Sunday, April 28, 2013

Love Up High: Namsan Tower

Today I am going to share a little pre-anniversary lunch that my husband, Rich, took me on just last week. We have been happily married for almost 2 years now, and this year we have been pre-gaming our own anniversary just because! Namsan tower was the perfect place to kick this off because it is seen as a romantic "island" for couples in the city. Namsan tower is such a great fixture and sometimes when we are lost we can figure out which way to go by locating the tower and working from there. I almost think of it like the Eiffel tower or the Seattle Space Needle.

I have to confess that even though we have been living in Seoul for over a year, we had yet to go to Namsan tower. However, we remedied our folly when Rich took me to Namsan tower for a fun and sweet lunch high above Seoul.

The start of our wait for the cable car the line then went inside the building and up 2 floors before we reached the end.
We decided to do the whole she-bang and take the cable car up to the tower, and while it was super fun the wait was not. We were in line for a whopping hour for the cable car and every time we rounded a corner we thought we were at the end...but, wha,wha,wha, it was just the start of another line. We didn't mind being in line together and made the best of it, but if you decide to take the cable car be prepared to wait!
A hazy, but beautiful view from the observatory level.
One thing I love about living in South Korea is the drama around everything and even the elevator up to the top was an event with the top of the elevator turning into a mini movie-theater that showed us zipping around the universe at lightening speed. Rich and I wandered around the observatory and had a blast figuring out where our apartment was, which we were actually able to find! It was fun to enjoy the view and just relax so far above the busy streets of Seoul.
The whole tower was really sweet with the highest mailbox in the city that you could send a letter from, and there was even a wishing well that you could toss heart shaped coins in for good luck. Here are a few shots of us playing around at the wishing well, where Rich had his coin come back to him 3 times! We were definitely a source of amusement and I cheered Rich on until he managed to make sure that his coin STAYED in the well.
To say that we had a yummy meal is an understatement! WE HAD A FANTASTIC MEAL! And just to let you know....pretty much all the food in Korea is delicious, and our meal at Hancook is definitely in our top 5 meals since moving to Korea. I could have taken endless photos of our lunch, but I forgot all about pictures when I tasted it.
Something funny that happened was that while we were eating at the restaurant I went to fix myself a cup of tea and mistook the beer tap for a hot water tap. I ended up with beer tea, whoops.
Beer Tea.
On the way out from the tower we stopped by the famous love locks that adorn the tower fences and there are even love lock trees that have sprung up alongside the building. We didn't bring our own lock so we decided that we would wait till our next visit to bring a very special lock that we make together to put up. If you don't have your own love lock you can purchase one for around 7,000 won at the gift shop, and it comes complete with markers and a key for you to make your own.

Our visit to Namsan Tower was wonderful and we are already making plans to head back when summer is in full swing. We can't wait to wander up the mountain and watch the lights of the tower on our next visit and I hope that if you find yourself in Seoul, you make sure to visit the tower and enjoy yourself!

            Here is a little link that has all the information you need to get to and enjoy Namsan Tower!

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