At the Olympic park, we had a scheduled tour/presentation from a guide to talk about the lasting legacy and impact of hosting the Olympic games at Munich. A key element of the tour was the fact that our group had now all been up for at least 25 of the last 26 or so hours. The tour started with a couple minute video about the architectural design of the park, which could potentially have been interesting, had not everyone, including both Craig and Brad, our professors, been nodding off...some interesting things that I did take away from the video were that the Olympic park was and still is the world's largest tent roof, and that it was an impressive engineering feat. Pretty sure that was all the video said...
Fortunately, the tour was much more interesting. Not a whole lot to say about it, but here are some pictures:
A sports arena used for basketball and (I think) volleyball in 1972, now mostly used for concerts. Like all the Munich Olympic buildings, this building is 2/3 dug into the ground. If Munich wins the 2018 games, this will be the building for figure skating. If the wood floor is removed, there is already an ice rink underneath, used for shows like "Vampires on Ice" (yes, that's a real event...there are posters up).
The swimming pool where Mark Spitz set his world records. Notice the tent roof.
The pool, and the entire park, had people everywhere swimming, skiing, and generally enjoying the park. Munich is probably the best city in the world at utilization of Olympic facilities after the actual Games.
Not really Olympic related, but this is the biggest foosball table I've seen in my life.
Finally, the outdoor stadium. Used for the Olympic opening ceremonies in 1972, and for professional soccer until 2005. We went down onto the field, which was pretty cool.
Another key part of the day was discussion of 2018. Munich is bidding to become the first city to host both the Summer Games and Winter Games. The bid for the 2018 winter games is officially turned in on January 11th, and the results of the decision will be announced in June or July. So, on our tour, we discussed where the 2018 games would take place. Mostly, they would be in the same facilities as 1972. About 70% of the buildings needed already exist and need only minor additions or remodeling. Very interesting discussion on how Munich is still reusing and repurposing buildings from 39 years ago for 2018.
To end our time at Olympic Park, we went up into the Munich Olympic tower.
Great views of the city.
Also, somewhat inexplicably, there's is a Rock and Roll Musem on the top of the tower...very random.
etc.
Most of us ended the night with a visit to the beer hall right across the street from our hostel, the Augustiner. Great food...and my first litre of beer.
And finally sleep.
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