Prague Steam Navigation as godparent of the steamer ducks

A boat trip to the zoo through the enchanting historic heart of Prague is an unforgettable experience that tens of thousands of Praguers and visitors to the capital treat themselves to every year. The boat-line cruise from Rašínovo nábřeží and back adds the proverbial "cherry on top" to a walk among the exotic animals, and is loved by children and adults alike.

On the morning of Friday 6 September, representatives of the Pražská paroplavební společnost set off on this cruise aboard the historic steamboat Vltava, accompanied by the director of Prague Zoo Miroslav Bobek, to christen together at the zoo a pair of steamer ducks, which since their winter arrival have settled into a shared enclosure with the penguins. The journey of the godparents of the steamer ducks and the invited guests, who filled the decks of the steamboat, was made all the more enjoyable by an engaging and well-informed commentary on the landmarks they were passing, traditional jazz associated with paddle steamboats performed by the Dixie Band, face and body painting that appealed not only to children, refreshments from the in-house catering of the Prague Boats group — to which the Pražská paroplavební společnost belongs today — and Lego sets, which the company donated to participants in the cruise as small gifts.

At the zoo, the destination of the ceremonial cruise was waiting — the steamer ducks. These flightless birds got their name from naturalists thanks to the characteristic motion they use to help themselves move along the surface when they need to develop higher speed — they rotate their short wings in a manner similar to how steamboats rotate their paddle wheels, pushing themselves off the water surface. As Zoo Director Miroslav Bobek noted with a smile during the christening, steamer ducks can in fact sail a little faster than the Prague steamboats. The original home of the steamer ducks is the southernmost tip of South America, Tierra del Fuego, but the Prague ones were born in a German zoo park.

Prague Boats group founder Richard Vojta and Pražská paroplavební společnost director Pavel Mácha named the steamer ducks after the heritage-listed historic steamboats Vltava and Vyšehrad and received from Zoo Director Miroslav Bobek the certificate of adoption — the Prague Steam Navigation thus also became the sponsor of these remarkable birds. Miroslav Bobek tongue-in-cheek expressed concern over what to name any future offspring of Vltava and Vyšehrad, given that only the last two historic steamboats now adorn Prague — but in the steam-navigation archives there are still plenty of names of famous Prague steamboats to be found.

The successful celebration confirmed that the best way to visit the zoo is by boat — apart from doubling the experience, you can also effectively avoid Prague's traffic jams. And it also showed that supporters of steam navigation have yet another reason to visit the zoo.