In 1991, between finishing my A Levels and heading off to University in Leicester, I travelled to what was Czechoslovakia with a group of other students from East Lancashire. I’d been awarded the Thwaites Scholarship, and if the newspapers are to be believed, “I was really surprised when I heard I’d been selected”. The two-week trip involved staying with a host family, taking part in a few group activities and doing a presentation on our experiences when we got home.

I found the somewhat faded photo album whilst having a tidy up this summer – photos, wine and beer labels, newspaper clippings, postcards, tickets, stickers and my efforts at writing in Czech, all just about preserved in what is probably my first ever travel journal. No mention of cauliflower though – and I remember eating a lot of cauliflower!

So how was the trip? Here’s the highlights I recorded:

Streda 31 Cervenec – we set off from Preston Station as a group, heading to London for a night (with a visit to watch Joseph and his Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat with Jason Donovan)

Ctvrtek 1 Srpen – arrived in Prague and went to meet our families

Patek 2 Srpen – group trip to Kutna Hora to visit a silver mine museum and cathedral (I vaguely remember an altar of bones but no photo to confirm – google tells me it was probably The Ossuary is in the underground chapel of the Church of All Saints).

Sobota 3 Srpen – at night, we went to a Falco concert at the exhibition centre. (You can actually find some clips on YouTube – I was there!)

Nedele 4 Srpen – visited Prague Castle at St Vitus Cathedral

Pondeli 5 Srpen – the whole group met up in Wencelas Square. We then went together to watch the film ‘Dances with Wolves’. (I kept the ticket I got for climbing the old town clock).

Utery 6 Srpen – the postcard shows the last tank left by the Soviets in Prague – it was painted pink by some students!

Streda 7 Srpen – went swimming at an outdoor pool in Tabor – I got badly sunburnt.

Ctvrtek 8 Srpen – visited Hluboka Chateau in South Bohemia. Later learnt about John McCarthy’s release on the world service.

Patek 9 Srben – went for a long walk in the bohemian countryside – it was really beautiful

Sobota 10 Srpen – today, I went on a bike road round the beautiful countryside, covering about 30km. During the day, I saw wild deer, birds and many other animals.

Nedele 11 Srpen – spent the day looking around Bechyne before returning to Prague by car with the family.

Pondeli 12 Srpen – the whole group met up again and went for a meal and a drink.

Utery 13 Srpen – went shopping in Prague. The Charles Bridge is full of small stalls selling gifts and buskers.

Streda 14 Srpen – in the evening, we all met up for a farewell party. We brought typical English food and played party games (bingo, musical chairs and a run through of the hokey cokey).

Ctvrtek 15 Srpen – before going to the airport, I went to visit Franz Kafka’s grave.

Ahoj Czechoslovakia!

My A Level results were waiting for me when I got home!

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It definitely pre-dates social media – I wonder what hashtags I would have used!

#tripofalifetime #alwayswearsuncream #musicalchairs #thetanksarepinkinprague #franzkafka #lifelessons #beautifulviews #shoptilyoudrop #cauliflower #exploring #freshair #beautifulviews