Pictures of Iceland

A miscellaneous collection of photos, which didn’t fit anywhere else.

The strange reason I ended up in Iceland. In October the company I work for shipped a pallet with goods from Amsterdam to Chicago (ORD) with Icelandair Cargo via Liege (LGG) and KEF. The pallet never arrived at its intended destination in ORD. To make sure the shipment was not lost in Iceland I called Icelandair Cargo in KEF and asked for an investigation. In the above security camera image you can see our pallet with 12 boxes arriving from LGG in KEF. The next image I received shows our shipment leaving KEF for its flight to ORD aboard an Icelandair passenger plane. It convinced me our shipment had been lost in the USA. Since the girl on the phone in Iceland was really friendly, I ended up buying a ticket with Icelandair to KEF for a short holiday.

Church with graveyard near Hveragerði.

The graveyard near Hveragerði close-up.

Sheep heads in a supermarket in Hveragerði. Unfortunately restaurant Myrin Mathus in Reykjavík was closed due to renovation. This was the closest I got to eating Svið.

In winter the Icelandic Road and Coastal Administration closes many roads if they are deemed unsafe. You can drive past the sign, but then your car insurance will be void.

Snow mobile tour operator Mountaineers of Iceland operates a fleet of specially modified buses to reach glaciers and other remote locations.

Tourist centre near waterfall Gullfoss. I love how the architecture blends with the landscape.

Hvalfjörður, meaning: whale-fjord, before sunrise. In Hvalfjörður the only remaining whaling station of Iceland is located.

Santa Clauses in fishing town Akranes. There is always one who doesn’t fit in.

House in Akranes

I really liked driving this 2018 Suzuki Vitara all grip, which is the 4x4 version.

Close to nothing

Only on my flight back to Amsterdam I was able to put the Icelandic landscape in some sort of context when I watched the documentary Horizon (original title: Sjóndeildarhringur) about Icelandic painter Georg Guðni (1961 - 2011). Coming of age in the rebellious punk scene of the 80s in 1983 Georg Guðni suddenly turned his attention to the Icelandic landscape, at first painting particular mountains but soon painting non-particular mountains and horizons. He put quite some thought into the act of looking itself.

“The spectacular has never inspired me. I am much more inspired by all that is in between. When you are driving to some spectacular destination. There is so much on the way that simply does not catch your eye. The scenery that passes by your window, which means nothing to you. This is what inspires me.”

— Georg Guðni

Landscape near the waterfall Gullfoss.

“In regard to the horizon, it is the nothing that is in between, and it is this nothing that you look at when you forget that you are looking out of the window. You are not looking. You are just thinking. You search for something to see, but you don’t see anything.”

— Georg Guðni

Untitled, 2002

His death is never mentioned in the documentary, but it seems that he took his own life at 50. The male suicide rate in Iceland is high (21,7 per 100.000 people) compared to the female suicide rate (4,7).

The book Strange Familiar - The Work of Georg Gudni was published by Perceval Press (2005), ISBN 0-9747078-9-9.

Condensed water vapour of the geyser Strokkur.

Vulcano Katla and beyond

On my fifth day in Iceland I ventured out towards the south part of the island. First stop was the village Vík í Mýrdal just below the volcano Katla. This volcano is very active. Twenty eruptions have been documented between 930 and 1918, at intervals of 20–80 years. Many times an eruption of the smaller volcano Eyjafjallajökull was followed by an eruption of Katla. Eyjafjallajökull last erupted in 2010 resulting in air-traffic shut-down in parts of Canada and all of Europe including Ukraine and Belarus. Katla is a ticking time bomb. The Vulcano is also one of the largest volcanic sources of carbon-dioxide (CO2) on Earth, accounting for up to 4% of total global volcanic carbon-dioxide emissions. When Katla erupts the glacier covering the Vulcano will melt causing floods, which will probably destroy the village Vík.

Vík has a population of 318 and a beautiful black beach. The stones are actually grey but when wet become shiny and black. The day was very cloudy and rainy so I couldn’t get a view of the volcano.

