Happy Suwon - Hwaseong Fortress

We returned to Happy Suwon - all the city signs refer to the city as Happy Suwon. This trip to Suwon went really well, although you would certainly hope that we should get it right by the third try. The hour spent planning the night before helped a lot, too. Some intense study of the road atlas greatly expedited our arrival into the city. We've become quite the Suwon navigators. The streets hold few surprises, as long as we stay on one of two main roads at least! D managed to take a short nap in the car on the way up, which considerably strengthened his stamina and was quite a trooper throughout our 2.5 hour trek around the fortress wall. He was the star of the show as groups of school-girls, grand-parents, and generally everyone stopped to say hello and remark on his mode of travel. He thoroughly enjoyed the backpack which makes for a much happier walk for everyone.

About 30 minutes into the hike we had a great view of a building at the crest of a hill, rather far across the city. "We're definitely not walking around that hill" or something along those lines was the comment. It would be a different story in another hour or so. The fortress was built in 1794 and was pretty well mantained. There were different command posts, watch towers, and sentry posts to explore. Halfway around the fortress, we found ourselves climbing seemingly endless stairs to the top of the hill. No going around the hill for us when we could climb over!

Fortunately, once we got to the top it was all downhill from there with magnificent views of the city. We just missed the peak of the cherry blossom season, but the rest of the flowers were starting to bloom. Within a few weeks the walk will be even more colorful. Soon we arrived back near the car and right in front of Yeonpo galbi beef restaurant, all just in time for lunch. Almost like we planned it that way! Amazing how a little forethought makes a difference.

We had quite the spread of sidedishes and twice the beef ribs we needed (we enjoyed that stop at the Paris Baguette, but it impacted our lunch more than anticipated). The food was good, but not quite the spectacular ribs we were expecting after our previous galbi beef experience in Suwon. David did ok at lunch, but soon became rather cacophonous and it was time to leave. Unfortunately his spoon didn't get the message as we were in a hurry. The next guests who sit at our table can enjoy a purple rubber covered spoon for their kimchi. Overall, we had a great 2 and a half hour walk on a beautiful spring day. We finally had a day to ourselves without any interruptions.