Finally we got to see the Olympics - it was amazing!
On Sunday and Tuesday we had tickets for the Athletics at "the Bird nest"and it was a great experience. Not just seeing some excellent performance by the worlds best athletes but also to see the organization behind it.
The Olympic area with all the different venues - Bird Nest, Water Cube, Nation Indoor stadium and all the other in the Olympics park is worth a day to study. The architecture is great and now cost is saved to make it perfect.
And the service - every where. All this tens of thousand of volunteers helping you everywhere with everything - from finding the way to you venue or to take your picture standing in front of the Birdnest. All these young people doing this without any payment - just getting free food. But, as one of the girls we spoke with said
" We are doing this for our country and it is also a good opportunity for me to see and speak with a lot of foreign people - and to see some of the games for free..."
So, the games? Well it was a very special experience to watch the games inside a this stadium - together with 91 000 other people. The enthusiasm among the spectators was great and it was great to "do the Wave" together with all these people in this great arena. Once they started doing the Wave they almost never stopped again.
We also say some great results, like the new world record on Women's 3000m Steeplechase by Gulnara Galinka-Samutove with 8:58:81. Or Women 100 m where Jamaica made a triple before the three Americans.... Shelly-Ann Fraser got the gold in 10:78
But the most amazing thing was when the games was over for the day - and 90 000 people should leave the stadium and go back home. Before I could see it as a nightmare (you all know how it looks around Råsunda after a football match when 300 people is going back - it is chaos).
No way - we just followed all the other people as a "stream" walking down to the new subway. There was volunteers all the way side-by-side showing you the way and make sure you not went the wrong way. Down into the subway (no ticket needed) and direct on to the first train on the Olympic Lane. At the end station direct change to our Line 10 and we was back at our apartment "in the other end of the city" withing 45 minutes.
I must say I am very, very impressed by the way these games are run by the Beijing Olympic Committee and by the city of Beijing. All foreign people I spoke with during the games and also in the subway had the same expression - It was amazing!
