Changdeokgung Palace & Changgyeonggung Palace

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Weekend trip to Seoul on the second weekend in November. Changdeokgung Palace is a World Heritage site and definitley the most amazing Palace I have seen since being here. Most noteworthy was the Secret Garden which was filled with stunning fall colours. Changgyeonggung Palace was another pretty palace, although not as nice as the previous and definitely had way too many gs.

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Photos

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Most adventures begin with careful map studying directly after we get off the train. 50% of the time it works as the universal "I'm lost" sign and we get approached by very helpful Koreans.

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Warming up before our Palace adventure!

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Donhwamun Gate, the entrance to the palace. In order to enter Changdeokgung you must be on a guided tour and you must remain with them for the duration of your time inside.

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The palace provided me with many great photo opportunities.

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Apparently the more of these little statues a building has on its roof, the more important the building.

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This blue tile roofed building is where the king dealt with his more important matters. All the buildings in this palace originally had roofs that were this colour, but this is the only one left.

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This is Injeongjeon hall, the largest and most vibrant building in the entire palace.

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Amazingly, even though it appears that this building is 2 floors, it is actually just one big open space on the inside.

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Beautiful architecture.

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A nifty looking sundial. According to a conversation I overheard, it indicates the exact time in a season (end of fall, beginning of winter, etc).

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More of the palace.

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A very patient boyfriend pariently waiting for his girlfriend.

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A pretty man made pond in the Secret Garden.

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The leaves in the Secret Garden were absolutely amazing. I think half the pictures I took this trip were here. Lucky for you I narrowed them down to 3.

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Sun leaves.

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This was taken right about the time when I realized I had spent too much time in the Secret Garden and I was guided tourless.

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When I took this picture, I thought nothing of it, but accoring to our guide the tree growing on the right is a 750 year old Juniper tree.

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Following the twisting palace walls back to the beginning/end.

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While I was lost taking pictures, Jeff met a guy from France named Michele so we went with him to another nearby palace, Changgyeonggung.

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Cute Korean kid who kept getting way to close to the edge of the pond.

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One of the many huge gates leading out of the palace.