Setting off the alarm in airport security gates has become something of a regular occurence for me ever since my hand became too wide for my thick silver bracelet. The feeling of violation, however, that came from an over-meticulous interrogation with a metal detector in Standsted airport was a whole new experience - an unwelcome start to a much-anticipated trip to Prague.

In January this year, my friend Roger and I set up Itchy Feet, the travel and backpacking society at LSE. With 200 students signed up, we decided that come holiday season it was time to take a test drive.

Spaces on the trip were limited to the first 15 members who applied; this turned out to be 5 girls and 10 guys, three of us post-grads and the rest, bright-eyed freshers - ripe for corruption. Where better to bring a crowd so overrun with young men than Prague - a city better known for its strip clubs and beer than its classical musical heritage and girl-next door charm. We wanted to get acquainted with both sides of this city and so chose to visit mid-week, forgoing the notorious stag and hen parties that dominate at weekends.

Anyone who has flown to Paris-Beauvais with Ryanair knows in certain situations budget airline travel is more trouble than it’s worth. But when you’re a student needs-must, and with bargain airfares from Standsted to Brno starting at £20 (return), budget was the clear choice for us. Together with cheap centrally located apartments, the trip came to £135 - the upper limit of the typical student budget. Door to door our journey took 12 hours but once we arrived our hardship was over. Bars and restaurants serving traditional Czech food and drink line the streets of Prague and despite limited vegetarian options and a fondness for garlic, meals are cheap and filling and the beer extremely refreshing.

Holidaying within a “travel society” requires you to act like a culture vulture for at least one day of your trip, and to fulfil this criterion we spent our first day walking around the city, ticking all the major tourist attraction boxes from Wensleslas Square (Covent Garden equivalent) to the old city (Brick Lane), across the martyr-lined bridge to the castle. It soon became apparent that conducting a walking tour with a group of 15 students was both impractical and irritating with some people speeding along in front and others trailing behind cameras poised for every view.

Having undergone this hardcore day of sightseeing, there was only one motive directing us towards the Pilzner brewery in a nearby town - its educational value of course. For the meagre fee of just £1.50, this brewery is well worth a visit, if not for the beer than the tour guide. Sporting an abundance of enthusiasm - the likes of which have not been seen since Steve Irwin - our guide, Happy Dave, made our day. Hungry to learn more, we embarked on a night tour to a traditional Czech bar called “Darling” where conversation soon turned to market values (and back room deeds).

Once our annual sightseeing and photo-taking quotas were exceeded, cabin fever began to set in - it was time to go home. The journey back was more exhausting than that over as our party was laced with hangovers and forgetfulness. With just one hour to go before our plane departed it came to my attention that one member of our group had left his luggage onboard the coach that we had taken from Prague to Brno. As president of the society and the eldest member of the group, “poise under pressure” would have been an appropriate response from me, but shattered nerves and general panic meant that was a non-starter.

Hell-bent on finding his suitcase, our fallen soldier had to be left behind as we headed for the nearest taxis in the hope of making our flight. This was an extremely difficult decision to make but rather than 15 people miss their flights we decided that the show must go on, and with little time to think we had to make tracks. Plagued with guilt and worry, I turned to prayer, appealing to the Saint of hopeless causes. Just as it seemed there was nobody upstairs, my pleas were finally answered in the eleventh hour, or rather, the final minute of check-in when our lost sheep returned just in time to fly with luggage in tow.

Czech experiences:

Fancy learning German whilst doing mountain sports across Eastern Europe? You heard correctly - try a gap year experience with Deutsch-Institut Tirol and that’s exactly what they will have you do. You’ll do your mountain sports Kitzbühel, Tyrol in Austria, and take tours of Prague and other cities, all while learning the German language. It costs about £240 per week and accommodation, which is separate, is around £20 per day.

Teach English while you enjoy Prague. Gear up for funding further travels abroad by becoming certified in teaching English as a second language. The most intensive course is a 150 hours over four weeks, located in Prague. The course is £868.639 and housing will set you back £224.829 during your stay

Film School Those with a theatrical bent should try PCFE film school in Prague. Courses last from a year to as short as four weeks to learn acting, directing and camera work. A year programme costs 9,400 euros and the month-long program is 1,675 euros, which covers tution and equipment costs but does not include accommodation.

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