Our Tradition-New Year's Day Hike

For many years our family has had the tradition to go for a hike on New Year's Day. It is a great way to clear your head after staying up too late and reflect on what events shaped our year and to look forward to the year ahead. We started this tradition when the girls were really young and it reminds me of our hikes in the beautiful Colorado Rockies. Hard to imagine that we are on the other side of the world now in an incredible, scenic city, Dresden.



During our Cultural Training, our instructor, Antonio (from Spain...but married to a local Dresdener) shared with us an area that you could hike on New Year's Day that would bring you good luck for the year if you went there, naturally we could not pass up this opportunity. We actually did this hike in October with gorgeous fall colors and we knew we'd have to come back on New Year's Day.



There are 365 steps that ascend to a panoramic view of the Dresden area. For every step it equals a day of good luck. The treat is at the top where you enjoy amazing scenery and delicious hot cocoa from one of our favorite restaurants, The Spitz Haus. On the hike up you are surrounded by vineyards and lovely wineries and homes. What we didn't take into account was the amount of snow and ice after a very, early and substantial winter...it was "slicker than snot".

We were able to share this activity with some wonderful friends, also new to the area, the Lewis family from California. Our kids have become close through swim team and the international school, and we've enjoyed spending time together, amazed at continuously finding similar interests. We keep saying, "Oh, you like that, too?"


After our adventure of getting back down the hillside, we had a great picnic in the snow, even Frosty had fun. Bottom line: guaranteed good luck for everyday this year! It's a win-win!