Vltava river and bridges, Prague

Czech and German nationalists used to get all sentimental about this river, and some still do, for instance the obnoxious Sudeten German refugees in Bavaria, now in their third generation of exile and still suffering volubly while driving to refugee conventions in their fat BMWs. (I am distantly related to some of these folks, but I try not to let on.)

Nonetheless, this is still a nice river to walk or cycle along, or look at from the train window on the way to Dresden.

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Prague lives around Vltava river, both banks showing beautiful buildings embracing the river. Not large enough to allow a great traffic it runs for more than 30 Km inside Prague, where we may see many of its 18 bridges

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The Vltava (Moldau in German and many other Germanic languages, Moldva in Hungarian, unrelated to the Moldova river of Romania) is the longest river in the Czech Republic, draining into the north from its source in Sumava through Cesky Krumlov and Prague (Praha), merging with the Elbe (Labe). It is 430 kilometers long and drains about 28,000 square kilometers; at their confluence the Vltava actually has more water than the Elbe, but joins the Elbe at a right angle to its flow so that it appears on maps as merely a tributary.

In August 2002 a flood of the Vltava killed several people and caused massive damage and disruption along its length.

We took a lunch tour on the Vltava River. Views of the city and river from the windows is excellent and there was an excellent buffet which included Hungarian goulash with 2 types of dumplings(1 made from bread and 1 from potatoes). There was also pasta and a nice salad selection, some potatoes, fried cauliflower, wine and water to drink. We just enjoyed the views going up the river as we ate and then when the boat turned around, a guide narrated what we were seeing on the way back. Joseph provided us with lively accordian music. The Vltava is the longest river in the country and flows into the Elba and then into Germany. Some of us moved to the open top deck for the narrated tour since the weather was nice.

Palace Zofin is one of the most important cultural place in Prague. A lot of concerts, international meetings, exhibitions, conferences and social events take place in Zofin. It was built as a small and the only house in Strelecky island in 1835. Then it was rebuilt into an amazingly beautiful palace for special cultural occasions. But it is not only for VIP, dancing courses (classic dance) are available for everybody.

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The river Vltava is the longest river in the Czech Republic. It is seperating the city into 2 parts (eastern and western).

It is nice to have a river in a city. You will have great views and you can stroll around. The downside of a river in a city is that there can be floods. The last 2 floods were in 2002 and 2006. I was in Prague after the floods of 2002. The river was still high, but not so high as it used to be.

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We enjoy this every time. It is possible to rent a boat for 1 hour in Strelecký ostrov. It costs 200 CZK ( around 8 euros). Really nice view at Prague castle, Charles bridge, National theatre, Dancing house ...

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For somebody who likes architecture of old town, this is great tip - just go for a walk along the river and start Dancing house and continue to Rudolfinum. Beautiful view on Prague castle and bridges and other nice old building on the other side.