The eruption of Katla in 1918 lasted for 24 days. The eruption resulted in extending the southern coast by 5 km due to a mudflow. Since then the sea has reclaimed the land and is even threatening the village. A newly built breaker halts the process.

Lamb stew at a gas station in Vík

It was still early enough to drive on. In theory I could just reach Vatnajökull, a glacier covering 9% of Iceland, and its glacial lagoon. It was still another 2,5 hours and it meant I had to drive the whole distance back in the dark. I could always try to find a hotel I thought, although a quick Booking.com search learned that the cheapest option would cost almost a hundred euro. Still, I drove on, through a large very empty plain. The weather didn’t improve. There was no view whatsoever and the weather forecast for the next day was even worse. On a 150 kilometre stretch the only interesting bit was a pile of rocks where there used to be a house, but they are not really sure if there really was a house. Travellers pile rocks on each other for good luck and the government made a parking space and an information sign.

I never reached Vatnajökull and the beautiful glacial lagoon Jökulsárlón. I reckoned that the time I would reach Jökulsárlón it was practically dark and due to the weather I wouldn’t see much anyway. The whole endeavour also was a waste of money since the Suzuki was thirsty. In the middle of nowhere I made a U-turn and drove back to Reykjavík.

Expression of the Icelandic landscape in pottery by Glit Pottery (1958-1971). From 1972 the company operated at Höfth instead of Reyklavík. Pieces of lava are incorporated in the clay before glazing.

Snæfellsnes

In Voyage au centre de la terre by Jules Verne, Professor Lidenbrock and his nephew Axel start the journey to the center of the earth in the crater of the jökull of Snæfell after deciphering a coded note written in runic script:

“Descend, bold traveller, into the crater of the jökull of Snæfell, which the shadow of Scartaris touches (lit: tastes) before the Kalends of July, and you will attain the centre of the earth. I did it. Arne Saknussemm”

My journey to Snæfellsnes was somewhat less adventurous. For a start I had a very comfortable Suzuki Vitara 4x4 to my disposal. Still, Snæfellsnes is a really deserted place. I first drove to Borgarnes for a stopover and black coffee, but it was still dark when I reached Borgarnes. The live traffic service of my TomTom navigation showed many exclamation marks (!!!!!!) along the way, but I decided to ignore those. I entered Hellnar as a destination since it has a restaurant. Or so I thought.

At a gas station I learned that a big storm was going to hit Iceland around coffee time. “What time is that?”, I had to ask. “Around 4 o’clock”, I learned. The Road and Coastal Administration (IRCA) advised to avoid driving after that time. Suddenly I had a time schedule.

After driving for more than 5 hours since I left Reykjavík I found the only restaurant in Hellnar closed. Not many people visit Hellnar in wintertime and for good reasons. Hellnar is not much more than a small church, the closed hotel-restaurant and a few scattered buildings. In 1703 there were 194 people registered as inhabitants of Hellnar. Since then the village has declined, no more fish is being landed here. But it is the gateway to Snæfellsjökull National Park. Since I was getting really hungry I had little choice than to keep on driving, trough the park to Ólafsvík, the nearest village, boasting a population of 1.010.

The church of Hellnar built in 1945 on the site of an older church.

Hellnar

Harbour of Ólafsvík.

Fresh cod in SKER Restaurant, Ólafsvík. Nice touch were thin slices of cauliflower marinated in vinegar.

Svarta Kaffi

Amazingly we know exactly when coffee arrived in Iceland. Coffee arrived precisely on November 16, 1703, “when Árni Magnússon – a scholar and collector of many highly valuable Nordic manuscripts – acquired a quarter of a pound of coffee from a friend.” By the mid-19th century, drinking coffee had become a daily habit. When driving in Iceland I stopped at every gas station for a cup of black coffee - or in practice every hour or so. The last hour and a half before arriving back in Reykjavik the storm hit the island, heavily. My speed dropped from 90 to 30 kilometres per hour so the car wasn’t blown off the road. The round trip from Reykjavík took me 10 hours.

