starting my new job in a couple of days which is very exiting (I did work there for a trial period of a week already to see if it suits me) and I am looking forward to a couple of interesting projects. Of course I am also missing my friends in Beijing and can’t wait to see them again.

Unfortunately a new job always means that you have fewer holidays and it might be a while until I am back home again. Thinking about the future always troubles me a little because I didn’t really choose the easiest path and there are always sticks and stones in the way that you have to get past in order to achieve your goals. But I guess it will all be worth it in the end and there are so many great things that are happening on the way so stick to your dreams and make it happen. 2014 is going to be a great year.

2014 is going to be my year.

What I did this week:

• Saw -  Doctor’s Diary – An awesome German TV series from a couple of years back
• Listened -  Lorde - Royals
• Learned -   a bit about HTML/Design, a little bit Chinese vocab
• Ate – Sushi, sushi, sushi.
• Read -  HTML/Web hosting/design tutorials
• Drank -  All the (non alcoholic) leftovers from NYE
• Thought -  Why do so many things go wrong when you really need them to work
• Wished -  to be at home for one more week
• Bought -  a couple of bits and pieces from the sale + Primark craziness