So, the last full day in Korea...
We left early for Seoul, passing paddy fields, ramshackle small towns and villages and eventually sped along the blue traffic lane that allowed all buses to pass all cars to the palace called Gyeongbokgung.
Quite Chinese in style, with an assortment of buildings, the prettiest of which was a smallish chunky palace set on water.
Hot, and difficult to walk around in a group of 30 or more, with some consistent stragglers! Good to be with the Croatians (Reno Fleiss et al) and Hungarians.
Lunch was taken on a street full of food stalls and small cafés serving traditional Korean food. My noodles, seafood and spicy sauce were very good.
We saw more traditional houses, went shopping in Insadong, and then found our way to our hotel, the rather grand Lotte.
A wander round the local department store, also called Lotte, and along street markets. No purchases made, but good fresh lemonade and sweet and sour ?pork from a food stall.
Back to the hotel, and a very relaxing time in the lounge with my book, a couple of beers, and an excellent guy playing the keyboard and singing Frank Sinatra, Louis Armstrong, etc. I'd forgotten how good that music is!
And finally an early night...
It will be a long day tomorrow.
Sunday 3 June 2012
Friday 1 June 2012
Congress and Korean cuckoos
The final day of the Congress, and today was the day of the formal Congress meeting.
GBR had three votes, and I was one of them.
We sat through a lot of reports on World Championships past and future, and on Olympic Games (again, past and future). We voted on one or two proposals, and on some new nations who want to join the FIS family, and on new council members. My Chinese friend was not elected, neither was Klara Kasvo, from HUN, who gave a tremendous speech and swayed a lot of people in her favour.
We lunched on the balcony of the 7th floor, in the best sunshine of the week - a delicious barbecue.
When the meeting finally drew to a close, I had enough energy to walk around the lake and then up the road to the ski resort above, approx 3 km, and then back through a lovely woodland trail. The woods resounded to the sound of several cuckoos, not yet heard at home!
Bathed, showered and refreshed for the final formal dinner, this one hosted by FIS. Excited and honoured to be asked to be Medical Supervisor at the Nordic World Championships in Val Di Fiemme next February/March, the request endorsed by Sarah Lewis and Hubert Hörterer, Chairman of the FIS Medical Committee. A scary responsibility, but will be a pleasure to take on.
And then a bit too excited to sleep. Sadly good night's sleep have been few and far between on this trip. Tomorrow we go back to Seoul...
We sat through a lot of reports on World Championships past and future, and on Olympic Games (again, past and future). We voted on one or two proposals, and on some new nations who want to join the FIS family, and on new council members. My Chinese friend was not elected, neither was Klara Kasvo, from HUN, who gave a tremendous speech and swayed a lot of people in her favour.
We lunched on the balcony of the 7th floor, in the best sunshine of the week - a delicious barbecue.
When the meeting finally drew to a close, I had enough energy to walk around the lake and then up the road to the ski resort above, approx 3 km, and then back through a lovely woodland trail. The woods resounded to the sound of several cuckoos, not yet heard at home!
Bathed, showered and refreshed for the final formal dinner, this one hosted by FIS. Excited and honoured to be asked to be Medical Supervisor at the Nordic World Championships in Val Di Fiemme next February/March, the request endorsed by Sarah Lewis and Hubert Hörterer, Chairman of the FIS Medical Committee. A scary responsibility, but will be a pleasure to take on.
And then a bit too excited to sleep. Sadly good night's sleep have been few and far between on this trip. Tomorrow we go back to Seoul...
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