Harnessing geothermal energy at Friðheimar

It is not easy to grow fruit and vegetables in Iceland. Fruit is readily available but is mostly flown in by Icelandair Cargo on a daily cargo flight from Liege in Belgium, which is also close enough to The Netherlands. The couple Knútur and Helena are growing tomatoes all year round near Selfoss in a farm called Friðheimar. A borehole 200 meters from the greenhouses provides water at about 95°C. To make most of the light, which is needed in wintertime to grow the tomatoes, the restaurant is located right in one of the greenhouses. It makes a very welcome moment in the dark moments of the day. For the price of the tomato soup you can serve yourself as many times you like, even the coffee is free if you order the soup. Dutch bees are pollinating the plants. It was one of the strangest restaurants I have eaten in. Perfect cure for seasonal affective disorder (SAD) though!

Icelandair Þingvellir

Ready for takeoff in the Þingvellir, a special livery “100-year anniversary of Icelandic National Sovereignty” Boeing 757-200. 

Once ruled by the House of Medici

Just below the Campo Imperatore there are several beautiful medieval hill towns: Santo Stefano di Sessanio, Castel del Monte, Calascio and the mountaintop fortress Rocca Calascio are the most interesting.

I spent time just hanging out in these villages, drinking coffee, speaking to cats and reading news on my iPhone.

The area was shaped by transhumance. Local animal products were sought after during the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. Carfagna sheep wool was transported to Florence and mainly used to produce military uniforms and monks' cowls. The villages lost importance during the 19th century. Once ruled by the House of Medici, Santo Stefano di Sessanio counted 3.000 people in 1870. In 2005 there were only 80. 

Porta Medicea, branded with the coat of arms of the House of Medici.

Favola di Venezia (Hugo Pratt, 1976). Corto Maltese speaks to the street cats.

The small pleasures of life in Italy: un caffè in the town square.

Rocca Calascio. The fortress was destroyed by an earthquake in 1461 and never rebuilt.

There is no denying the villages are in bad shape due to earthquakes and neglect.

The distance between the hill towns can be easily cycled, with lots of climbing and fast downhills.

Mosaic on a wall in Castel del Monte. It is hard not to imagine this mosaic was inspired by te earthquake of 2009. Castel del Monte is the principal location of The American directed by Anton Corbijn. The film's central character played by George Clooney, takes refuge in Castel Del Monte hoping to escape from his past.

Movie still from The American (2010), Anton Corbijn.

Campo Imperatore

On the second day of my stay in Abruzzo I more or less stumbled upon Campo Imperatore. It was just a name on the map, but the location intrigued me: right above the middle of the 10 kilometer long Traforo del Gran Sasso I drove through to reach my destination. When I reached the mountain grassland my mouth fell open by the sheer beauty. I had not expected this. 

In the distance you can see the mountains of Gran Sasso d'Italia towering over the grasslands with the highest peak being the Corno Grande (2912 m). The northern face holds Europe's southernmost glacier: Ghiacciaio del Calderone. In 2017 the glacier disappeared for the first time mid-August.

I spent a day cycling and a day hiking in Campo Imperatore and the mountains of Gran Sasso d'Italia

Campo Imperatore was also the backdrop of quite a few movies, like the Spaghetti Western Lo chiamavano Trinità... (1970) starring Bud Spencer and Terence Hill.

Red Sonja (1985), with Brigitte Nielsen and Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Gran Sasso d'Italia mountain massif

Polenta with meat stewed in red wine in Rifugio Duca degli Abruzzi (2.400 m.).

