Prague, July 28 (CTK) – More than 300 Vespa Italian scooters drove through the centre of Prague this afternoon within their annual international meeting PragoVespa, its director Martin Simon has told CTK.
The youngest participant was a 16-year-old girl, while the oldest was a 70-year-old man, said Simon, vice-president of Vespa Club Prague
The traditional meeting of the Vespa owners from various countries takes place at the Dzban site near an artificial lake on the outskirts of Prague from Friday till Sunday.
It attracted several tens of scooter owners more than last year.
“There are 306 of us… Last year it was 250,” Simon said.
Even though Prague was partially closed due to various events, such as the Challenge Prague international triathlon race, on Saturday, the Vespa scooters could ride smoothly through the centre since they had a police escort that stopped other cars.
“We have participants from the neighbouring countries, Poland, Austria and Germany. There is also one woman from Italy who drove some 1000 kilometres alone on the way to Prague, and some Dutch people. We are still waiting for one from Albania,” Simon said.
Some participants have brand new Vespas, while others are looking after their scooters for years carefully.
Several fans drive even historical Vespa scooters from the 1950s.
Martin, from Germany has a 60-year-old Vespa, but unlike the others his scooter is not very polished and looks rather shabby at first sight. However, it has a new engine and it covered 2000 kilometres at once last year, he told CTK.
Some women had outfits in the style of the 1950s that matched the bright colours of their scooters.
The scooter’s name means “wasp” in Italian as its engine sounds like a wasp’s buzzing. Others point to the scooter’s shape that resembles this black-yellow insect.
