Cherry blossoms in Gyeongju

Gyeongju is famous for its cherry blossoms (among other things). This week the blossoms are in full bloom. There are a few places that are particularly good for viewing cherry blossoms, like this location near the resort area called Bomun 보문 Lake.

These are called suyang beotnamu 수양 벚나무 'weeping cherry trees' in Korean.

Although spring has arrived, the warm weather suddenly turned cold and gray the day Erma and I were here.

Some of the loveliest stretches of blossoms are found in the neat rows of cherry trees planted along the riverbanks. This week, along one stretch of Heungmu 흥무 Road near the Seocheon 서천 Bridge, a long row of white tents has been set up along the wide grassy divider between the two directions of travel, catering to the tourists and residents strolling under the canopy of blossoms.

Cherry blossom viewing on Friday, April 3 on the sidewalk divider on Heungmu 흥무 Road (looking north).

Looking south. The far left lane of "traffic" is actually a bunch of parked cars.

Each side of the road is a two-lane highway. This being Korea, people simply parked in the right-hand lane wherever they felt like it, clogging up traffic and creating hazards for pedestrians. (In a future blog post, I will rant extensively about the parking culture here.)

We had a nice family outing at the end of the day on Friday, although the weather was chilly.

Tek with his grandmother looking on.

 Many traditional Korean street-stall snacks were available, as well as some innovative foods.

The round things in front are pressed dried fish jerky called jwipo 쥐포, made from filefish. Behind it are various kinds of dried fish and squid snacks.

In the foreground are waffles (wapeul 와플), served with whipped cream. Behind them are one of my favorite snacks, hotteok 호떡, made of dough fried with just a touch of slightly sweet honey-cinnamon filling.

In the back left are a very traditional snack, roasted silkworm larvae. Front left are something I'd never seen before: deep-fried hot dogs surrounded by a bread coating studded with french fries. The drinks run the gamut from Mountain Dew to corn silk tea (oksusu suyeom cha 옥수수수염차).

We had a number of snacks, including roasted chestnuts, grilled chicken skewers in teriyaki sauce, and a crazy-looking spiral potato snack that was nearly as tall as Tek.

These were delicious. Each one looked like it was made from a single potato which had been stretched into a DNA helix.

We then had a full dinner (including soju in tiny paper cups) inside one of the larger tents, which was furnished with tables and chairs.

Erma in the tent where we ate dinner, next to our "napkins".

When night fell, colored rectangular lights set into the curbs came on, lighting the cherry blossoms from below.