To Uncertainty & Beyond!

I decided to "Think Different" last Halloween.

We do love our Apple products, but they have performed poorly on this trip.  Our trouble began in Granada with a busted iPod Touch.  Luckily, it was under warranty, and we had a replacement a few days later.

We were not so lucky in Croatia.  In recent posts, we alluded to a problem with our MacBook Pro. I’m currently killing time on the train to Selçuk, so I might as well get this story out of the way.

To make a long story short, our laptop broke, but it works now.

To make a long story long, keep reading.  Just know beforehand…I don’t recommend it.

The Long Story

For a change of pace, we went out for a fancy dinner on Hvar. You can’t pinch pennies all the time. Over dinner–with wine even–we discussed how smooth everything was going.  No incidents of theft, lost luggage, damaged electronics, etc.  Of course, life went to hell as soon as we said this.  The next morning, I awoke to a grey computer screen and a flashing question mark.  I worked on the Mac for hours with no results. It appeared our hard drive was kaput.

I wasn’t horribly upset at first because we backup on an external drive and upload our photos to Flickr. Our most important souvenirs were fine.  As I thought about it longer, I grew more concerned.  What about our other stuff?  Lightroom, Photoshop, Photomatix, movies, music, the expense workbook, our blog files…I hadn’t backed up any of it.  I didn’t even have the Mac OS X installation DVD. I really should have packed that.

Our hotel had a computer, so I searched for an Apple authorized repair guy in Split.  No dice. The only place I could find was in the capital.  Zagreb was 6-hour train ride away, and we were looking forward to island hopping our way to Dubrovnik.  Also, I upgraded the hard drive myself in Chicago, so I was pretty sure our warranty was void.

Many people travel the world without a computer, so what’s the big deal?  If we used a point-and-shoot camera, we could probably get by without this five pound aluminum brick.  The problem is we like our SLR and High Dynamic Range photography. Not to mention, how could we keep up on our wildly successful travel blog? We would hate to disappoint our tens of readers.

We had to get this fixed. We made it back to the mainland the next afternoon and headed right for a computer shop. It was closed. As we debated our next move, we realized a new hard drive wouldn’t help us anyway.  How are we going to install it?  We have no tools.  Even if we found a drive and got the case open, we don’t have any damn software!

On our walk back to the city center, we ran into another store. Unlike our first stop, this one was open for business.  Inside, we met Nikola.

“Do you have a 2.5″ hard drive for Macintosh?”

“Yes,” he replied. At last! Success!

“But we don’t have Apple software or install hard drives.”

No! Still screwed! We proceeded to buy the drive anyway, but we weren’t any closer to our goal. We told Nikola our tale of woe, and he offered to help us off the clock.  “Give computer to me.  I take home. I fix. I download software. I call you when ready,” he promised.

We talked for another 15 minutes or so before happily handing over our expensive MacBook Pro, power cable, and brand new hard drive. After leaving, we contemplated our actions. Without an ounce of force or coercion, Nikola had acquired our expensive electronics…and we gave them to him willingly.  I told Kim that if we never see the Mac again, we could at least be comforted it was lost to such a smooth con artist.  Even Sawyer would have been impressed.

We walked home reassured, and sure enough, Nikola skyped us the next day.

The hard drive was fine! Our programs, photos, movies, blog shit…it was all fine!  “Your problem is motherboard or cable,” Nikola informed us, “Motherboard will cost 9,000 kuna.”

That’s $1,700.

We had three options:

1. Go to Zagreb and try to get the computer fixed under warranty.
2. Buy a new MacBook in Croatia.
3. Buy a new MaBook in the U.S. and have it shipped.

We decided on Plan 1 but proceeded with Plan 3 as a fall back.  Plan 2 was no good because MacBooks are very expensive in Europe, and our keyboard would be in the freaking Croatian alphabet. There was no sense ruining our plans entirely, so we decided to split up.  I caught the next train to Zagreb, and Kim went on to Dubrovnik.

I made it to iStyle, the repair shop, first thing the next morning.  They told me they only order parts on Fridays, and they usually arrive the following Thursday.  Today was Monday.  That makes two weeks, and we had a flight to Istanbul already booked.  Yep, we were going to be stuck with a change fee too.  I offered the technician $200 to take parts from a display model, but he wouldn’t budge. He had to order the parts.