Parts Unknown - Abruzzo

On my way to Abruzzo the words "Parts Unknown" were ringing through my head. I really didn't want to do this trip alone. I was reasonably sick of spending all my travels alone and this time I was even more apprehensive than normal for personal reasons. My previous long road trip didn't end well. At the same time I realised how lucky I am to own a car and have plenty of money for diesel and all the food I want to order at any restaurant along the way. Anthony Bourdain was even more fortunate, yet five days after photos of his love of his life hugging another man in the streets of Rome were published, he committed suicide. Bourdain was the presenter of the long running (11 seasons) travel and food series Parts Unknown. I kinda get the loneliness he must have felt. Just kinda. I do not want to pretend to understand the depressions he was suffering. My journey to Italy was marred by an intense feeling of loneliness.

Empty glass, yet "un quarto di litro di vino rosso".

I planned to cycle a 388 kilometer loop through Gran Sasso National Park, Abruzzo National Park and Sirente Velino Regional Park. The loop was envisioned by Giorgio Frattale and Francesco D’Alessio who cycled this trip in 5 days. On day one I loaded my bike with my tent and plenty of food and water. The sky was partially cloudy and my bike felt heavy. After half a day I calculated my progress in distance and it became quickly clear I would never finish the loop in 5 days. My plan had quickly crumbled to pieces. Time for plan B. There's always a plan B.

Turning point.

I decided to spent the first night camping in the mountains. I choose a spot between Santo Stefano di Sessanio and Calascio with a beautiful valley view. I pitched my Tarptent Double Rainbow at dusk and waited for the night to fall. Soon I could hear animals trampling the grass around my tent. I assume the Apennine wolf keeps his distance from the lower valleys, so it must have been - well, god knows what.

Serene early morning in the mountains. Absolute silence.

La vita è bella

A much lighter bike for day trips. Plan B wasn't so bad after all.

Final few kilometres of my holiday, just before the brake pads of my disc brakes were completely worn out and my braking power was reduced to almost nothing.

Tour de Achterhoek

In Thailand I felt silly I was hesitating to rent a scooter. I never rode one of these machines. Now I finally did, close to home. I rented a Taiwanese SYM Cello in Groenlo from a rental company called Tour de Achterhoek. Technically this was "snorfiets" according to Dutch law (the word "snorfiets" in the law dates from 1974, colloquially you would say "snorscooter"), which means the maximum speed is 25 km/h, there is no obligation to wear a helmet and the number plate is blue. Technically there is not much difference between a "snorscooter" and a "bromscooter", which can go up to 45 km/h and carries a yellow number plate. Both fall in the category "bromfiets" and can be driven with driver's license B, which automatically is also licence AM (bromfiets) and even license T (tractors).

It was kinda fun. First thing I had to learn is to reduce speed in the curves. On my bicycle I am used to take curves quite fast but a scooter is so much more heavier. Now I can rent a scooter in Asia and not die instantly in local traffic.

Parked at the pig farm (H)eerlijk Vlees near Groenlo. The family raises pigs, who get slaughtered at slaughterhouse Beerten in Zieuwent. The meat is sold at the farm behind that green door.

Route der Industriekultur

The German former industrial powerhouse, the Ruhrgebiet, boasts a dense network of bicycle paths and routes called: Industriekultur per Rad. You can follow two long distance cycling routes: the RuhrtalRadweg (240 kilometers) and the Römer-Lippe-Route (400 kilometers), but in between these long distance cycling paths there is a Dutch inspired bicycle junction network - "ein modernes Knotenpunktsystem nach niederländischem Vorbild" - which brings the total amount of bicycle paths to 1200 kilometers. However, there are many more dedicated routes. Just the Römer-Lippe-Route crosses over twenty other signed bicycle routes.

I cycled part of the Emscher Park Radweg - yet another long distance (230 kilometers) route part of the Industriekultur per Rad. Starting point was the UNESCO World Heritage Site Zollverein Coal Mine Industrial Complex.

Zeche Zollverein Schacht XII is probably the most famous coal mine shaft. Designed by architects Fritz Schupp (1896-1974) and Martin Kremmer (1894-1945) in typical style of das Neue Bauen. It was finished in 1932. 

“Der Kamin von Zollverein war höher als die Reinoldikirche”

— Information sign at Zollverein

Halde Rheinelbe, about 100 meters above sea level. A coal mine spoil tip.

