Overlooking Busan

Saturday's are a lot of fun.  I teach class and I hang out with friends.  The Saturday after Nicole and I experimented with hiking and successfully found the Temple by the Sea we decided we would go hiking again.  I mean the hike was the best part the week before so why not do that again.  This time Monique and Sharon joined us and we planned to hike up the mountain behind my house that overlooked Seomyeon.

All I knew about this hike was from a map that was left for me from previous residents.  It showed the buildings in my neighborhood and behind building 313 it said something like "beginning of the trail up the mountain.  Do it!  It's beautiful."  There was indeed a trail right behind 313.  A few more directions would have been nice because there were 2 points where we had to decide which direction to go and the maps that were all in Korean were not helpful for us at all.  There was also a point with a beautiful view in which the trail just seemed to go over and around to another peak beside us and not necessarily the top.  We choose to keep hiking.  Monique and I almost decided to turn around shortly thereafter when we honestly could not see a point that we were hiking too and the trailed just seemed to be going along the side of the mountain and not necessarily up.  However, luckily about that point we saw a platform and people looking out at the view.  At least at this point, we knew there was an end point.  It was getting cold!  The view made it all worth it.  I have an overview tourist map of Busan.  It was awesome to see rivers from that map in real life.  I saw more of Busan in that day than I have seen so far. There was so much to see.  Nicole and I even saw "our buildings."  The waving buildings that you can see in my pictures of the bridge from my trip to Igidae our "our buildings."  We've seen them almost every weekend since that first Saturday spent together.  We also knew we had made it to the top we we found a helicopter pad.  If it wasn't so chilly by the time we reached the top, I would have enjoyed sitting up there and just admiring the view. It was a great hike and wonderful to spend time with friends, outside, and away from large crowds.

Here's some pictures from the amazing hike!

I really like this picture.  I also loved being in a place where I looked up and only saw nature and not buildings.

Buildings, buildings everywhere.  

But still pretty views.  One day I will learn to use my iPhone camera and not have my finger in the corner :)

This is probably halfway up the mountain.  It was gorgeous.

I'm pretty sure that the buildings near the base of the mountain on the right are where I live. 

A closer view of my buildings.

I do live on the coast!

A helicopter pad.

A look down the valley.  

A panorama of the view on one side.

The mountains in the background remind me of home.  That's why I have several pictures like this one :)

Hard to tell but on the left side of the mountain in the middle is a small view of  mine and Nicole's "buildings"

Sharon, myself, Monique, and Nicole.  We made it to the top!

For my plant loving parents: some orange flower close to the trailhead.

This is actually a grave.  The mound of dirt with the marker in front of it.  There were several along this hike.

Daisy's are my favorite flower but I haven't seen purple daisies before!  These were a light lavender purple.  They were gorgeous.