2014 Olympics location

[Longhornliz]

I guess afraid isnt the right word... I just wouldnt want to go to kazakstan at all. I saw a show called "no reservations" with the guy from a cooks tour i forget his name.... it made kazakstan look unpleasant. I have friends doing a mission in south korea, so i would consider going there... although again ide rather not. Spain I would have no issue with, although ide rather visit in the summer months. Developing nations are not high up on my list of places to spend big bucks traveling to. I voted for austria, because its a place i would be willing to shell out money to go.

[JonnyCoop]

I went with South Korea, for 2 main reasons: 1. Asia has only hosted the Winter Games twice (both times in Japan), and 2. Their economy could probably handle the expense.

Doesn't Georgia rather tend toward political instability? (I'm not even remotely an expert on the region, and my last data is from 6 years ago)

Kazakhstan, I don't know. I get the impression that the overall landscape there is rather bleak. Some consider this type of landscape to be quite beautiful, but I personally find it a bit depressing. Rather like west Texas, isn't it?

I hear Sochi is beautiful, and it would be nice if Russia actually got to host an Olympics that didn't get boycotted by half the world due to an ill-advised political maneuver.

Salzburg isn't too far from Innsbruck, which got the Games twice (granted, the second time was because they pulled them from Denver at the last minute) [No, I don't know why]. Kind of like Albertville isn't that far from Grenoble and Torino isn't that far from Cortina d'Ampezzo ('56 host). I say if you're going to award a Winter Olympics to a country that's had them before, put them someplace on the entire oppisite end of the country, or put them where you had them last time. I don't know why, it just makes more sense to me. Tho I will admit it probably comes closest to saying "Winter Olympics here" than the other 6.

Jaca, Spain would be my second choice. I love the Spanish sense of style and I think they would just LOOK cool, like Barcelona did.

Sofia? I don't know. I'm neutral on that one. Seems like they've tried for every Olympics every year since the Iron Curtain collapsed. They obviously want them bad.

[Longhornliz]

Kazakhstan, I don't know. I get the impression that the overall landscape there is rather bleak. Some consider this type of landscape to be quite beautiful, but I personally find it a bit depressing. Rather like west Texas, isn't it?
.

Texas isnt bleak, and there arent many parts that look even remotely like Kazakhstan from what I've seen on tv. West texas looks similar, but new mexico is closer I would say. The TX hill country where I live is very nice, and there are canyons in the panhandle that are stunning. Palo Duro canyon was voted more beautiful than both grand canyon and bryce canyon not too long ago by the travel channel.

[Longhornliz]

Ok, I've mellowed a little bit. And I am willing to conceed that Texas' landscape is not the most beautiful when you compare it against the fall foliage of the mid atlantic, the alps, the pristine beaches of the tropics and many other awe inspiring places... but I think its pretty in its own way. It took me ten years for me to warm up to the surroundings here, I was snobby about my DC roots and our four seasons and our cherry blossoms and our apalachains for a long time. Now I think that the area between san antonio and austin on HWY 281 is fabulous.

Sorry I made the mad face at you.

[JonnyCoop]

It's OK -- actually, just as I was typing in the west Texas comment, I was thinking oh, man, Longhornliz is probably not gonna like that one bit..... You have to understand, the only part of Texas I've ever seen in daylight was the western half and I found it a bit -- scrubby (vegetation wise) for my taste. (There are parts of Southern California I don't like for the same reason) Tho not nearly as flat as everyone said it was. And I have been through San Antonio and I think it's a beautiful city, actually.

[Ptichka]

Doesn't Georgia rather tend toward political instability?

In general, yes. However, Borjomi is located smack in the middle of the country, not in any of the contested regions, so it is fairly safe. Also, political situation has arguably gotten much better since the Rose Revolution.

Kazakhstan, I don't know. I get the impression that the overall landscape there is rather bleak.

Much of Kazakhstan is indeed like that; in fact, Astana where their ****head of a president moved the capital is in an area just like that - all steppes, or a semi-desert. However, Almaty is in a very different region of K. It's on the border with Kyrgyzstan, close to a part-salt part-fresh water lake of Balkhash. Also, mountains are obviously nearby.

I hear Sochi is beautiful, and it would be nice if Russia actually got to host an Olympics that didn't get boycotted by half the world due to an ill-advised political maneuver.

A thing about having Olympics in Russia is that due to its insane political landscape you can be certain that no matter how bad its economy gets, it would still pull off the awe-inspiring Olympics.

Salzburg isn't too far from Innsbruck, which got the Games twice

True, but I love Salzburg much more so than Innsbruck.

I say if you're going to award a Winter Olympics to a country that's had them before, put them someplace on the entire oppisite end of the country, or put them where you had them last time.

Well, you can't have it at the opposite end of the country for Winter Olympics unless you're talking about huge countries like Canada, US, Russia, etc. There just aren't enough places otherwise where there is easy access to mountain slopes needed for some of the competitions.

Jaca, Spain would be my second choice. I love the Spanish sense of style and I think they would just LOOK cool, like Barcelona did.

Agree. Plus Jaca is right in the Pyrenees, which is a plus.

Sofia? I don't know. I'm neutral on that one. Seems like they've tried for every Olympics every year since the Iron Curtain collapsed. They obviously want them bad.

Yeah, talk about having something to prove!

[anything_for_skating]

Russia would be the best place, and believe me, they would have the Olympics that you've nerver seen before!

[julietvalcouer]

Personally in terms of safety I'd worry about Georgia, Kazakhstan, and even Russia, and slightly less so but still concerned about South Korea (because the lunatic north of the border may now well be a nuclear-armed lunatic and is not noted for his stablility and rationality.)

Honestly, I'd like to see Bulgaria get it. Some safety concerns, maybe, a little, but it's a fascinating country and it hasn't hosted the games. Eastern Europe isn't all Russia, and we've seen Spain and Austria before. Second choice is a tie between Russia or South Korea, I suppose. I just can't swallow that Kazakhstan and Georgia have the infrastructure, safety/stability concerns aside, and it would be nice to see some place that's not Western Europe or North America.