Intersection of the Emscher Park Radweg and one of the many towns between Essen and Bochum.

Cycling path on the abandoned railway bridge 'Rote Brücke' (1926–1928) used by the former Erzbahn connecting the steelworks of the Bochumer Verein with the Rhein-Herne-Kanal.

An important part of cultural life in Nordrhein-Westfalen, the Biergarten.

Radschnellweg RS1, the first 'Autobahn' for bicycles in Nordrhein-Westfalen.

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Der RuhrtalRadweg (240 kilometer)

I cycled part of the RuhrtalRadweg in the first weekend of August. Starting point of this long distance cycling path is Duisburg and the world's largest inland port. The next metropolitan area is Mühlheim an der Ruhr, then the route follows the Ruhr towards the source of the river in Winterberg, 240 kilometers further upstream and uphill.

Where the Rhein and the Ruhr meet. Rheinbrücke Neuenkamp in the background. This is also the starting or end point of the Ruhrtalradweg.

Rhein-Herne-Kanal (1916) and the Ruhr. 

The river Ruhr.

The wide valley between Mühlheim an der Ruhr and Mintard.

IJmuiden

I remember the fishing harbour Scheveningen in the late 1970s. The smell of fresh fish was everywhere, mixed with the smell of tar and oil. Once a year my father bought a bucket of sprotjes (European sprat) and we would clean the fish at home and finish the whole bucket in one evening. In summertime we spent time at the beach. I still love fish and swimming in the cold waters of the North Sea. IJmuiderslag has become my favourite beach. There is no public transport connection. Therefore the beach feels more local and not as crowded as Zandvoort aan Zee - although the crazy amount of dogs is almost a dealbreaker for me. On the upside the North Sea is just as nice and the added bonus is the fishing harbour IJmuiden and probably the best sushi in The Netherlands.

Fishing harbour
The old fishing harbour of IJmuiden is quite small, although you can see very big fishings ships moored in the IJmondhaven not far from the Vissershaven. The Annelies Ilena on the photo below is one of the world's largest fishing trawlers - 145 meters from bow to stern. It is no wonder the fishing harbour IJmuiden has been growing from 9.221 tonnes of landed fish in 2006 to 15.000 tonnes in 2012.

My fishmonger in Amsterdam - Vishandel Tel - opened a second store in IJmuiden in 2002 after the store in "China Town" became too small. Luckily I don't have to travel to IJmuiden for fresh fish since their Amsterdam store is just around the corner, but is seems most fish I buy has been landed in IJmuiden.

Probably the best sushi in The Netherlands
Itamae Kuniyoshi Ohtawara used to work in restaurant Yamazato in the famous Okura Hotel in Amsterdam, but has now settled in Hokkai Kitchen in IJmuiden to work for Hokkai Suisan, a company led by Marinus Noordenbos supplying the Japanese expat community with fish in more than fifteen countries. I am missing the overpowering smell of fresh fish in a small standing sushi bar, other than that his sushi is probably the best sushi in The Netherlands.

I ordered six nigiri but already ate one before I remembered I wanted to take a photo. Shime saba (cured mackerel), nishin (herring), aburi o-toro (seared o-toro tuna and I am pretty sure I had the wijting and zeebaars nigiri.

Sunrise 2018-07-26 06:13.

Sunset 2018-07-27 21:35.

Sunset 2018-08-07 20:00.

Naturpark Hohe Mark-Westmünsterland

Naturpark Hohe Mark has become my favourite cycling area for a day trip or a weekender. The park is huge: 1040 square kilometers! Compare that to the famous Dutch park Nationaal Park De Hoge Veluwe, which measures just 55 square kilometers. It is no surprise the park has over 1000 kilometers of cycling paths. Many roads are closed for cars and motorbikes except local traffic (Anlieger frei), and therefor practically car free. Many cycling paths are dusty single tracks through forest or follow the path of railroad, the tracks removed since many decades.

