China, Beijing 2 (Olympic Park)

October 13, 2010: That evening we visited what I think is one of the most beautiful places in Beijing: the Olympic Park. Here’s the so-called Bird’s Nest – the Olympic Stadium – and the „swimming pool“, the AquaCube.

Shortly after I took the photo of the AquaCube above, two teenagers came up to me. They pointed at their camera, then at themselves and then at me. I figured they wanted me to take a photo of the two of them. But when I reached for their camera, they shook their heads and pointed again at their camera, at themselves and then at me. Huh? Finally one of them stood next to me, while the other stepped back and took a photo of us… … oh, I see … then the same again with the other guy. They both wanted a photo with me. Fine, no problem, I’m a sociable kind of guy after all… Shortly afterwards another group, four girls this time, came up to me and made the same gestures. Sure, why not – I’m an old hand at this by now – and I flashed my nicest smile. This happened several more times with different people. Apparently, with my fair hair, I was a bit of a tourist attraction myself. Later we ran into a few other couchsurfers there. A Canadian had bought a gold medal on the Olympic square as a souvenir. Just for fun I hung it round my neck and – presto – the requests for photos with me shot up. :D