DAY OFF

The day off started the evening before where (again- true to his word) Nils turned NO (NEIN)  to YES (JAWOHL) and got Randy, Signe, Leon, Pat, and I into the Austria House for all the wine, strudel, and Tyrolian fare we could stomach.  Austria has such a great winter sports tradition yet is really quite a small country and the connection to traditions and each other is striking.  Over the course of the evening our table was blessed with Franz Klammer, Daniela Irashko-Stolz (silver medal in SJ), the luge coach whose doubles team had just won silver that night (to the cheers of everyone on the house watching on tv).  All of these folks both revered by their fellow Austrians, but also family.  You got the feeling that anyone in the place would have been comfortable going up to Klammer and saying- "... dude, wipe your nose- you got a booger that's grossing me out."

Photographic timeline follows-

Lagunitas pre-game at the apartment.

8pm- arrive Austria House.

1 am- Signe gets cozy with Herr Lederhosen.

2 am- NIls gets cozy with Daniela Iraschko-Stolz (who is married... to a woman).

3 am- Nils assuring AUT House officials that he had nothing to do with column deflation.

10 am- Growler down!  Lagunitas post-game... Leon trying to save what he can of a precious Lagunitas that he kicked over.

Headed down now for some afternoon hockey (USA-Slovakia) with Sharyons and Signe before catching evening training on K120m before qualifications tomorrow.