Seoul - Day 11

Today started out pretty quiet. I finished a little translation job and went out to One Tree Hill, a nearby coffee shop that I used to visit a lot last year. They have great coffee, but I always went back for their pancakes. Plus, I liked the homey vibe, real comfortable. I thought about this place a lot when I was away in Germany. So today I finally went back, and to my big surprise it has changed into a run-of-the-mill coffee shop with no character. 

I talked to the owner, who recognized me when I walked in. He told me they didn't do pancakes anymore, just regular pastry instead. That's too bad, I said, but I'm sure your bakery goods are delicious, too. So I grabbed a cheesy sausage croissant, a regular croissant and a mini quiche thingy, and ordered a nice hot Americano coffee. I took it to the back of the store, and standing there with the tray in my hands I realized that not only the menu, but also the interieur has changed.

I still got an okay table, but things just weren't the same. The whole atmosphere is gone. And to be honest, the sausage tasted poor, the croissant was too dry and the quiche was filled with so much garlic that I couldn't eat much of it. It was depressing. One of my favorite coffee joints, gone. Sadness. I would normally stay a couple of hours to read and write some, but today it wasn't working at all. On my way out I told the owner that everything was great. I think he knew that I was lying. 

In the evening I met up with Jeune hyung at Ehdae. He almost came to visit me in Bangkok in June, but at the end it didn't work out. So today we met for some dinner first and talked a lot over Bulgogi and some good side dish extras. He's probably the most international korean Korean person that I know. So much even that I sometimes forget that he's not a Kyopo. After coffee we drove to Itaewon to meet Giwoun hyung and Jonas hyung. We went to a great little Makgeolli place and shared a good number of bottles. 

I think I was mentally certifiable for a few hours. I had no idea how hard that stuff can hit you. Later, Yoni and Daniel joined us and the evening took its course. One of the two highlights of the night was Cindy calling from Philly and hating us for having so much fun. She was here for a long time and had just left, shortly before I arrived here. The other one was singing 긴하루 by Lee Seung Chul with Giwoun hyung on repeat in the morning when we got out of the karaoke place. Good times.