The sun was disguised behind thin clouds in the sky, revealing only the glow of the yellow star, without the glare most sunglasses prevent a percentage of. The mountainous Hungarian towns that zoom past puff smoke, most likely for cooking or warmth. The sun is not shining bright enough to show much of the town at the bottom, but at the top, a castle shines golden from the sides of that thin cloud, and for a moment, it was like someone planned to build exactly there, for the plain fact that a castle way up high proved status, importance and power.

Then three old fellows stumbled into my room of the train. The wonders of a simple observation turn to grunts and off-key breaths of those who have just boarded. My personal haven destroyed, I conjure up my things laying about the place, and get back to reading Harry Potter. From one istant land to another, I thought.

Near the end of the train ride, I started wondering if my stop (Praga main) was the last stop, or whether I needed to signal to hop off before we started heading to Germany. My ears perked up like a dog's, listening to every Hungarian notice from the speakers, trying to hear "Praga". At this stage only a German man sits in the same room. I finally ask him, and he assures me it is the last stop.

Train stations can be glamourous, or practical. Prague's train station is the latter. I hopped off and headed for the metro, and along the way kept my eye out for an ATM. It wasn't Hungarian money I needed now, it was Czech krowns. When I finally found one, I didn't know the conversion to Australian dollars.

Whenever you see 800 somethings from an ATM, you tend to freak out a little. But judging from the amounts it suggested, it was near the middle. Turns out it was only around $45. Phew!

My accommodation's location was close to the Narodni Trida station I had to go to, and was "only 100 metres away". A big understatement made by the PR of Hostel Downtown. I walked 100 metres. Then 100 more. Then I turned around and wondered if I passed it. Of course I did, the hostel just has a small 'Hostelling International' sticker on on of the dark doors which is hard to see at night.

I signed in and went up to my room after discovering the receptionist meant floor two, not two floors. The two guys already in the room were Australian. Right there and then I realised how well travelled a lot of Aussies are. And one sounded/looked like Bryan Brown the actor. That was strange, but indeed hilarious.

The morning came as a surprise, as the large curtains covering the wall of windows actually kept in the light, as well as the weather of Prague's calming grey colour tone. It felt like 10 in the morning, but it was only 8. I got up and headed off for breakfast and a walk. The Tesco (supermarket) was just around the corner from the hostel, but what I didn't realise until Chris in my room told me, was the supermarket is actually down a set of escalators.

What I saw as I went through was perfumes, hair colour treatments and cough medicine. In the distance, a market the size of a petrol station stop. I bought my ingredients for a nice ham sandwich with a yoghurt drink and headed off West. West is always a nice direction to go first, and the fact that the river was that way was a good enough reason.

One of Prague's charms is the ability to be within it all, or to escape to the many parks situated around the city. I found numero uno of the parks, and it was what I can only describe as a pleasant walk through nature, without tourists.

Maybe it was because of the timing of the day at that point, but all I ran into were a few owners of dogs walking about. I sat on a bench right in front of a water fountain and made my breakfast/lunch.

To my right was a a small incline to a tram that scooted up the hill, taking tourists to the top for the hill to the 'Eiffel Tower' of Prague. Straight up was the path people take to not pay for that ride. Guess which way I took.

The walk was fantastic. You could walk around the place for an hour and only bump into three or four people. And at the top, you're treated to some very old remains of Petrin. From gardens to the observatory to stone fort walls giving the military base some cover, the place had a lot to see. And the mounds of school children here was intense. It looked as if five lots of school kids were all taken to see this place.

My walks usually don't have much historical background, so I tend to bypass the real importance of some buildings. Just seeing the amount of people here could only hint that this place was more than a spot to sell postcards and trinkets.

After a nice wander, I saw the large Prague Castle in the distance and headed down the hill to walk up another in order to reach it. These walks aren't uninteresting. The churches, orchestra halls and just plain shops were enough to keep the interested wanderer entertained.

Prague Castle isn't exactly a typical castle, but rather made up of a lot of buildings put close together. There was the changing of the guards at one of the royal buildings, vintage cars offering tours around, and something new - People leading others with a coloured umbrella. Their tours are known as 'Umbrella Tours', and their colour related to the language. I didn't know what the guy holding Obi-Wan's lightsaber spoke in - unless it was in Wookie - but I kept my thoughts buzzing on the possibilities.

That place kept me walking another two hours, and thinking I should start heading back, I ended up in the city centre. No complaints, because like every other day - amongst plenty of historical buildings and cobblestone roads - the place was alive with tourists, locals, and horses clamped to carriages.

Prague, I thought, is going to take a while to see.