파랑새

We can read about all the wisdom in the world, but our lives are not long enough to understand it all. The only light we depend on is our own experience and that limits how much we can see. Unfortunately, we can't get help from others.

We must seek out happiness ourselves. That's why we have to undergo endless pains and countless disappointments before we learn to become happy. Happiness is appreciating the simple pleasures in life that are always within easy reach of our mind and heart but this truth is good for nothing unless we put it to test ourselves. 파랑새는 다른 곳이 아닌 우리 가까이에 있다.

여름에 팥빙수 최고! 한 입만 바로 행복을 느꼈다.

한국 카페 달라도 너무 달라. 무선 인터넷이랑 충전 다 할 수 있으니까.

당근

당근이니까 당근(Sure)이지

This is one mistake learners of Korean language as a foreign language will unlikely make.

A test answer script of a Korean student was uploaded on a Korean online community site quite some time ago. Foreigners would have no problem finding the right English word for "당근" which is "carrot".  But to Korean students who are exposed daily to "newly-formed words" (신조어, 新造語) in the age of Internet, confusion may arise.

"당근이지" is a slang which originates from the word "당연(當然)하다". It means "sure" or "of course" and uttered when one agrees with his or her partner's suggestion or wants to give assurance that something said would materialise.

I don't view this incident as something particularly embarassing. We all learn from mistakes, don't we? Making mistake is part and parcel of learning something new.

지상 낙원

River Ill flows through the city of Strasbourg and the picturesque Petite France. Not to be confused with the one in Gapyeong, Petite France Strasbourg is home to some of Strasbourg's most beautiful half timbered houses and cobblestone streets. It is located on the Grande Île which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

River Ill has more to it than its size suggests. What amazes me is this small river actually has a series locks to allow river craft to move up and down the river which would otherwise be impassable. Furthermore, the Council of Europe, the European Parliament and the European Court of Human Rights are located by the river which give it a sense of importance.

Picturesque River Ill

By the river

River cruise boat waiting

Start of river cruise

River Ill at the end of the day

스트라스부르 대성당

From Black Forest, our guide pointed at a faintly visible tall structure across the plain of Alsace and said, "Do you see that building over there? It's the Strasbourg Cathedral. We're going there."

I always thought my first visit to France will be in Paris but here I am, crossing the River Rhine to Strasbourg, the capital of Alsace in eastern France.

Towering central portal of Strasbourg Cathedral

Flickering candle lights lit the four corners of the cathedral

The nave and chancel of the cathedral. It is hard not to look up inside this "gigantic and delicate marvel".

The narthex with rose window, typical of Gothic architectural style. Suspended pipe organ on the right.

Across the nave

The "Pillar of Angels", a representation of the Last Judgment

At 18 metres, the astronomical clock, at the south transept, is one of the largest in the world

Marvellous craftmanship

Exiting by the south aisle

Despite an incomplete south tower, at 142m, Strasbourg Cathedral is one of the highest medieval structures

로맨틱한 라인강

The River Rhine forms by melting snowcaps high up in the Swiss Alps, meanders over 700 miles through the heart of Europe and empties its contents into the North Sea. A voyage through it is a journey into Germany's rich medieval past and a brief introduction to Romanticisim of the late 18th and early 19th century. The Upper Middle Rhine Valley, a 65 km section of the River Rhine between Koblenz and Bingen was added to the UNESCO list of World Heritage in 2002. Majestic castles, lush vineyards, medieval churches and historic towns on both banks of the river make River Rhine one of the most romantic rivers in the world.

My tour covered the stretch of River Rhine from Assmannshausen to St. Goarshausen which was roughly about half of the Upper Middle Rhine Valley. The 1.5-hour ferry ride exposed me to a world and time which I thought only exist in fairy tales. More information of River Rhine at Loreley-Info

Ferry departing Assmannshausen

Leaving Assmannshausen and its vineyard behind

Castle Rheinstein, on the opposite bank of Assmannshausen

If the castle is real, then fairy tales must be true too

Castle Rheichenstein

Passing by the town of Trechtingshausen

Castle Sooneck coming up at the next bend

Castle Sooneck

ICE3 high speed train speeding through the town of Niederheimbach

Hill after hill of vineyards on both banks of the river

The parish church of St Martin, Lorch

The Gothic parish church in the town of Lorch, one of the most beautiful churches in the Rhine Valley

Castle Stahleck, above the town of Bacharach, now a youth hostel

The city of Bacharach, one of the famous wine cities along River Rhine since Middle Ages

Built in 1327, the ship-like fortress Pfalzgrafenstein at Kaub served as a toll station until 1866

Castle Gutenfels above the town of Kaub, now a hotel

The town of Kaub

Castle Schönburg - "the most beautiful refuge of the Rhine romanticism", now a hotel

Remains of medieval town fortification can be seen in the city of Oberwesel below Castle Schönburg

Campingplatz Loreleyblick - camping ground on the bank opposite of Loreley

Loreley - the narrowest and deepest section of the Middle Rhine

Statue of Loreley - washing her hairs by the river and bewitching passing boatmen

Summer is not about heat, it's about holiday by the water

Castle (Cat) Katz above the town St. Goarshausen