For five months we have been living and working right outside of Seoul in a ‘small’ city of 630,000 people. When we first came to Korea, we spent most of our weekends heading into Seoul looking for adventure and variety. Nowadays, we are perfectly content to wander the streets of our home in Anyang and see what we find.
The first thing we did when we moved here was hike the mountain behind our apartment. How could we not? After all, the window in our apartment looks right at it. It is only a small section of an otherwise very big mountain range, but once you get to the top, it is a perfect spot for a picnic and to see the entire city. If you walk just a bit further, there is a beautiful temple with the same amazing view. Consequently, we have since hiked this mountain many times.
Also right behind our apartment is the Anyang River. We have shown you pictures of it before in some of our previous posts. It is a distributary of the Han River in Seoul. It is about 32 km long and has bike and walking trails alongside it. In the spring it is lined with cherry blossom trees and yellow forsythia bushes. Recently with all the rains, it has been flooding.
Our favorite spot, however is the Anyang Art Park. We have spent many afternoons hanging out in this quirky and beautiful place. The park is pretty big and there are plenty of things to see and do. The streets are lined with restaurants, shops, and cafes. Next to the street, is a river that flows right through the entire park. Many families picnic and play in the waters on really hot days. Gwanaksan Mt. surrounds the park on three sides and if you hike up a ways, you will discover why they call it the “Art Park.” 52 strange and interesting sculptures are scattered throughout the trees and along the riverbank. If you hike even further up the mountain, there are several temples to explore.
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