Alpine chalets, Irish Igloo brush up for team parties

By Sophie Hardach

SESTRIERE, Italy (Reuters) – Germany built an entire chalet
guarded by fingerprint controls for its Winter Olympic stars.
The U.S. prefers beer and crisps at the Irish Igloo.

A day before the start of the Games, countries taking part
were putting finishing touches to their “houses” — hospitality
centers that usually throw the wildest Olympic parties.

A group of chubby cooks queued to have their fingerprints
taken at the German House, which has the strictest guest
policy.

When asked what kind of food the house would serve, one of
them said: “A cross-cut of the vegetable garden, and lots of
meat. We’ll see what we can conjure up.”

Luge legend Georg Hackl is likely to rock the German House
after his last Olympic races before retirement, and even more
so if he takes a medal.

At the Irish Igloo, staff were busy moving crates and
putting up banners to turn the pub into the official American
House, where skiers like Bode Miller can relax over a few
pints.

The English landlord, who prefers to be known only as
“Shaggy,” said he had hired armed guards and the U.S. team
would also bring security to the pub, which has no Irish
connection.

“Anywhere in the world, if you see a place that says ‘Irish
Igloo’, what do you do? You go inside and have a drink,” Shaggy
said when asked why he chose the pub’s name. “If you see Irish,
you think booze.”

The Austrian House, a specially built avant-garde chalet,
rivaled the German center in architectural terms, but was
further away from the slopes. A spokesman said they did not
plan any security measures other than asking for accreditation.

Most houses plan to throw big opening parties over the next
few days. The Swiss House, however, was already up and running
and serving cheese.

Austria, Switzerland, Germany and the United States are
classic Winter Olympic heavyweights, having the money and the
mountains to produce top athletes for the snow extravaganza.

But in the women’s slalom race, the host of the least
spectacular house in Sestriere could have the last laugh.

Croatia occupies the top floor of a grey office building,
and on Thursday the dark corridors were empty and only a banner
saying “Croatian Press Center” and some folded umbrellas on a
deserted terrace showed something was in the works.

But don’t be fooled. If Croatian triple Olympic champion
Janica Kostelic takes Olympic gold at the women’s slalom, this
office block may see the biggest party in town.