When you start to know the area, you will learn to find the local Biergarten for an ice cold beer, or trout ponds selling smoked trout, still warm from the smoking chamber. In summertime Hohe Mark feels like heaven.

Angelparadies Schoel

Bicycling paths in Europe: most can be found in Vlaanderen, The Netherlands and Nordrhein-Westfalen. 

The Stone Mind 공안

Musings on subjectivity and objectivity in Buddhism.

From: Dong-seung 동승 (A Little Monk), 2003 by director Joo Kyung-jung.

The Dangun myth

Cheonje-dan altar on Taebaeksan in South-Korea, which became a substitute for North-Korean Baekdu Mountain.

The Korean sky god Haneullim (하늘님 "Heavenly King") had a son called Hwanung ("Heavenly Prince") who became interested in the earth with its mountains and valleys. He was allowed to descend to Baekdu Mountain in current North-Korea, then called Taebaeksan (great white mountain). A bear and a tiger came to visit Hwanung every day to pray. Hwanung promised to make them human if they ate only garlic and mugwort and stayed in the cave out of the sunlight for one hundred days. Only the bear succeeded in this task and Hwanung made the bear into a beautiful woman. But she grew lonely, so Hwanung gave her a male child: Dangun (“Sandalwood King").

According to myth Dangun founded the first Korean kingdom Gojosean (2333BC?–108 BC). The earliest record of the Dangun legend is found in Samguk yusa with the earliest extant publication of the text from 1512.

Inaccessible to South-Koreans: The summit caldera of Paektu Mountain, with Heaven Lake.

Dangun is often depicted with a robe made of leaves.

Dangun is worshipped with mountain spirit sanshin in the Samshingak of Manggyeong-sa 'All-encompassing-View Temple'.

Cheonje-dan altar on Taebaeksan in rainy clouds.

Taebaeksan and the Dangun myth

Taebaeksan and Munsubong are two striking peaks of Taebaek Mountains. On Taebaeksan a stone altar, most likely from the Silla period, is still being used for prayer and ceremonies. Taebaeksan is linked to the Dangun myth. Hwan-in 桓因,  the King of Heaven, sent down his son Hwan-ung to earth on Mount Taebaek-san 太白山 to benefit humanity. The myth does not describe modern Taebaek-san. Hwan-ung mated with a bear transformed into a woman and their son was named Dangun. 

Although according to modern scholars Hwan-ung descended onto Baekdu Mountain on the border of current China en North Korea, Dangun is revered on Taebaeksan in South Korea by groups of local nationalists and shamans. David Mason describes the story in more detail: The Myth of Gojoseon's Founding-King Dan-gun. 

Cheonjedan 천제단  - Altar for Offering to Heaven.

Cheonjedan 천제단 on Taebaeksan.

Dang-gol - Munsubong - Taebaeksan

I walked up to Munsubong an hour before sunrise. Along the way just after leaving Dang-gol (Shrine Valley) you will find a stone altar in the forest with offerings - a dried fish and alcoholic beverages; soju and makgeolli.

View of Munsubong just after sunrise with Manggyeongsa  - All-encompassing-View
Temple - in the far distance.

The path between Munsubong and Taebaeksan.

Dangun painting inside Manggyeong-sa's San-shin-gak.

After my hike up to Taebaeksan in the morning I returned to the altar the same day. The weather had changed dramatically. The alter was almost hidden in the clouds. A strong wind was blowing. 

Dangun painting in Dangun Seongjeon - Altar-King Sage-Hall - at the start of the trail just above Dang-gol

Golden Dangun statue at the Buddhist Buljeong-Am temple in Dang-gol. 

Wholesale fish market in Gunsan

Gunsan (population 280.000) is a seaport on the midwest coast of the Korean Peninsula. Once a small fishing village, Gunsan now boasts an Industrial Zone and high-tech manufacturing industries. Gunsan still has a thriving fishing fleet and is an excellent place for fresh seafood. The old fish market can be found in town, the wholesale fish market has moved to Saemangeum, about 20 kilometres from the city center. Gunsan is known for saengseon hoe (생선회), raw sliced fish. The first evening I was walking along the waterfront of the old fish market when I met two men eating saengseon hoe and drinking soju. They invited me to join them and managed to feed me about half their saengseon hoe dipped in spicy chogochujang (초고추장) sauce made from gochujang by adding vinegar. 