With little choice, I left the computer at iStyle and caught the night bus to Dubrovnik (an 11-hour ride) to meet back up with Kim.  I sure as hell wasn’t going to hang out in Zagreb the whole time.  We enjoyed Dubrovnik and Bosnia, and the weeks past quickly.  It is a 9-hour train ride from Sarajevo to Zagreb, so I caught a 50-minute flight on Croatia Air instead.

I once again found myself at iStyle at the crack of dawn.  This was my third trip to Zagreb, and I was starting to feel at home. Like Cheers, everyone knew my name at iStyle. The guy at the desk exclaimed, “Clark!” when I walked in the door.  He had our computer in hand.

It worked!  Everything was perfectly fine, and the repair was free of charge. Apparently I hadn’t voided our AppleCare after all.

So what was the problem?  It was the damn cable, not the motherboard.  Since when does anything go wrong with a cable?  We called off the contingency plans, and I flew back to Sarajevo victorious.  After change fees, flights, trains, night buses, and a spare hard drive, the fiasco cost us about $600.  Expensive, but it could have been much worse.

Told you it was a long story.  You should have stuck with the short version.

In three hours, we say goodbye to Europe.

Our first four months have been great, but we are ready to move on to the “real” trip.  Europe isn’t all that different from home, and we are looking forward to more challenging destinations.

We are leaving in the nick of time too.  With the State Department’s recent travel advisory, we are glad to be leaving Europe for the safe and sound Middle East.

We were planning on traveling overland from Sarajevo to Istanbul via Belgrade and Sofia.  Rather than face a gruesome rail journey (22+ hours), we opted to fly to Istanbul to buy us more time in Turkey.  We almost always prefer overland travel, but I think this was the better decision in this instance.

Even with a few mishaps (read: MacBook), we are still basically on track.  We log every expense in our Moleskine notebook, and I have a series of graphs and PivotTables to keep our finances in order.  I’ll keep this blog short and let the numbers speak for themselves.

The Tab

Total Transport Cost: $5,491

Average Per Diem (excl. transport): $102.01
Average Per Diem (incl. transport): $147.23

Grand Total: $17,962

Overall, we came out about where we planned on time and money.  I’m sure we could have done it cheaper, but we struck a balance between comfort and roughing it.  The spikes are days were we had an expensive train ride.  Besides my round-trip flight to Zagreb to fix the MacBook, we haven’t flown since mid-July when we arrived in Frankfurt.

After talking budgets with many European travelers, I am convinced we have done pretty well.  Most seem to average around $100 per day, and we are getting by at $150/day for two including transportation.  Take out buses, flights, etc. and we’re down to $100 per day.

I’m very excited about the second half of our trip.  Our daily expenses should fall to practically nothing.  I met a couple last week that spent only $6,000 over 6 months in Northern India.  Maybe we will make it home under budget even!

Our European Favorites

We are often asked what place, food, sight, etc. we have liked the best.  Kim and I have slightly different points of view, but we tried to come up with our top five to summarize our time in Europe.

Our cab is coming in 15 minutes.  Wish us luck in the Middle East.

We will be hitting up Turkey, flying to Egypt, and crossing overland to Jordan.  I’m sure we will have a post on our Top 5 camels or falafel next time.  Dovidjenja!

What a way to celebrate our 100th day of travel.  Fate led us to two interesting people– Adam and Michael.  We will not soon forget either of them but for very different reasons.

Adam

Adam is a fellow long-haul traveler. He left his comfortable, corporate banking job in Sydney to spend the year in Europe. Rather than taking buses and trains, he is making his own way on a 2008 Bonneville T100.

His fuel injected, 900cc’s of fury have taken him across the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Czech Republic, Hungary, and now Croatia. The bank gave him a leave of absence, but he has artistic aspirations and plans to attend school. His travel blog makes for easy reading. I particularly like his hooker story from Berlin and the time he fought off the crazed canine. Luckily, we haven’t had either problem yet.

He tried to explain to us why anyone would eat Vegimite, but I still don’t get it. Nevertheless, we enjoyed our conversations with Adam, and we hope he has a great trip.

Michael

We also met a gentleman from Denver by the name of Michael.  Where do I begin…

Most people attribute anti-American sentiment to President Bush and our foreign policy. I completely disagree.

