May 20, Lausanne, Switzerland

Today we traveled to Lausanne, Switzerland to tour the International Olympic Headquarters, Museum and Research Library. We also were given a behind the scenes tour of the archive rooms which houses original documents relating to the Olympic movement going back over 100 years.

May 19, Albertville and Annecy

We had another full day of meetings and activities. In the morning, we were given a private tour of the Albertville Olympic Museum. After the tour, we met with the Mayor and the Assistant Mayor of Albertville who shared with us the long term benefits and costs of hosting the Winter Olympic Games.











In the afternoon, we traveled back to Annecy and met with the Deputy Mayor and four of his staff. Pictured above is the City Hall in Annecy. They gave us a very thorough understanding of the planned Olympic venues (if Annecy is successful) and the many facets that go into hosting such an enormous event. Afterwards, one of the staff took us out to the sight on Lake Annecy where the opening and closing ceremonies would be held in a temporary stadium that would seat over 40,000 people.

May 18, Torino and Annecy

In the morning, we met with the president of the Torino Olympic Foundation and his assistant. The foundation has a responsibility after the Olympics are completed to manage the various Olympic venues and to pay back over a period of time, the funds that were invested by the province and the city of Torino.

Afterwards, we traveled to Annecy, once again crossing the Alps. On our way, we drove through the third longest tunnel which was approximately 8 miles long. After arriving at the hotel, we spent the afternoon and evening sightseeing in beautiful historic Annecy with its many canals. Our group dinner was at the Brasserie des Europeens which everyone enjoyed.

May 17 Torino, Italy

Today we had two interviews. The first was with two Intesa SanPaolo Bank representatives who discussed their sponsorship of the 2006 Winter Olympic Games. The second interview was with the Vice President and the Budget Director of the Province of Torino who answered many questions regarding the aftermath of the games and the lessons learned from their experiences.

May 16 Traveling to Italy

Today was a long travel day by bus from Munich to Torino. The crossing of the Bernard Pass was spectacular as the pictures show. The weather was cool with rain showers until we arrived in Italy.

We will post more pictures from Torino at a later time. Internet service is very slow to download our pictures at the hotel.

Olympic Park (Munich)

May 13, 2011

Photos by Karen Fuhr
Narrative by Tom Fuhr




Location: Munich 2018 Olympic Bid Company Offices

We began with an interview with Jorchen Faerber, the director of communications. He gave us a sample of the presentations they are giving next week in Lausanne to the complete IOC delegation. He gave us great insight into the marketing and the communications necessary for the press. He showed us where all the venues would be located and explained to us which venues would be temporary and the few that would have to be built for the Olympics. Afterwards we visited the Olympic Park.









The 1972 Olympic Village (above) is the location where the several Israeli athletes were killed during the games.





Location: Olympic Park (Munich)

This was where the Summer Olympics of 1972 were held. The stadium is used on a regular basis for sporting events and concerts. There was actual renovation and construction still occurring. The media tower overlooks the Olympic Park. The BMW Headquarters and Museum are right across the street.

Garmisch-Partenkirchen

May 12, 2011

Photos by Karen Fuhr
Narrative by Tom Fuhr

Apologies for the late post. Between technical difficulties and long days it has been tricky to find the time which works for everyone to work on the blog.

This is Florian our bus driver for whole two weeks and we get the entire bus for our group.




















Location: Olympic Ski Jump in Garmisch-Partenkirchen

We had a private two hour tour of the ski jump which included walking up the highest ski jump which was 1000+ ft. From there we had a great view of the Zugspitze, which is the highest mountain in Germany at 6,700 ft. Next to the ski jump is the giant slalom course which was used for the World Championships this past February. Garmisch host








Location: Rathaus of Garmisch-Partenkirchen

We met with Thomas Schmidt the Mayor of Garmisch-Partenkirchen. He was a diplomat in Ottawa and spoke excellent English. He answered many questions and gave us great insight into all the many facets of the impact of the Olympic games on Garmisch-Partenkirchen. After the interview he gave each one of us a Munich Candidate City T-shirt and wrist bands. It was drizzling afterwards so not much sightseeing was done.








Location: Wieskirche

About an hour's drive north Garmish-Partenkirchen is Wies. In the little town is Wieskirche, a Rococo Church which is very ornate with gilded gold leaf and frescoes. This is one of the most beautiful churches in Germany.