A note from Madame Secretary...

Last week, I was fortunate enough to make the acquaintance of Friedhelm Illian. Herr Illian is in Saturday morning Korean class. During class, he invited me and some of the other students out to dinner with the Exploring Club. I was a little confused at first and tried to figure out what this "Exploring Club" was. Turns out, Friedhelm and a friend of his, Hyeon-Cheol, made up this club as a way to explore Seoul. Every weekend, they want to go someplace new and have fun. Friedhelm is the president and Hyeon-Cheol is vice-president. ^^ During the first meeting, they apparently ate the world's best Deok Boki (rice cakes) in Anguk-dong. That was before they got a secretary, so it's really only conjecture...
Here are the notes from the 2nd meeting:

President, VP, and Jillian met at the Starbucks outside Anguk Station. After waiting to see if any other students would come, they headed out towards the Somerset Hotel to convene with Susan (Friedhelm's wife) and another friend (Cathy). Along the way, they stopped to help some tourists. Jillian suggested that the tourists should walk around Samcheong-Dong (although she couldn't remember the street name at the time), because they could see traditional Korean architecture and also several cute coffee shops and boutiques. This feat of city-knowledge promptly earned her the position of club secretary and she accepted.

The exploring club met at the Bärlin deutsches Wirtshaus, a German restaurant inside of the Somerset. There was a variety of German cuisine available. The club began the meal with a round of soup and Altbier.  Secretary and VP ordered Wienerschnitzel and Thüringerschnitzel, which came with Pommes Frites (French Fries), Gurkensalat (cucumber salad), and Kartoffelbrei (fried potatoes) for the main dish. In true German style, the club ate their meal leisurely and afterward enjoyed a cup of coffee with dessert. For herself, Secretary decided to try the rote Grütze (red berries with cream).

Although the waiter did not speak German, (he did wear clippies in his hair, however), he was friendly and the atmostphere was open and welcoming. The menu had a variety of dishes from all over Germany, so it was a true sampling of German cuisine. The club members spent a very enjoyable evening there, getting to know each other, and eating delicious food. President instructed that the club must have fun, and the members obliged!

Exploring Club rating: Erfolg! (success!)