New Year

December 31st was Munich's annual "Sylvesterlauf" -- a 10 kilometer race through Olympia Park. We ran as part of the BMW team -- a group of 15 or so BMW employees whose finish times counted toward a team placement. There was a lot of snow on the ground, but it was 10 degrees warmer than the previous day, so most of the race course was dirty slush. It was so crowded that it was impossible to keep our shoes dry, and we found ourselves doing almost more maneuvering that straight-out running. Our goal time was one hour, and were pleased that we both finished in 50-something minutes! Afterwards, we got bananas and warm tea in a souvenir mug, thankful that we still had the warm rental car to take us home. We were both a little sore the next day, but we were so glad for the opportunity to participate in such an event. This photo was taken after the race. The tower in the background between our heads is the Olympia Tower, a significant landmark from Summer Olympics 1972. After the race, we enjoyed a quite evening at home. Fireworks awoke us briefly at midnight, but we went right back to sleep--a good ending to Steve's vacation.