Frank-Walter Steinmeier, the German President, arrived for a state visit to Prague on Wednesday. Before his train left from Berlin, he acknowledged that Czechs and Germans were not always the nicest of neighbours to each other, but that he still looks forward to the visit. To accompany him during his train ride, he invited people who ‘pendle’ (travel back and forth) form one country to the other on a daily basis, and discussed the pandemic with them. In Prague, he was welcomed by employees of the Czech President’s office in the Prague Castle, and the Prague Castle Guard, which prepared a red carpet for the German politician. Before the welcoming party left the Main Train Station in Prague, they made a quick stop to pay respects at the statue of Sir Nicholas Winton, who managed to save 669 Czech Jewish children from transport to concentration camps. Then, the first interaction with the press occurred, during which President Steinmeier foreshadowed what the two statesmen are planning to discuss. “We will focus mainly on the last 30 years. The young generation should be reminded of the importance of developing neighbourly relations. We are closely connected both culturally and politically, ” he declared. He then visited the Czech President for a formal dinner between the two politicians and their wives. The German President is planning to visit other Czech politicians, the German embassy, a museum in Ústí nad Labem and much more during the next few days he will spend in the Czech Republic.
