So Long, Farewell

Auf Wiedersehen, Innsbruck. My third Olympic Games might have been my most productive. After many trips to the mountains and many interviews conducted through interpreter or broken English, I have some stories to show for it. I learned a ton about writing and reporting while working with some awesome mentors and senior reporters. Never will I get to work with such great sportswriters and editors in a situation where it's expected for them to show me everything they know.

I had a great time hanging out with the other young reporters. Never will I get the chance to spend two weeks eating, drinking and working with 14 other people from different countries. The experience of talking with others about their native culture, food and politics is the next best kind of cultural exchange after visiting those countries themselves. I've gained a tour guide should I visit Barbados, Vancouver, the Canadian Arctic, Montevideo, Tel Aviv, Vienna, China, Singapore, Australia, Dakar, Senegal, Delhi, Riga and Ukraine.

Click HERE, HERE, HERE and HERE for four more of my stories.

Click HERE for more photos of my Austrian adventure.

German translation of the day: beer = bier

A Winter Sports Wonderland

Click HERE to read my first event review of the Games.

German translation of the day: achtung = caution

The Final Stretch

The past two days were spent away from the mountains. I was able to watch speed skating, some hockey and engage in the Culture and Education Program that is unique to the Youth Olympics. Friday, I return to Patscherkofel to cover alpine skiing. It will be my first time writing a standard event review since arriving in Innsbruck. I'm excited for the challenge.

There's only three more days left in this crazy trip. There's still about five sports across three venues I've yet to see. Once I return to the States, there will be 185 days until the Opening Ceremony for the London 2012 Olympic Games.

Click HERE to read my latest story, which I'm surprised hasn't caused more of a stir.

Click HERE to see more photos of my Austrian adventure.

German translation of the day: guten tag = good day, hello

Patscherkofel, Khutai and Seefeld

Those are names of the three mountain venues for winter sports around Innsbruck. After six straight days working assignments at these venues, Wednesday will bring a welcome change of pace. I will get to stay inside Innsbruck city limits. Somehow, I've been dubbed the mountain man of the Young Reporters. I've covered primarily the outdoor sports: ski/snowboard halfpipe, luge, alpine skiing, and ski jumping. Two days ago was probably the coldest I've ever been in my life. The weather in the mountains was -10 celcius, or 14 degrees Fahrenheit, not counting wind chill. Not fun conditions for standing around outside all day.

I've been able to catch bits of hockey, curling and for the first time Tuesday - figure skating. With only five days left of competition, I hope to catch the remaining winter sports I haven't seen live: speed skating, biathlon, bobsled and skeleton.

I've interviewed lots of people and written some cool stories, but THIS one might be my favorite of the trip.

Click HERE for more photos of my Austrian adventure.

German translation of the day: auf wiedersehen = goodbye

Opening Ceremony

I took these quotes from athletes at the Opening Ceremony for the inaugural Winter Youth Olympic Games in Innsbruck, Austria, but they never got used.

So here they are. Try to imagine the accents when you read them.

James Lelliot (Great Britain), bobsled, 18

“It’s absolutely amazing. I can’t believe how many people have turned up for it. It’s an honor. It’s going to be absolutely amazing. I think for anyone who hasn’t realized how big this thing is, they’ll realize after this.”

Linus Birkendahl (Germany) snowboard slopestyle, 16

“Super stoked to be here, it’s awesome. The crowd, all the people, it’s just an awesome feeling. I’ve never been to anything like this. There’s 70 countries here. It’s so good.”

David Panyik (Hungary) biathlon, 16

“Really exciting. The show was beautiful. Amazing performance, everything. Nations come together and celebrate together this event. So I think it’s amazing.”

Anne Michiels (Belgium) speed skating, 15

“It’s amazing. It’s just a big experience to be here and I like it very much. It’s so nice you can meet other people. It’s beautiful.”

Georgi Mihaylov (Bulgaria) snowboard slopestyle, 16

“It’s amazing, the atmosphere and everything is perfect. The whole country’s coming. We exchange some pins. It was cool. The feeling is good.”

Click HERE to read my latest story.

Click HERE to see photos of the Opening Ceremony and more.

From Austria, With Love

I've been here four days now and I've just now found time to talk. In 30 minutes, I will board the media shuttle to the Opening Ceremonies. It's located at Innsbruck's iconic ski jumping venue, so stay tuned for those photos. My first couple days have been filled with training, interviewing and writing. I've filed three stories so far. Click HERE to read the first published article.

It's not too cold in the city. Even in the mountains, it's only freezing when the sun isn't shining. My hotel is very nice and the area surrounding it is filled with restaurants. I've already had pretzels, schnitzel, gulash and my share of beers - all Austrian/German delicacies. It's been great to meet the other "young reporters" and "mentors" again.

My first two assignments have been to report on training for ski halfpipe and luge, both outside and in the mountains. I think most of my days will be spent in the great outdoors, rather than inside watching hockey or curling. I've never seen halfpipe in person and it looks totally different than what I've seen on TV. Since training hasn't started, my job is talk to athletes and come up with a story. So far I've written about the different halfpipe tricks and interviewed a US bobsledder and US luge athlete.

Click HERE to see photos of my first few days.

German Translation of the Day: thanks = danke

Austria Bound

On Monday, I leave for Innsbruck, Austria, site of the inaugural Winter Youth Olympic Games. I attended the first Summer Youth Olympics in Singapore in August 2010 as part of the International Olympic Committee's Young Reporters program. Well, I've been invited back and I couldn't be more excited. I'll try to post and Tweet as often as possible.

Here's what I think I know about Innsbruck, Austria and the 2012 Youth Olympics:

• The main language of Austria is German.
• Arnold Schwarzenegger lived in Austria until he was 21.
• Austrian beer and schnitzel is supposed to be as good as any in Germany.
• Innsbruck is a world-class ski town of 150,000.
• Innsbruck is much closer to Munich, Germany than Vienna, Austria.
• The forecast calls for light snow and highs in the mid-30s.
• Innsbruck has hosted two Winter Olympics in 1964 and 1976.
• Three sports will make their Olympic debut - snowboard slopestyle, ski halfpipe, women's ski jumping.
• Team USA features a pair of twin curling athletes, a brother-sister ice dancing duo and two athletes with Olympian fathers.