Me touching our commemorative
brick in the Olympic Plaza. Salt Lake City
Olympic Traveling
Let me say that I’m certainly not an Olympic tourism expert. However, having been to two of them, I think I’ve seen enough to provide some informed opinions on what one should and shouldn’t be done if one is planning to attend an Olympics.
The first piece of advice I’d tell anyone would be to make sure to set aside a lot of time getting to and from an event. Remember, you are traveling with thousands of other people trying to get to the same place. Throw in time to get through security checks and ticket validation, and it’s easy to see why you will be tied up for hours. Follow the time guidelines that the Olympic organizers recommend for getting to and from an event. Believe me, those guidelines are pretty accurate, so follow them closely.
One of the casualties of spending so much time getting to and from a venue is that it’s impossible to see a lot of events in one day. I think two events per one day, provided they are located reasonably close to another, are the maximum a person can see. Why? Well, if you spend an hour and a half getting to the venue, two hours watching the event, and another hour and a half getting out of the venue, that’s five hours of your day tied up in one event. Multiply that by two, and you’ve now spent ten hours. Thus, two events are just about the most that anyone can see.
Another casualty of this time crunch is that one has little time to do much sightseeing. I’ve come to the conclusion that you either go somewhere to see the sights, or you go to see the Olympics. There just isn’t enough time to do both. But, that doesn’t mean that one can’t do a little sightseeing. I recommend setting aside one day just for visiting the tourist attractions. If you’re a hard-core sports addict, then I recommend picking one non-sports site and making some time to visit it. Even the little sightseeing that you’ll do will enhance the Olympic experience.
While there isn’t enough time to do any major sightseeing, there is plenty of time to immerse oneself in the Olympic experience. Strangely enough, the Olympic experience isn’t just found at the events. It is also found on the streets and stores of the towns hosting the events. I strongly encourage anyone attending the Games to wander through the town and mingle with the people. Do something corny that you would never otherwise do, like buy a commemorative brick (I now have one in Atlanta and one in Salt Lake City). One will find a lot of commercialism, a very high level of goodwill among the other visitors, and unique memories to treasure for a lifetime.
That last sentence really sums up my overall feeling about the Olympics; which is to just enjoy the whole experience. There are few places that I’ve visited where there is such an outpouring of good feelings toward everyone. People cheer for athletes from other countries (although they cheer a little louder for those from their own country), and seem a little more courteous than usual. If the Olympic ideal was to bring people together from all over the world in a spirit of peaceful unity, then that ideal has been met at both games I’ve attended. It’s quite a special feeling to experience, and an even more special feeling to add to it.
2002 Olympic Trip Home Page
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