I believe Michael is the primary source.

I don’t mean to be a jerk, but I was not crazy about Mike. This 44-year-old loudmouth unleashed a campaign of shock and awe on every conversation for four days.  You need to see him in action for the full effect, but here are a few quotes to support my case:

“You have to watch out for those turks in Germany, man. I know about Turks. I’ve seen Midnight Express.” A Turk was sitting right next to him…and it was his birthday.

“What is it with these fatties in America?! You walk around, and you go whaaaat the f**k! The only place you can find a skinny woman is in a f**kin’ strip club!”

“Well,  f**k! I’m going to be careful in Ukraine. It is swarming with Russian mafia.” This gem was directed to a Ukrainian couple on their honeymoon.

“Germans are f**king miserable people. Just f**king smile already.” You guessed it– to a guy from Munich.

“Come on, you fag! You are such a f**king fag.” Just offensive in general.

“If you ask me, the NFL stands for N***ers For Life.” Are you kidding me?

Like some sort of reverse comedian, Mike had a set of monologues that he inflicted upon us every few minutes.  Repeatedly.  I escaped to our balcony whenever possible to watch the train wreck from afar. They usually included something about his 44′ catamaran, depressed Germans, and how horrible “American blacks” are.  He especially liked that last one.

Was this some sort of elaborate performance art?  I was waiting for Ashton Kutcher to bust in with an MTV camera crew.

The best was yet to come. Michael regaled us with a tale from his youth on our last night.  On the candlelit pier behind our hostel, we huddled together to hear his story.  It was a doozy.

I won’t bore you with every exaggerated detail. Believe it or not, this is the short version:

Michael traveled to Brazil with his mother shortly before his 17th birthday. On their flight home, he had the bright idea to smuggle 35 grams of marijuana in his shoes back to America. He was strip searched by big men with machine guns, and he was thrown in jail. His mother was due back at work, so naturally, she abandoned her underage son in Brazilian prison and caught the next flight.  Seems perfectly plausible to me.

Mike was imprisoned for 16 days before being released to the mean streets of Rio with nothing but his suitcase and his wits (dim as they may be). Having no money or passport, he was forced to walk eleven hours to the Copacabana beach, bury his luggage under a palm tree, and beg on the streets. Just your typical coming of age story.

His mother hired 22 people to scour Rio for young Michael. I guess they found him, and he moved in with his lawyer’s mother.  Not sure how he met up with the lawyer or the lawyer-mother.  She found him a job repairing motorcycles. His buddies in the shop entered him in a motorcycle race (even though he had never ridden a motorcycle before), and he proceeded to almost break the track record. Wow!

Team Marlboro just happened to be present and were so impressed, they signed him on the spot! The professional racing team gave him an apartment and a car. For the next two years, he raced every weekend and beat off women with a stick.

The Brazilian courts released him at age 19, and he still has the judge’s home address and phone number.  I’m surprised the judge didn’t ‘friend’ him on Facebook too.

He returned home to become a real life shrimpin’ boat captain, meet three US presidents, and get shot in the buttocks.

If we weren’t sitting outside in the dark, I would say he was pulling a Kaiser Souzai and weaving his tale from our surroundings (spoiler alert).  “Did I mention the judge was fat?  I mean, like orca fat?”

Now, don’t think we’re just hating here, and we do feel bad about gong on like this. We like to keep this blog positive, but I felt compelled to share this encounter.

We could forgive his exaggerated stories and repetitive monologues. Whatever. No big deal. However, we cannot forgive his highly offensive statements (see quotes above) and blatant cultural insensitivity. This type of behavior reflects poorly upon all American travelers, and I was outright embarrassed to be associated with him at times. You travel to have conversations with people– not at them. He did not stop talking enough to learn anything from any of us.

The vast majority of people we meet are terrific.  Mike gave us a good blog entry, but we certainty don’t want an encore.

Get caught up on our other People of the Week! Have you run into a “Michael” on a trip or vacation?

(more…)

Our travels usually take us to one city after another, filled with gray concrete and black asphalt.  Except for our week in the Austrian Alps, we haven’t had many naturey activities. We took the advice of our CouchSurfing host in Zagreb and ventured to rural Croatia’s Plitvice Lakes for a two-day break.

