We have just landed in Prague and after checking in decided to check out the neighbourhood Holesovice.

Just around the corner from the A&O Hostel we're staying at are cheap bars and we found one with Pilsener Urquell on tap for CZK 37 for every 0.5l glass of the amber nectar.

Now bearing in mind neither of us speaks any Czech, we just negotiated the Prague bus and metro systems without a glitch, had been travelling sibce 10.30 am and were not used to sweltering 29 degrees Celsius and approx 95% humidity due to being used to British climes we felt a drink was in order to celebrate achievements and cool down.

While I sit here writing this, a thunderstorm is unleashing its fury over the Czech capital. It hasn't cooled down a bit. Getting rained on on the way back from the pub felt good and a cold shower awaits!

Tomorrow, we will venture into Prague proper, see the sights, poke arou around a museum or two and take it all in.

From what I could see of western Prague from the bus to Dejvicka and then again walking around our street in Holesovice, I feel right at home. A lot of the architecture would not look our of place in Germany and I am really looking forward to exploring the city in the morning!!

Although he has left the political stage long ago and enjoys his well-deserved retirement at the age of 93, he is a much adored figure in South Africa.

Check out the sixth issue, which is out now on Shoestring Magazine! If you've been thinking about Teaching English as a Foreign Language, want to travel to Mount Everest Base Camp or explore Cuba, or if you would like to know a bit more about Aboriginal festivals in Australia and volunteering in Brazil, then have a look at the new magazine!

Back then, I did not know about blogs, flickr, youtube and the likes, so my website was very basic. My journal was on just one page, and I had to add each entry manually to that page. My photos were hosted on an external site, which collapsed a long time ago which means I lost all the galleries I had. Instead of comment boxes, I had a guestbook in which I was able to receive messages. A lot of the time, I had to write my journal entries in the Guestbook, because my editing website was down.

I did receive a warning that the hosting site I used will be taken offline at some point in the future. So I decided to set up this blog and import my Gap Year journal post by post so I don't lose all my precious memories. These will be all blog posts dated between 2005 and 2007. The newer posts are all my travel related memories and updates since the end of my Gap Year. I have called this site Gone Walkabout, because it is the closest translation to the German title.

Check out the summer issue for hip festivals and Caribbean volunteering projects!

Today, Shoestring Travel Magazine celebrates its FIRST ANNIVERSARY with the fourth issue out now!

With thousands of readers from all over the world and hundreds of interested contributors, this free project has come a long way! The funny thing is, my lecturer, a retired newspaper editor, only gave me 65 points (out of 100) for the original issue. He felt I was a little too progressive for his liking, experimenting with styles, colours and - this is not a joke - quotation marks which were outside the norm.

But this overwhelming success Shoestring has had until now sure proved him wrong. Shoestring works, and in 365 days, I have not had negative feedback concerning the look or content of the magazine.

Have a look at issue #4 and tell me how you like it!