Tourists from Germany will soon be able to return to the Czech Republic. If you want to make a detour from Prague to the European Capital of Culture Rijeka, you will soon be able to use the train. There should be a direct connection to the Croatian port city.
Prague (dpa) - The transport company Regiojet plans a direct connection between the Czech capital Prague and the Croatian port city of Rijeka. Negotiations with foreign partners are nearing completion, said Regiojet spokesman Ales Ondruj.
Ticket sales could start in the next few days. It is planned that from June 30th at least three trains a week, in which there should also be Internet, will run in both directions. Because of the coronavirus pandemic, many Czechs are spending their vacation in their own country this summer. But Croatia is also considered an attractive travel destination due to the comparatively low number of infected people.
If the border between Germany and the Czech Republic reopens by then as expected, the new train could also be an interesting option for travelers from neighboring Saxony. The Czech state railway Ceske drahy (CD) stopped its popular night train "Jadran" (Adria) between Prague and Split a few years ago. The decisive factor was the high cost.
Czech Republic opens border for German tourists from June 15th
The Czech Republic wants to open its border again to tourists from Germany from June 15th. The cabinet recently decided in Prague, as health minister Adam Vojtech announced. In mid-March, the EU member state imposed a large-scale ban on entry due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The basis is now a new traffic light model that divides countries according to risk groups. In addition to Germany and all other neighboring countries of the Czech Republic, Switzerland and Croatia are also given the green light.
Foreigners from countries marked in red and orange must submit a negative laboratory test for the corona virus when entering the Czech Republic. These include Great Britain, France, Italy, Spain and Sweden.
Germans traditionally represent the largest group of foreign visitors to the Czech Republic. Last year, more than two million overnight guests from the Federal Republic were counted. Prague is particularly popular with its historical sights such as the Charles Bridge.
In order to boost tourism again, the city on the Vltava has now decided on a voucher model: Those who stay in a hotel for at least two nights receive points that can be redeemed in the city's museums, the zoological and the botanical gardens, among others.
Rijeka is European Capitals of Culture 2020
The Croatian Adriatic city of Rijeka is the European Capital of Culture this year. 2020 therefore has the motto "Port of Diversity" in Rijeka. Originally, more than 300 programs with more than 600 events were planned. They are grouped around the topics of water, work and migration, which have shaped the place for centuries. The series of events opened on February 1 with an "Opera Industriale", a multi-media spectacle by Croatian artists. Because of the coronavirus pandemic, many of the planned events had to be canceled.
With 130,000 inhabitants, Rijeka is the third largest city in Croatia and the first city in the country to be the European Capital of Culture. According to the organizers, the city should receive impulses to reinvent itself for the post-industrial age. At the same time, it wants to present itself as a cosmopolitan and tolerant metropolis.
Communication, in Czech