Easter Break in Suwon

The week of April 5th - 12th marked Easter Break for the GSIS school community and for the Wendling family it was a time to relax and enjoy a couple of special places in Seoul.

The first place the Wendling's went to was called EVERLAND. Everland is located between Suwon and Seoul and is a very large amusment park complete with roller coasters, various rides, their version of African Lion Safari and parades to complete the experience.


The Lion Safari had many different animals from lions to white tigers, bears, (seen above) and zebras. As well there something called a Liger - we weren't quite sure what that was but made sure we stayed away from it.


The Lions which we saw were pretty active. The day we went to Everland was around 19 degrees - which is warmer than we have experienced this month in Korea - but still cool enough that the animals could not just lounge around. More interesting though were the bears who were seen begging for food - it was ironic that a bear over 7 feet tall and probably weighing over 700 pounds would need to beg for food.


One of the places which Mia throughly enjoyed was AESOP's Fables. This area had a show, AESOP's house, and many rides for Mia and her friends to enjoy. Pictured above is Ariel and Matteya posing in front of the story of the Tortosie and the Hare. While pictured below is Kyara and Mia pictured with the life sized statues of these characters.


Pictured below is Justine and a few of her friends from school - in the back row we have Monica, Angela and Samantha and in the front row we have Christina, Sally and Justine. For most of the day Justine was able to hang out and do all kinds of activities with her friends. In fact, it was Angela's birthday and that was the motivation for Justine and her friends to go on this trip. The Wendling's, as usual, just tagged along.


Pictured below is Matteya, Kyara, Mia and Ariel with a few characters from Everland. (No it is not Rosanne in a new outfit or Kevin wearing the hot pink costume.) It is interesting to watch shows or presentations in Korean - you become much more dependent on the character actions to follow a story and not on the dialogue. As well, classic songs like - 'Head, shoulders, knees and toes' have the same beat and actions but the words are a little different.



That evening the Wendling family were able to see Everland in all its glory from the Ferris Wheel. Unlike amusement parks in Canada and the United States which are on relatively flat land, Everland is found within a number of larger hills. So seeing the park from the Ferris Wheel gave a truly unique perspective on the park - and a beautiful one to.

The evening ended with a parade where many of the characters of Everland - characters from the traditional Fairy Tales - in a evening parade. The floats, like the one seen above, were beautifully lit and accompanied by music and dancing. A great end to a wonderful day.


Then on Friday the Wendling family went to Lotte World. The Lotte company is one of the largest companies in Korea, they make Candy and chocolate as well as have interests in Real Estates and department stores. They also run a very large and unique amusment park.



The park has rides and attractions both inside the Lotte Mall and outside - literally across the street from the mall. The mall has stores and a hotel as well as the inside part of Lotte World. Even though the amusment part is unqiue in this way there are still many rides and attactions for the family.


From a ballon ride, which Kevin and Mia rode while Rosanne and the girls went on a roller coaster, you can see pictured below is an overhead of the inside portion of Lotte World. Yes indeed look very closely and you will see a skating rink...



as well, see below and you will see a large stage for various performances....


...the skating rink... (only Canadians would be impressed by this...)


around the outside you see various historical or cultural buildings...this adds to the atmosphere of Lotte World...



In all, a good day was had by everyone. Pictured above is Kyara, Mia, Ariel, Christine (Kyara's friend from school), and Matteya. The ride above is one of the girls favourite rides, one that all of them can go on - including Mia.

So ends another blog. With the anticipation that the Wendling's are getting ready for a travelling experience to India.

Stay tuned....