The 30th Summer Olympics begin in London on Friday under strict security, including patrolling armed forces and police, ground-to-air missiles on roof tops, a helicopter carrier moored in the River Thames, and Typhoon jets standing by at nearby Royal Air Force stations.

But things were very different in 1972:

MUNICH OLYMPICS 1972, FROM DREAM TO TERROR

The home of Munich's 1972 Summer Olympic Games, the Olympic Park. A revolutionary and pioneering design, its sweeping acrylic glass canopies symbolized a new democratic, transparent and optimistic Germany, and their shape a panoramic view of the Bavarian Alps. The dream was broken by the 'Munich Massacre', but it left behind not only dark memories but also a positive legacy.

http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art177363.asp


And the Word, or rather Words, this week:

If German was the language spoken in Britain, not many people would describe the tickets for the London Olympics as 'SAUBILLIG', in fact it would be more usual to say that they are not only difficult to obtain but "SCHWEINETEUER".

Pigs still play a major part in many German diets, and the word is often used in the German language, sometimes as a prefix to give emphasis and even with complete opposites. So "saubillig" means "sow-cheap", in English "dirt cheap" or inexpensive, while "schweineteuer" is "swine expensive" or in other words it "costs an arm and a leg".


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Francine McKenna,
German Culture Editor

http://germanculture.bellaonline.com