The next day I took a taxi to Saemangeum to try some Korean seafood, like meongge (멍게), gaebul (개불) and San-nakji (산낙지). In English: sea pineapple, a species of marine spoonworm commonly known as penis fish and raw octopus tentacles, still moving on the plate. 

I arrived two hours early,  the market only opens at 10:00 am, which gave me the chance to roam about in a deserted, eerie fish market.

The meongge (멍게), gaebul (개불) and nakji (낙지) were taken from the fishtanks and were killed right before being served.  Meongge is a sea squirt and lives attached to rocks. Mine was served as meongge-hoe: raw. The taste is hard to describe. It is definitely salty but the description "rubber dipped in ammonia" in the Lonely Planet is way off the mark. Gaebul is chewy but doesn't have that much taste. You definitely need chogochujang (초고추장, vinegared gochujang) as a dipping sauce. Although I read that gaebul straight  from the sea has a sweet taste, which is lost when kept in a fishtank. The san-nakji was interesting. Raw octopus tentacles also do not have that much taste, chogochujang to the rescue! I can use metal chopsticks fairly well, but with this these wriggling  food items using chopsticks was a challenge.

Jirisan Ridge Hike - walking with bears

Jirisan is the start point of the Baekdu Daegan, which is a 1700km more or less continuous ridge that forms the backbone of the entire Korean peninsula. The Jirisan section of Baekdu Daegan is about 40 kilometers. I started on the west side of Jirisan National Park in Gurye, sleeping in a small guest house. I had planned to sleep rough but I soon learned Jirisan is also home to about 60 Asiatic black bears. 

I had to sleep in a mountain shelter. It is not allowed to just turn up at a shelter, so you need to make a reservation - even weeks in advance in peak season. I wanted to start my hike the next day, so I was lucky I could make a reservation for Yeonhacheon Shelter at the Jirisan National Park Southern Office (511-1, Hwangjeon-ri, Masan-myeon, Gurye-gun, Jeollanam-Do). Apparently June is considered off-peak season. 

Day 1: Gurye - Nogodan shelter - Yeonhacheon shelter

The hike from Gurye starts with a 7 kilometer and 3 hour steep walk up to Nogodan, the first shelter along the ridge hike. I left at sunrise and soon walked past Hwaeom-sa, the head temple of the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism, one of the Seon (Zen in Western thought) sects dating back to the Goryeo Dynasty (918–1392).

Hwaeomsa 華嚴寺

The distance between Nogodan and Yeonhacheon takes about 5 hours. The path is walkable but there is a hardly an horizontal stretch. The path is mostly hidden under the canopy of the trees. Clear views are not common and my views are often blocked as clouds drift in. The temperatures are very nice though and I can hike the whole ridge just dressed in a T-shirt.

The park authorities warn for bears by big warning signs every kilometer or so. In the unlikely event of encountering a bear you have to curl up and lie still on the ground. That is:  if you haven't been able to scare the bear off, which is your first line of defence. 

I arrive at Yeonhacheon Shelter in the late afternoon without seeing any bears. There is no food at the shelters. You have to bring your own supplies for the duration of the hike. Instant noodles are cheap, weigh next to nothing and provide plenty of energy. I also brought some precooked Ottogi rice and canned spicy tuna.

Day 2: Yeonhacheon shelter -  Seseok shelter - Uisin village

This trip I was not able to climb the highest peak Cheonwangbong (1915 meters). I wake up in Yeonhacheon with the sunrise. I have no more reservations for a shelter so I need to make it back to my guesthouse in Gurye in the evening. I decided to continue along the Baekdu Daegan and walk far as possible.

