Olympic Houses
Party/cultural centers with foreign flavors
Saturday, 02.27.2010 / 4:18 PM
/ Fan Zone
By Anthony Oliva
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Check out my experience from the Molson Canadian Hockey House. It was pretty cool to visit.
There are a ton of these "houses" all over Vancouver and Whistler, serving an embassy-like function for each country represented in the Olympics. Here's some notes on the houses:
• USA House is not open to the public.
• Most of the Canadian provinces have their own house: I've seen Quebec, Alberta, Atlantic Canadian and Saskatchewan. They feature local music acts and cuisine from their area. I did not see any smoked meat in Quebec house, though. For shame.
• I'm living above Slovakia House. It is relatively tame, especially compared to party centers like Irish House and Heineken House. For the most part, it's a central meeting point for Slovaks to go before and after games. I've yet to see any athletes there.
• Russia House, sometimes called Sochi House, is legendary. From the sounds of it, it's like Shangri Lah in there: vodka fountains and exotic dancers. My friends and I have unsuccessfully tried to get in several times, so I can't verify any of this. Tonight is our last chance.
• Even the Jamaicans have a house. It's somewhere in Whistler.
• The wait to get into Irish House can run anywhere up to two hours! A $40 cover and rain make this 100% unappetizing to me.
Send questions and comments to olympics@newjerseydevils.com
Prev | Next | Olympic Central
There are a ton of these "houses" all over Vancouver and Whistler, serving an embassy-like function for each country represented in the Olympics. Here's some notes on the houses:
• USA House is not open to the public.
• Most of the Canadian provinces have their own house: I've seen Quebec, Alberta, Atlantic Canadian and Saskatchewan. They feature local music acts and cuisine from their area. I did not see any smoked meat in Quebec house, though. For shame.
• I'm living above Slovakia House. It is relatively tame, especially compared to party centers like Irish House and Heineken House. For the most part, it's a central meeting point for Slovaks to go before and after games. I've yet to see any athletes there.
• Russia House, sometimes called Sochi House, is legendary. From the sounds of it, it's like Shangri Lah in there: vodka fountains and exotic dancers. My friends and I have unsuccessfully tried to get in several times, so I can't verify any of this. Tonight is our last chance.
• Even the Jamaicans have a house. It's somewhere in Whistler.
• The wait to get into Irish House can run anywhere up to two hours! A $40 cover and rain make this 100% unappetizing to me.
Send questions and comments to olympics@newjerseydevils.com
Prev | Next | Olympic Central
