Finding bliss on Prague’s Vltava River

It’s early Sunday morning and the Vltava River is deliciously calm.

“It’s absolutely the best time and way to see pretty Prague from the water,” Vaclav Herodes, Prague on Kayak guide and co-owner, tells our group of four tourists.

A quartet of kayaks is laid out on the launch in Park Cihelna on the left side of the Vltava.

They are so colourful and symmetrical — three blue and one red — just waiting to be paddled.

Two white swans curiously check out the scene.

It’s considered good luck, even better luck when the pair of swans follows the kayaks for a while as we paddle toward the Czech cubism-design Josef Manes Bridge.

By the way, Manes is the Czech painter responsible for the decoration of the famous medieval astronomical clock in nearby Old Town Square.

Bridges, bridges, bridges

The next bridge we glide under is Svatopluk Cech, the art nouveau wonder named after the Czech writer.

It’s surreal, tranquil and extraordinary as the kayaks skim under the bridge in an early-morning silhouette, the statues of female torchbearers atop the split pillars looking down.

That’s when I, my wife Kerry, and the couple from Chicago realize the real luxury of this outing is the peace and quiet of having the river all to ourselves — at one with nature on an urban stretch of river in one of Europe’s busiest capitals.

The dozens of tour boats, pleasure craft and commercial vessels that ply the Vltava won’t be out for another hour.

It’s just enough time to slice through the water in silence — further and further — to the Stefanik Bridge, named after Milan Rastislav Stefanik, one of the founding fathers of Czechoslovakia.

Naplavka

This is also all before thousands of tourists will line the riverside, ‘naplavka’ in Czech, to stroll, sightsee and pile into floating bars and restaurants to eat and drink with a view.

A lazy turnaround prompts Herodes to start his commentary on how special paddling a kayak at this time in this setting really is.

“The Vltava is 430 kilometres long,” he states.

“But, the four-and-a-half kilometres we’ll do this morning in Prague, the most beautiful city I call home, is so full of landmarks on both sides of the river.”

Herodes is absolutely right.

On the left side of the river, Prague Castle, the largest in the world, sprawls along the hillside, punctuated by the imposing spires of the St. Vitus Cathedral.

Approaching Charles Bridge’s right-bank entrance is magnificent.

It’s the most famous span in Prague, built of stone in the late 1400s in grand Gothic style.

Lined with statues of saints on both sides, it’s become an open-air temple of sorts, named after beloved King Charles IV of Bohemia.

Secret

Herodes leads the group into a secret, narrow tunnel at the right bank of Charles Bridge so we can stare up at the Old Town Bridge Tower in awe.

Herodes also shares some personal stories as we crossed the river.

He and friend Frantisek Slader, who played ice hockey together as kids and young adults, teamed up yet again nine years ago to start Prague on Kayak because they love the water and love showing off the city to tourists.

They started with just two kayaks and quickly grew to 25, to offer two-hour morning tours for groups of up to 16.

Herodes also feels a kindred spirit with his grandfather whenever he’s out on the Vltava — the same river on which his elder captained a tugboat.

The final stretch is into the canal known as Little Venice, or Devil’s Channel, or ‘certovka’ in Czech before returning to the launch point, capping off a perfect early morning on the Vltava.

Prague on Kayak’s two-hour early-morning foray is 59 euros, which is about $94 Canadian.