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Lillehammer 2021.

Who knew it could take 14 hours by plane - meaning from house to house - to get from Prague to Lillehammer, Norway. But it's true. A fair five-hour wait in Frankfurt for a connection to Oslo is to blame. Also a slight delay on the second flight on arrival at the destination, a claim for damaged luggage and an hour's wait for a train to the town that hosted one of the most beautiful Winter Olympics of all time (1994). We arrive in complete darkness, and only have time to admire the illuminated silhouettes of the ski jumps and the arch of the hall in which the European Championships, Group A, will be played. Both of our national teams are playing an elite group and will fight, among other things, for direct participation in the World Championships of their respective categories. Already at the airport in the Norwegian capital we notice that people hardly wear masks, but we continue to keep a safe bubble. A set of antigen tests awaits us at the hotel. Their results (negative) - see photo - are being sent to the organisers. In exchange for fulfilling the obligation, we will get accreditations tomorrow at the organizational meeting of the team representatives, which will allow us to enter the venue.

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on the attached photo two important figures are missing, namely Craig Savill, the coach of the men's team, who has arrived, but mainly Anna Kubeskova, the women's skip, who was bedridden by a viral illness (not Covid-19). Top row, from left: Jiří Candra, Brad Askew, Marek Černovský, Radek Boháč, Samuel Mokris and Lukáš Klíma, front, from left: Míša Baudyšová, Alžběta Baudyšová, Ežen Kolčevská, Klara Svatoňová and Karel Kubeška.