Riverwalk

Less than five minutes walk from my house is a riverwalk in the figurative sense. This is not a commercial area. There are not any businesses or stands, no restaurants or bars; in short, I've seen nothing for sale. This riverwalk was designed for recreation. There are walkers, joggers, bikers, rollerbladers, groups doing aerobics, you name it! There are generally large groups of old men playing cards or dominoes, and I often see people fishing. They also have an acupressure trail that you take your shoes off and walk on pointy stuff. I haven't tried that yet. At first I was surprised by this little outdoor activity oasis, but it makes perfect sense. It is not practical to use the commercial sidewalks for leisure. They are narrow and packed with street vendors. Cars and scooters also drive on the sidewalks and people park on them. So if you just want to take a stroll or ride your bike, you need someplace designated for this. The riverwalk.

So today I set out for a little walk, but when I got to the river, I discovered a festival. Colorful Daegu. It seemed to start right by the entrance from my street. At this end a stage was set up where I had the opporunity to hear an octet of flutes play classical music, see a man do traditional dancing, and a magician. I strolled further and found craft boothes. You could go in and do basket weaving, papier mache mask making, and origami. You could watch fabric dying, leather working, and a variety of traditional cooking. It was really interesting. At the far end was an enormous stage where a Korean alt/punk band was performing. I was truly impressed at the variety of cultural offerings at this little festival. You will be proud to know that I even tried some strange treat that was coated in a peanut dust and was the texture of an old jello jiggler on the inside. Don't ask, I couldn't figure out what it was, but everyone else was trying it!