'84 Olympics

First, I should note that these pictures have been taken at different times from multiple locations in and around Sarajevo ie: these things are not all in the same place.

I have heard two different stories about the ‘84 Olympics.  First, Sarajevo I am told gets a lot of snow.  From where I am staying to the mountains is about a 40 minute drive and they say that usually by the beginning of November there is snow and skiing.  One person I was talking to was saying that back in ‘84 in the weeks leading up to the Olympics there hadn't been any snow.  He said that the whole city was excited to be hosting the Olympics but they feared that it might not snow and that that may interfere with the games. He said it wasn't until the end of January, just about 2 weeks before opening ceremonies, that it finally snowed.

The other story that I heard is a little funnier.  A woman I know was working at the Olympics as a French guide and interpreter.  She was at one of the pavilions and Prince Albert II of Monaco showed up.  He said he wanted all of the people in the pavilion to leave so he could be there by himself.  They told him they couldn't make all of the people leave.  Then somewhere he got some paper (or it could have been a napkin) and drew a picture of Yugoslavia in the shape of a falice and said that was his opinion of the country.  So the people working there then got everyone to leave.

It is custom here that when you enter someone's home you take off your shoes and they will often give you a pair of slippers to wear.  So when Prince Albert enter the pavilion they told him he had to take off his shoes.  He did this and then went about whatever it is you do at the Olympic village.  However, while he was doing his thing they took his shoes and hid them.  Then when he went to leave he asked where are his shoes and everyone pretended like they didn't know.  They said he got really mad at this but they kept laughing.  Then finally they told him if he wanted his shoes back he would have to get down on his knees and beg for them.  At first he refused but then eventually he relented and after a little begging they gave him back his shoes.

These pictures of the tower are basically right up the street from where I live and in the city of Sarajevo.  The rest of the pictures have been taken up in the mountains and are about a 40 minute drive out of the city.

A billboard that (if you could see it) has the different events color coded.  One color showed where the downhill skiing would be, another color shows where the bobsleds would be etc.

I am told that this is literally all that is left of the bobsled track

The sight of the ski jump.  At the base of the hill there are a number of people camping in tents.

The two ski jumps.  At first I thought those brown things were the end of the ramp (these pictures were taken with my zoom and I couldn't see all of the detail from where I was at) however, when I got closer I could see these were put in afterwards to stop people from trying to use them as jumps.

The winners circle/platform.  You can't see it in this picture but the orange piece in the center still has the remnants of the Olympic torch that was burning there back in '84

This picture I took at the end of the ski jump ramp looking down.  

The sketchy steps I walked up to get to the bottom of the jump ramp