As part of the celebrations for the 100th anniversary of the foundation of Czechoslovakia, Slovak President Andrej Kiska and his Czech counterpart Miloš Zeman took a symbolic ride on a vintage train from the Czech town of Hodonín to the Slovak town of Topoľčianky, Nitra region, on Sunday. Hodonín was the birth place of the first Czechoslovak President Tomáš Garrique Masaryk, and Topoľčianky is the place where Czechoslovak presidents used to have a summer residence.
The steam train has a vintage Aza 80 carriage that was made for President Masaryk in 1930. Topoľčianky Castle is a national cultural monument. It served as a summer residence for presidents of the Czechoslovak Republic between 1923 and 1951. Masaryk was a frequent guest at the castle, where he received several diplomatic visits and cabinet members, including the prime minister.
