The bustle and excitement normal for the first competition day of a WGC were nowhere to be found here at Tabor airfield today. Instead, we had more low clouds and rain, leading to an early morning decision to cancel all flying. There was some sentiment that this was a trifle hasty in view of a forecast for afternoon clearing. But the decision proved correct: The clearing did come (giving what look like very good prospects for tomorrow), but flying would not have worked much before 17:00 – not nearly in time for a task.

Sunday tends to be quiet in Czechia – most stores and many restaurants are closed. We were able to visit Kaufland, our current favorite grocery store. It is huge, with a footprint about equal to that of a smallish WalMart. It would be hard to name the food that can't be found there – and about 20% of the floor space is devoted to non-food items (an eclectic mix of toys, clothing, outdoor gear, and what not).

Kaufland embraces standard European grocery store features: You deposit a coin to liberate a shopping cart from its parking area, which encourages you to return it. All four wheels are castering, which improves maneuvering in tight spaces (and makes directional control notably trickier). You're expected to take fruit & veggies to a self-service scale and select a picture of your item from the attached screen; the scale then spits out a barcoded price tag to speed up checkout. You pay for bags, which motivates you to bring reusable ones.

At yesterday's Opening Ceremony we learned that under the city center is an extensive complex of tunnels (total length said to exceed 12 km), constructed hundreds of years ago. Several US Team members visited these today, a sensible touristic choice for a rainy day. I'm awaiting a detailed report.

Ken Sorenson likes to do a longish walk most days. He reports that Tabor and its surroundings offer good opportunities for this, definitely including the banks of the Luznice River (which passes just behind our hotel). He notes one puzzling habit of the people he encounters: they never make eye contact. (I plan to research this.)

-John Good