Bermudian Robyn Skinner left her job as a reporter with The Royal Gazette to go travelling around the world. In the first of an occasional series on her travels, Robyn reports from Prague, in the Czech Republic.

Three pairs of pants, three long-sleeved shirts, four T-shirts, four pairs of shoes, one skirt and one dress and enough disinfectant to clean my hands for years were all crammed into a large backpack, my round the world trip ticket was bought and my passport was up to date with all the visas I would need. It was time to start the round the world trip I had been planning for months.

First stop: Prague, Czech Republic, for New Year's Eve.

The country is still haunted by the leftovers of communist rule, which only recently ended.

And the Czech Republic's capital city is no longer a safe haven for poor backpackers. Since I taught English here five years ago the prices have skyrocketed. That's because the cobblestone streets, cheap beer and cheap flights from London have attracted piles of bachelor parties and backpackers looking for an eastern European experience.

The Czech Republic has also joined the European Union. Czech korunas are still used while Euros are interchangeable.

A hotel room will run you more than $100. Okay, $100 doesn't sound like much, but when your budget is that or less for an entire day….the hotel in Prague for New Year's was a splurge.

It was worth it. The room was seven flights up (which felt good on the shoulders with the backpack), but all the stair climbing helped burn off our kielbasa (a traditional sausage served at various food stands and in restaurants). The best kielbasa? It was near the entrance of the Prague Castle. And while the castle is amazing to see from the outside and offers impressive views of the city, the $20 spent going inside would have been better spent on cheap beer.

Besides the lack of menu variety in Prague food there generally subscribes to the heavy on meat and potato dishes mantra it is a romantic and beautiful city. From the Christmas markets that reek of cinnamon and mulled wine and dot every square at that time of year, to the generous green spaces, it was worthwhile visiting for New Year's regardless of the layers of clothes needed to ensure all of our toes were left on our feet.

To celebrate the arrival of 2009, we amassed on Charles Bridge.

The main pedestrian bridge in the city, it is dotted with statues and sandwiched by the two defence towers. I and my travel companion, along with hundreds of Italians, Americans, Australians and maybe a few Czechs, erupted into cheers as fireworks light up the city's skyline.

By the third of January Prague had offered what it could and it was time to check out the 'bone church' I had heard of while living in the country. Yes a bone church! Located in Sedlec, a suburb of a town called Kutna Hora, which is only about 60 minutes from Prague, Kutna Hora became 'the town to live in' with the discovery of silver deposits.

And after the Cistercian abbot of Sedlec went to Palestine in the 13th century and returned with holy soil, the church grounds became 'the place to be buried'. When the plague hit in the 14th century, the grounds became inundated by bodies. With nothing left to do, a half-blind monk began piling the bones up in the ossuary and a wood carver and artist then white washed the bones and assembled them into a chandelier composed of every bone in the human body, and other creations. Surprisingly, not as creepy as I thought it was going to be and definitely a site worth visiting.

After a quick tour of the church it was a fast-paced walk back to the train station to ensure we could get back to Prague for the train to Cesky Krumlov a town in the south of the Czech Republic.

About two-and-a-half hours later, we arrived in the tiny town that boasts its UNESCO heritage site status. Unfortunately it was a little too late for the youth hostel we had booked and we were greeted with dark windows and locked doors. About to give up after about 15 minutes, the owner of the hostel arrived at the call of the small town grape vine to tell us he had an apartment nearby that he could give us. A short van ride later we were next door to the castle which is the only sight in the town.

So while the town is beautiful and picturesque, the only thing worth seeing in Cesky Krumlov, which is the size of Hamilton, is the castle it still has bears guarding it in the moat – and that was closed. So it was a quick tour of the town and then we beat a retreat for a bus to a train and then it was a quick hop over to the Czech Republic's neighbour Austria.

Second Stop: Vienna, Austria

From the small cobblestones of Prague and Cesky Krumlov, to the wide boulevards of Austria. One felt like you could truly stretch out here. Once the youth hostel was found and that wasn't easy, though it was luckily cheaper then the hotel in Prague it was out and about to bright lights and massive buildings. The architecture in the older parts of Austria hint at the Baroque Age, while just outside of the centre is more modern architecture.

Like the Czech Republic, menu variety is lacking in Austria. Here it seems to rely mainly on meat and potatoes and fried food. Luckily the youth hostels are equipped with kitchens. So though you have to navigate the Italian, Japanese and other languages being spoken, you can cook your own food on the cheap and with some vegetables!

What Vienna does offer besides the large boulevards are the stately buildings that now house their museums, and the Hofburg Palace, which was the former home of the Habsburgs until 1918 when Austria officially lost its monarchy. So while the youth hostel was cheaper, the entry fee to see the former palatial surroundings of the Habsburgs costs a small fortune. From the extensive cutlery collection, to the Schonbrunn Palace on the outskirts of the city the gardens alone could fit Bermuda's Botanical Gardens twice over.

The hunting lodge, the Spanish Riding School, is the oldest riding school in the world with more than 430 years behind it and is located in the centre of the city. Unfortunately, the morning exercises which showcase the abilities of horses and riders were cancelled because they were on tour.

Another miss in Vienna was the Vienna Boys' Choir, whose practice can be seen for free on Sunday mornings. Unfortunately it's only on Sunday mornings and 9 a.m. proved far too early for us.

What did manage to keep us awake was a leisurely stop at a coffee house where we sampled some of the Viennese Coffee. A former pit stop of one of the city's poets, the Café Central's piano music coupled with the waiters in suits both offered a pick-me-up and a rest from the cold.

Then it was on to what can only be described as an all-in-one, non-stop concert. For £50 it was an operetta, ballet and four-piece violin recital our best option due to the constraints on money and time. It was still worthwhile with the backdrop of a former Viennese palace.

Unfortunately with the constraints of the budget, nightlife took a bit of a backseat, and it was off to Budapest after three days in Vienna.

* Do you have a travel story you want to tell us? E-mail us at news@royalgazette.bm and let us know where you've been or where you are going.