It’s a typical Friday afternoon at work. Everyone’s excited at the thought of having a weekend off, to go home, relax, enjoy time with friends and family. I am getting ready for an adventure myself. Actually, I was really struggling on my morning subway ride earlier. It’s hard as it is to fit in with the crowds, but my backpack made it all worse. Nevertheless, I am excited because today I’m going home.

When I first came to Korea to study over 3 years ago, I lived in Daejeon for a year. Daejeon was the place where I started to realize what it means to live in Korea, the place where I studied Korean language and culture, where I made friends from Korea and the rest of the world. Daejeon was my home. Or as I like to jokingly tell my Korean friends, Daejeon is my Korean hometown. But despite all these good memories I was really curious how it would feel to be back there, in the same town, all by myself.

As soon as I get off work I make my way to the Seongnam Bus Terminal, pay 10,600 KRW for a ticket at the counter and 10 minutes later I am on my way. The 1 hour 40 minutes bus ride is over in no time and I’m excited and nervous at the same time.

It’s quite late already so I pick up some food to eat before checking in at the guesthouse and, after having dinner, I quickly fall asleep.

Autumn in the streets of Daejeon

The next day I decide to explore the neighbourhood on foot. The streets around the guesthouse have many interesting looking shops, trendy restaurants and cozy coffee shops.

The streets near the Guesthouse Sky Garden

It’s a lovely autumn day and I am really enjoying these unfamiliar streets in my Korean hometown. As I later learn the area is called Daeheung-dong and is home to the Daeheung-dong Culture and Art Road.

While it didn’t become quite clear to me where this road starts and ends I can definitely say that there are lots of artistic paintings and murals in this area.

Culture and Art Road

Walls in Daeheung-dong Culture and Art Road

Birds are also very well represented and cracks in the walls are used for cute and unexpected extras that must have been added later on.

The area is also filled with coffee shops and trendy restaurants

The feel of the place is quite different to the university area where I lived in Daejeon. It has a modern and yet nostalgic atmosphere, a fusion of the old and new. I’m actually quite sad I didn’t know about this place when I was still living there because there are so many cute looking cafés and trendy restaurants with interesting menus!

Eunhaeng-dong is famous for shopping

As I missed breakfast, I have quite the appetite and enter a little restaurant with just about 5 tables and have rice with avocado, pollack roe, spam and a fried egg in a wooden bowl. It is yummy but now I am craving dessert! Luckily there is an answer to that. When asking Korean people what they know about Daejeon, a bakery in Eunhaeng-dong easily makes the top 3. During my Daejeon days this was the place where I would go when I craved for European style bread and try some of their latest creations.

Lights up at night and creates a great atmosphere

With a bread in my hand I now walk streets very familiar to me. I see restaurants where I had lunch with friends, shops where I bought summer clothes and of course the famous Sky Road.

Particularly weekends get really busy with groups of friends, couples and families

The cool thing about Sky Road is that it lights up at night and has cameras installed so you can see yourself and your friends on the display waving. I smile thinking about the good times I spent here with my Daejeonian friends and wish they were here with me now, waving at the sky.

Entrance area of Daejeon Guesthouse Sky Garden

I booked my stay at Sky Garden Guesthouse about 2 weeks before my trip. Minutes after reserving my room I got a bilingual text message in English and Korean informing me about all the amenities in the guesthouse as well as asking about my estimated check-in time. This very personal approach and the speed of replies gave me a really good first impression and I got excited for my trip. On the morning of my trip I got another text message asking if I would arrive by train or bus and they included the fastest bus connection with a map! Due to traffic I arrived a bit later than expected. Originally, I was told that I would have to self-check-in if I arrived after 9pm, but they ended up waiting for me! After showing me the café where breakfast is served, where the microwaves are and a table that allows you to sit and eat snacks and food from outside, I went upstairs to my room on the 3rd floor. There was no elevator so I was happy I only had a small backpack with me.

A single room with private bathroom and TV

My single room with personal bathroom was a lot more spacious than I had imagined it from the photos. The entrance area had a big shoe shelf, a bathroom to the left and the main room. The bathroom was quite big and even included a huge washing machine next to essentials such as shampoo, conditioner, body wash and tooth paste. The main room shelves as well as hanging space, a single bed with blankets, a TV, a massive fridge and a kitchen sink and microwave, which surprised me since I was told that eating is not allowed in the room. Tired from a long week at work it was not long before I got ready for bed and fell asleep in no time. I must have been really tired because I slept in so late I didn’t have time to make use of the free breakfast with juice, milk, toast, cereals and cup noodles.

The café area has shelves full of travel inspiration

Nevertheless, before leaving I went to have a look around the café area and was quite fascinated by all the cute decorations.

The hallways are decorated with souvenirs from all over the world.

The hallways

Memories made at Daejeon Guesthouse Sky Park

All in all Sky Garden Guesthouse had everything I needed for a comfortable stay in Daejeon; friendly and helpful owners, a simple and clean room with all amenities (including a hair straightner!), a comfortable bed, and even a free breakfast at a phenomenal price. The cherry on top was that the location was in walking distance to a hip neighbourhood with nice coffee shops and Daejeon’s representative bakery. I can only say good things about Daejeon Sky Garden Guesthouse.