A Lovely Night on the Vltava River

One of our nights in Prague was spent on a river boat cruise, complete with a light dinner. Our friends had bought tickets for their family and another couple, in addition to us. There were eight in all, including our friend Franta, his son and wife, and their teenage son Jiri, who had served as a tour guide for us and also a translator.

Despite the fact we lived in Prague for a year, we’d never been on the river, and the views were unique,  We got to sail around Holesovice, the part of the city surrounded by a hook in the river, and where we had lived during that year. There was much we didn’t recognize because of all the building over the years, but I did recognize the long stretches of road where I walked by the river on my way to a tram stop.

One of the surprising parts of our evening aboard was the discovery that a choir was also taking the ride, and they serenaded us with enthusiasm and wonderful harmony from time to time. They climbed to the upper open deck to sing later, much to the delight of people walking over the Charles Bridge.  The choir sang lustily as we passed under the bridge, to enjoy the acoustics.

In addition to the Charles Bridge, we had wonderful views of the castles complex, Mala Strana (New Town) and Kampa Island, a romantic place, surrounded by water and accessible from the Charles Bridge.

One other thing of note is that one of our walks, we found ourselves in the middle of a marching  demonstration by vegans, protesting meat eating. There was one sign I can’t exactly reproduce, which said “Eat p—-, not meat!”

After only three days, we left Prague with regret and headed to Cesky Budejovice, to visit another old friend.