President Pavel arrived by train to visit Austria, he met his compatriots in Prater

Vienna – President Petr Pavel started his two-day visit to Austria by meeting his compatriots at the famous Schweizerhaus restaurant in Vienna’s Prater. Accompanied by the Czech ambassador Jiří Šitler, he also listened to the performance of the student orchestra from the Czech-language school of the Comenius School Association, which played for him a well-known song by Karel Hašler, Ta naše písnička česká.

Pavlov received a ceremonial welcome already after the afternoon arrival of the train from Prague to Vienna’s main station. On the platform, members of the honor guard lined the red carpet and the head of protocol of the Austrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Maxmilian Hennig, and the representative of Austrian Railways ÖB Sabine Stocková came to personally greet the Czech President.

In the Schweizerhaus restaurant, whose operators have Czech roots, former Czech Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg also dined with Pavel. The President then handed a check for nine million crowns to the mayor of the Komenský School Association, Karl Hanzl, for the operation of the Czech school, and reminded the children, among other things, how valuable a bilingual education is for their future.

The main part of the official program awaits the Czech president on Thursday, when he will be received by Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen. Later, he will meet with the head of the Austrian parliament and the Austrian defense minister.

When Pavel left for his visit to Austria in the afternoon, there was the usual bustle at Prague’s Main Railway Station, and there was no indication that the head of state was about to board one of the regular trains. The train crew of the Vindobona railjet was also very civil to the VIP passenger on board: the railway employees knew about the president’s trip in advance and are ready for it, they told ČTK.

Czech Railways spokesman Lukáš Kubát also confirmed that the president’s trip to Vienna was not accompanied by any abnormalities. “We have not prepared and are not preparing any special measures for Czech Railways,” he said. “The number of reserved seats on the train does not deviate in any way from the norm,” he added.

Regular passengers could only be surprised by the fact that they could not book tickets for a fully occupied first class car. Some also noticed the arrival of the president on the train through the government lounge in the Fant building of the Main Station and came to take a picture of him on the platform.

Pilno also had a dining car during the trip, where, coincidentally, the new summer menu premiered today. The president was able to taste leek soup, Spanish bird with jasmine rice or cake with currants and rhubarb.

The president, accompanied by his wife Eva, will return to the Czech Republic on Thursday evening, again by train.

Austria Pavel