A lot has happened here in Busan since the last update on the blog, winter is past, spring has been nice and summer is slowly approaching with the more humid and warm atmosphere.

Back in March we had visits, first by Rachel and Seamus, some of our friends from Sydney who now work as missionaries in Mongolia. We had such a good time together and enjoyed to get to know them in another way than what we have been able to back in Australia.

Shortly after our friends left, Rikkes parents arrived from Denmark. It was  somehow a stressful journey, as the flight from Billund was delayed so they missed the flight to Osaka. Luckily they were offered seats on the Tokyo flight and arrived here in Busan only a couple of hours late.

After a couple of days with the grandparents, Simon left to Nepal for almost two weeks on a study trip with some of his friends from school. The rest of us prepared to see what Korea had to offer.

We packed all of us into the Sorento, and the luggage on the roof, then went towards the northern border. It was a beautiful drive with many exciting places on the way. The weather behaved, although as we moved the few hundred kilometers north, the temperature became surprisingly much colder. In fact as we approached the area we were to stay for the first four nights at the foot of Seorak Mountain, there was snow on the side of the road. We did not expect this, as Busan was almost summerly with the cherry trees on the brink of flourishing.

After a couple of days enjoying this scenic area of what is known as the Korean Alps, we were up for a surprise. As we got up in the morning to celebrate Williams birthday, everything was covered in snow. Decent heavy snow that kept tumbling down from the sky in large flakes. William rightfully claimed this as God’s present to him.

After a couple of more days in the north with various hikes and drives in the area, and a trip to the North Korean border, we headed south again. We spent one night in a town named Danyang in the center of South Korea. The area was nice, but the most interesting was the hotel owner. Her parents fled out of North Korea during the war and was not able to return to their children, hence the lady had never met her older siblings. It was touching to hear her story as well as experiencing her burning Christian faith.

The next day we continued to Yeosu on the south coast. It is a very busy area with an expelling nature surrounding it. We stayed here for four nights and were amazed by the stunning scenery covered in cherry blossoms and other flowers. Especially the drive back to Busan was special. It was as if the trees had exploded the flowers, we had never seen anything quite like it, and probably never will.

The last days of the days with Rikkes parents, they had the chance to catch up with Simon as well as to explore the area around Busan. We all enjoyed the visit.

In the beginning of May, Rikke went to Hong Kong for a week to catch up with most of the ladies from our Bible Study Group from Sydney. She enjoyed the company and the pleasant break from being a house wife. The boys surely also enjoyed the temporary independence. Nevertheless we all felt joy as we reunited.

22nd May was the 20 year wedding anniversary. We celebrated by having a romantic dinner at Paradise Hotel. It was a good night, although too short as Kent had to work and was home late.

Now summer has arrived and our Haeundae neighborhood becomes increasingly busy. We do feel spoiled as we sit on the balcony overlooking the area or when we walk the 5 minutes to the beach.

We have added a photo album from the last months activities. As it has obviously been long time since the last update, hence the album is rather extensive.