ATHENS, Greece – Chris Licht, the son of Drs Peter and Susan Licht of Newtown, has found himself in the heart of Athens, Greece, for the 2004 Summer Olympics.

Licht is an executive producer for NBC11 in California and is in Greece preparing to coordinate the Olympics broadcast. In an effort to keep friends, family and sports fans up to date, he has started a “blog” or web-log.

Click on www.nbcolympics.com/kntv/ 5028738/detail.html to get a first-hand account of what is going on in Athens.

Excerpts from his August 9 posting –

Chris Hits The Ground

Running In Athens

After enduring one of the most turbulent plane rides ever, I am here in Athens. I left San Francisco Friday morning at 8 am and arrived in Athens at 10:30 am Saturday.

There has been so much said about how prepared Athens is to host the Games so I guess I was expecting the worst as far as logistics at the airport. But, it was a breeze. A five-minute wait at immigration and I was in the country!

They won’t let you leave the airport without having your Olympic credential “authenticated.” That whole process took 10 minutes. The Olympic volunteers are very friendly and have obviously been practicing their “Hello” and “Welcome to Greece” – every one of them said it to every one of us ... and they said it with a smile.

We are staying in a media village called SELETE. It is brand new and is very sterile-looking. Sort of like a hospital. It will be converted to an office building after the Games. The rooms are small and simple, but nice. Great air conditioning – which is key.

Security here is as expected: overwhelming. Everywhere you go, including the media village, you have to go through airport-type security. And everywhere you look there is an Athens police officer or a soldier holding a very big gun. Last night I saw one of the security blimps cruising over the city. It’s all a bit unsettling and reassuring at the same time.

Months of planning and now finally, it’s time to get to work. Well, not right away. The time difference is brutal (10 hours ahead of the Bay Area). My main mission on day one was to stay awake so I could get on Athens time.

My first day ended with a big group of us NBC people grabbing dinner at the Plaka – the old town section of Athens below the Acropolis. It’s full of tourists, but is quite an experience. As you walk the narrow streets, restaurant owners try to entice you to come in and eat. We found a great place, with a staff that couldn’t have been nicer, and a view like nowhere else in the world. Until next time ...

POSTED: 7:36 .m (Athens Time)