The cities I love: Seoul, Time Lapse

As mentioned before: I am madly in love with Seoul. It's a city where small alleys with little hanoks, traditional korean houses, go over into wide avenues with neon-lit skyscrapers; where newest high-tech mingles with ancient customs; where a buzzing city winds like a river around green hills, the perfect destination for a weekend hike. It's an unconditional love and I would change nothing about the city. I even came to accept the fact that the subway stops around 1AM, so you either have to pay for the taxi or crash a couch after a night out in Itaewon, Gangnam, or Hongdae, one of the party districts of Seoul.

So, for all of you, a sneak view of the city I am head over heels in love with.
(watch in full screen mode, looks better!!)


via

This post is brought to you by LOT

I jumped on the plane to Warsaw on Friday, my return ticket was booked for Sunday. Just three days, but it was about 150 Euro cheaper than staying even one day longer, so I decided to go nevertheless. (some day I will explain why weekend tickets are cheaper than the mon-fri tickets) Needless to say, I was starved for Warsaw. But, of course, the two nights in Warsaw were by far not enough to satisfy my hunger.
Yesterday I got to the airport in a rather sour mood - I didn't feel like going back. I did my rounds in the duty-free looking for a new summer scent to cheer myself up. And then came the announcement: Flight number such-and-such to Frankfurt, due to a late arrival of the aircraft, will be presumably delayed 2 hours.

that's the look I was going for

My first thought will have to remain censored. But after I calmed my irritation I decided to take advantage of the situation. I must have looked out of place standing there, with a cunning grin on my face, in the super long queue full of annoyed passengers. When, after 45 minutes, I got to the "connection flight" counter I put on the most sweet looking, innocent and scared look I could pull off. I explained to the lady that I had a very very VERY important call to make at 10PM and that if the plane took off 2 hours later I would never ever make it. And that I didn't care when I was flying, I just needed to make the call. But if it was possible to reschedule my flight, I would prefer to fly same time next Sunday, coz then my bf could pick me up from the airport on his way home.
10 minutes later I was walking out of the airport with a shiny new ticket to Frankfurt for next Sunday, for which I didn't have to pay any mark-up fees.
Thank you Polish Airlines LOT, you are the bestest (a pity the food sucks, tho)!



P.S.: Just to make it clear: I do not have a bf in Germany AND I didn't have to make any calls, but it seemed like not too weird a lie to tell, right?

P.P.S.: I seriously doubt the lady at the counter cared for my explanation. Good airlines have to provide high class service, after all that's why people choose them over the cheap airlines. I'm just glad that LOT turned out to be a good airline.

P.P.P.S.: Now it's official: LOT is better than BA!! (oh, yeah, there is a story to tell about BA, but for now I will just say that BA s**ks big time.)

P.P.P.P.S.: Don't think bad of me for telling a lie. I know it's a very awful thing to do, I was just so desperate to stay in Warsaw even one day longer...

Korean Army, the real deal

As you may or may not know, in South Korea all men go to the army for at least two years. There are no exceptions. But considering that the DMZ is an hour's ride from Seoul it is quite understandable. I have seen many friends leave for the army. Two years ago I said my good-byes to a particularly fine young man. He was the chubby, cuddly type of boy, so I was petrified the army would turn him into the muscle-macho you see all over Seoul. 

Today I got word that he is out. And I am pleased to tell you all, that according to my informant, he did not change a bit, maybe just got a bit more manly. He is even as chubby as before! Apparently his job in the army was ..... to turn the boiler on and off when others wanted to shower. So, after the half-a-year obligatory training he spent the remaining time pushing a button and reading books.

All I can say to this:

Proverbs

It's interesting how some expressions that you believe as distinct to your own culture can be found in other languages. Take: "Talking about the devil". Every language I have studied so far has this proverb, the only thing that varies is the so called "devil": in German, like in English, you also talk about the devil, in Polish it is the wolf, in Korean the tiger, and Chinese talk of Cao Cao, some warlord from very very long ago.

Every time I come across such a universal saying it makes me feel good. Those proverbs tell a lot about the universality of human thought...

Via