Ringing in the New Year

Let’s talk about New Years’ traditions for a moment…

My favorite memories for ringing in a new year always consisted of family. Most often, we would be invited to my Aunt Irene’s home, where each family would provide a specific dessert or appetizer, and we would enjoy a delicious feast. When we were (all of us) younger, we would listen to salsa or cumbia, and my Uncle Julian would pull out maracas or cabasa, and pass them around. We would all start dancing and enjoying the music. This party would continue while we prepared for the coming of midnight. At midnight, we each should eat 12 grapes, while thinking of one resolution for each grape, drink our champagne with a piece of gold jewelry (to promote wealth in our future), and then grab luggage filled with items to represent where we wanted to travel for the upcoming year, and walk around the neighborhood.

As we got older, and families dispersed to new homes, new families, the celebrations also changed. The local families would take turns hosting a new years dinner. At the farm, we would have a “hay bale drop”….and if we all made it to 9pm, we were proud of that!!!

I’ve never felt as excited and happy to celebrate a new year as I do when I know it’s with family.

With that being said…

The weekend of New Year’s Eve came around and I had no plans.. I’d had no desire to make any plans… But that Saturday morning comes along, and I felt that travel itch. I hopped on Airbnb, did some budgeted browsing, and found a little place near Andong. I packed a small bag, hopped in my car, and headed out before noon.

Andong

If you recall, I visited 안동 (Andong) during the summer of 2021 with some friends. The city boasts the UNESCO heritage folk village 하회마을 (Hahoe Ma-eul), which is famous for its international mask festivals. There are, of course, many other culturally significant sites in the area!

I didn’t want to return to the same places we had seen before, but I also wasn’t feeling too adventurous. I decided, instead, to visit the cliff that looks over the folk village. I drove up the mountain, and parked at the temple, near the footpath to the cliff.

I roamed around the temple area, happened upon two very friendly cats, and then climbed up to the cliff. Snow was falling, it was cold, but the view was nice!

While I was returning down to the temple, I heard a rustling in the forest. I looked, and saw two strange animals running and quickly crossing my path. Here is an amazing picture I captured!:

As you can clearly see, the legs were black, and the body was a fluffy yellowish-orange. Both cuties had a white mark on their heads. After a quick Google search, I found this animal is called the yellow-throated marten.

I headed on over to my Airbnb, because, let’s face it.. I was cold, tired, and hungry. I arrived, parked my car, grabbed some snacks from the convenience store near the entrance, and headed upstairs to warm up a bit.

The apartment was across from a park, so, I decided to catch the sunset whilst walking around. Naturally, I also was hungry for a proper dinner, and stumbled upon a Vietnamese restaurant 20 minute walk away from the apartment. I ate a delicious pho in a beef bone broth, recommended to me by the server.

The noodle soup was flavorful, and warmed me up for the 20 minute walk back to the apartment, as the temperature was much colder now. I returned to my temporary home, took a hot shower, turned on the heat, bundled up, and went to bed. I set my alarm clock for 5:30 in the morning.

5:30?!?! You may be shocked… but.. in Korea, it seems to be a tradition to watch the sunrise to start the new year. Since I am not a big party animal, and my happiest new years memories consist of a mix of cultural traditions my family has adapted over the years, this felt like a great way to celebrate the commencement of 2023.

So, I woke up at 5:30, bundled up (it was around 20F and windy), grabbed a hot chocolate and hot tea from the convenience store, wished the attendant a happy new year “새해 복 많이 받으세요!!” and drove 30 minutes back into Andong, to a beautiful bridge, where I believed the sunrise should be spectacular. I arrived buy 6:30. I excitedly walked to the bridge, and waited… and waited.. and then realized I needed to go higher, where there were less trees. I ran back to my car (time is of the essence!!) and drove another 10 minutes to the dam, where there were many people gathering.

At the dam, we all stood and watched as the skies went from black, to light grey, to a beautiful like pink, and the sun slowly began rising up from behind the mountains. There was a Buddhist monk chanting and praying, which added a nice instrumental background to the scene. Even with the bitter cold and the frigid winds, it was well worth it!

I drove back to the apartment, rested until 11:00, when I had to check out, and hopped back on the road. I was going to explore a bit southeast before heading home.

I drove along side roads, winding up, down, and through mountains for nearly two hours. Thankfully there was no ice or snow on any roads.

Cheongsong Ice Valley

I finally arrived at my pit stop: 청송얼음골 (Cheongsong Eoreumgol Valley) 새 see a picturesque man-made ice wall. Apparently, the mountain wall, which faces away from the heat of the sun, is sprayed with water, to create this winter wonderland.

I enjoyed watching as young children ran around on the iced over stream, or parents tried to capture selfies, while their children would photo-bomb them. I stayed for a while, people watching, and then headed back on my way home, which would be a 3 hour drive.

I turned on my music, and sang my way home.

It was a beautiful way to welcome 2023!