New Years Eve – David Kotz

St. Paul’s sunset

Last sunset of 2025!

I wanted to capture the last sunset of 2025 with an expansive view of London. So I climbed to the top of the famous dome of St. Paul’s Cathedral, squeezing my way up the ever-narrower spiral staircases and internal alleyways until I reached the Golden Gallery that circles the spire on top of the dome. It was 3:30, so I had a half hour to wait for sunset. Today the sky was clear, but the cityscape was filled with a light haze. As the sun sank lower, and the other tourists snapped their selfies to my left and right, I realized the sunset would be perfectly aligned! Below is the view just before the sun disappeared into the southwestern clouds, seen right through the London Eye, past Big Ben (Elizabeth Tower), Westminster Abbey, and our flat in Pimlico. Neat!

New Year’s Eve sunset from St. Paul’s Cathedral in central London –
right through the London Eye and over Big Ben (Elizabeth Tower) and Westminster Abbey.

Moosilauke New Years

A somewhat-annual tradition.

I’ve been hiking to the summit of Mount Moosilauke on (or about) New Year’s Day since at least 1984… and, for many of those years, camping in one of the rustic cabins on the side of the mountain: John Rand cabin on the east side, or Great Bear cabin on the southwest side. To retreat for two or three nights to a remote cabin, totally off the grid, where it may be 10ºF (or even –10ºF) outside while it is warm and snug (60º or 70ºF) inside, surrounded by friends. We spend hours cooking delicious meals, telling old stories, and playing board games while the snow falls outside. Read on…