Czechs Can Go Sledging and Help the Homeless

Rekola, a bike-sharing company that offers its service not only in Prague, but also in seven other Czech cities, has started an initiative of sharing snow gliders in Prague, Brno, and Olomouc.

Because of the heavy snowfall in recent days, parts of the Czech Republic are covered in snow. This explains the many cross-country skiers and tobogganers sighted out, especially in Prague.

Where can you find one of these gliders? Rekola has set them up on popular hills such as Letná, Petřín, Vítkov, Riegrovy sady and Stromovka. That’s just in Prague.

On the other hand, if you live in Brno, for example, you can find these gliders under Špilberk Castle, and there are some situated at the Planetarium on Kraví Hora, as well. Lastly, residents of Olomouc will find them in the Little Prince park.

The gliders can be rented on Rekola’s mobile application. All you need to do is pay 10 CZK to use them for 30 minutes. Each glider is marked with a number that you enter on the application.

When you’re finished using it, you lock the glider back to the designated place and take a picture of it.

“At the end of the ride, users have the opportunity to contribute directly in the app to a project in which the Salvation Army provides homeless people with the opportunity to spend the night in the heat”, says Jan Střecha from Rekola.

Rekola wants to support a project called Nocleženka, which provides accommodation for the homeless during the winter.

“I like how Rekola reacted to the situation and in one project combined entertainment and help for those in need. It is certainly not true that sledding is not allowed in the centre of Prague at all. We will look at the revision of the 20-year-old decree, which regulates it and has its limits. I believe that marking places in parks where you can sled without any problem will also help. In the future, an online map will be created”, says Zdeněk Hřib, Mayor of Prague.