The first stop is Byeoksoryeong Shelter. The hike between Byeoksoryeon and the next shelter, Seseok, is simply beautiful. This part of the hike is black labeled as "expert level" and at times you are really hiking on the ridge. When I arrive at Seseok Shelter I have run out of time. I am still on the Jirisan ridge and have to make it down to a village. I opted for Cheonghakdong but somewhere along the scramble down, the signs for this village disappeared and after many hours and many rocks I ended up in Uisin.

Uisin is a tiny village and there were no buses so I ended up taking the longest taxi ride in my life - 50 kilometers back to my starting point.

While I didn't hike the full Jirisan ridge, I still had a feeling of personal accomplishment. In the early springtime of 2018 I discovered why I had been feeling so tired after working days. A blood test unveiled a dust mite allergy and since I work in a very dusty environment my physical condition had been severely compromised. This was my first longish mountain hike in quite a while (18 hours in two days) and there was no trace of tiredness, just very sore muscles due to lack of training.

Finding a Tokyo address

One day my 4G mobile internet connection refused to work and my battery had almost drained to 0% while looking for an address in 台東区 (Taitō-ku), one of the 23 special wards (kanji: 特別区; tokubetsu-ku) of Tokyo, in English referred to as cities. I had just gotten off the Odeo Line at Shin-Okachimachi Station and I quickly memorised the address but then my trouble began: how to read a Japanse address?

Japanese addresses start with the largest geographical entity first. But in this case I got the address from a website written in English and the address was adapted to western style: 4-25-10 Taito, Taito-ku, Tokyo. I knew I was in Tokyo and to be more specific in the city of Taito (台東区) so then I had to look for the next geographical entity, which in this case was the number 4, which refers to the city district 4 or 4-Chome (四丁目). Luckily I was already there.

Next is number 25, which is the banchi (番地) or city block followed by number 10, which is the gō (号) or house/building number. This can be written as follows: 25番10号 (25-ban 10-gō) or simply 25-10 on the gaiku-hyōjiban 街区表示板 or town block indicator sign. Sometimes this is followed by another number, which is the apartment number, necessary in big apartment buildings.

In this case that number was missing and I soon found city block 25 with the help of a kind lady in front of Takecho Park. Now all I had to do is find building 10. In the photograph below you see I'm standing in front of building 3. Very close! All I had to do is walk around city block 25 to find building 10.

From large to small. City of Taito, 4-Chome, City block 25, House/building number 10. For administrative purposes a postal code (〒) and prefecture is added in front of the full address. In this case the prefecture is 東京都 (Tokyo-to). The address I was looking for is written in Japanese as follows: 〒110-0016 東京都台東区台東4-25-10.

Taito-ku 台東区

4-Chome 四丁目

City block 25 番地.

Building 10 号.

Why was I looking for this particular address? I wanted to visit Shinohara Maruyoshi Furin, a small glass blowing and glass painting studio that produces Edo period furin, or wind chimes (fu=wind, rin=bell). During the Edo period (1603–1868) the Dutch introduced the technique of glass blowing in Nagasaki and in the 19th century glass furin became quite popular in urban Edo due to the low price. I bought two Edo furin. One with a painting of a brown robed Daruma and a bright red furin with a painting of a ship and the character 宝 (treasures) written on the sail.

Tsukiji Fish Market

Next to the famous Tsukiji Fish Market, where tuna and many other marine species are being sold wholesale, there is an outside market for the public with plenty of fresh fish, pickled vegetables, knives and kitchenware. My hotel was practically around the corner of Tsukiji so I headed to the market for breakfast every single day. There were plenty of restaurants catering to locals for a hot breakfast soup.

Some days I preferred raw tuna. The more fatty the tuna, the lighter color of the flesh and the more expensive the fish will be. The fatty part of the tuna is called toro, which is divided in two cuts: chutoro and otoro. Otoro, the fattiest portion of the tuna, is found on the very underside of the fish. 

I was just as impressed by the selection of pickled vegetables at the outside market.

From Otoro.com