It’s an impressive place.  The densely vegetated valley has 16 terraced lakes strung together by waterfalls and miles of wooden walking paths. The lakes constantly change from dark blue to bright green depending on the sunlight, temperature, and mineral content of the water that day.  The rail-free, slatted boardwalks and stone steps leave you feeling a bit unsteady at times, especially with strollers and elderly tour groups squeezing past.  Even on the cliffside paths, there was usually no railing to keep you from falling to your death (or injury at least).  I was very dizzy from dehydration at the end of the day, and Kim had to grab me a few times to keep me from falling off a waterfall.

Our trek took about five hours, but you could easily spend eight or more hours here.  Park entry was 90 kuna (about $15) for each of us thanks to our bogus student ID cards. Admission includes use of the electric boats and trams that traverse the park.  Otherwise, it is a long walk around the 16 km of lakes.  There are many routes to chose from, but we focused on the upper lakes due to our time and endurance constraints. It was a tough hike at times, and our calves are still a little sore.  Be sure to check out all of our lake photos on Flickr.

There is no bus station, road signs, or much information of any kind at Plitvice.  Our bus driver just dropped us off on the side of the road in the middle of the forest.  Luckily, we planned ahead in Zagreb.  I saved a few Google Maps on the iPod, and we knew there were guesthouses a few hundred meters down the road.  The area has very few hotels and no hostels, but most residents in the area run makeshift B&Bs (sans the second B).  We ended up choosing Villa Zora run by a nice guy named Boris just outside the village of Mukinje.  We had planned on one night, but we ended up staying for two.  Unfortunately, this left us a little short on cash, and we had to walk three kilometers to pay our bill. The ATM was in the middle of the woods!

Getting to Plitvice was no problem, but leaving was another matter.  Boris had a bus schedule, but it takes some effort to find a bus that will actually stop.  You have to stand on the side of the road and wave them down, and it often takes hours.  Seemed like the perfect opportunity to try an alternative mode of transportation– hitchhiking.

My mother always told me, “Clark…don’t you ever hitchhike.” So, naturally, I was all about it.

We had mixed success.  Our first customer was an edentulous guy in a windowless van.  He said he liked my “purty mouth” which I found flattering.  He wanted 200 kuna though, and we didn’t really want to be out $30 on top of being murdered.  Despite his charming comments, we passed.

Our second offer came from a hippy in a station wagon who offered to take us to some town 30km north of Zadar.  But then what?  Try to hitch from there?  We ended up passing yet again.

Finally, we flagged down a bus headed for central Zadar. It ended up costing us 180 kuna, but it had windows and everything. I’m not sure if this counts as true hitchhiking. Better luck next time, I guess.

Zadar

We enjoyed two scenic albeit laundry-challenged days in a vacation rental which included a very scenic view of the Adriatic from our balcony.  Each time we walked past our neighbor’s yard, we would pluck a few grapes off his vines.  We grew bolder one evening and cut off a bunch with our Leatherman for a late night snack.  Kim was worried the owner would discover us helping ourselves, and we would be subjected to his grapes of wrath instead.

The kiwi was borrowed from yet another neighbor.  We failed to find a beer or deep dish pizza tree.

We did find two interesting pieces of urban art in Zadar.  Listen to our seaside recording while reading on:

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The Sea Organ is situated near the new cruiser port and consists of several stairs that descend into the sea. The stairs extend about 70 meters along the coast and contain 35 pipes of different lengths and diameters.  As the waves lap against the stairs, the organ plays seven chords of five tones.

Why doesn’t Chicago have one of these?

Down the road, we discovered the Greeting to the Sun– a 22-meter wide disc of colorful light.  It was designed by the same architect as the Sea Organ, Nikola Bašić, and it also serves as a solar panel which powers the lights of the entire waterfront.  The lights are constantly swirling and changing colors, and the border projects intense beams of light into the clouds.

The Church of St. Donat was built in the 9th Century and is one of the largest examples of Byzantine architecture on the Dalmatian Coast. It was originally named the Church of the Holy Trinity but was later changed and named for a local bishop and bakery owner.  It was built on top of the old Roman forum and incorporated some of the old structure.  You can see some of the ruins in the right side of the photo. Much of the forum was cannibalized to build the church.

In the end, it’s safe to say Plitvice Lakes and Zadar definitely affected us.  We look forward to exploring the Croatian islands before moving on to Bosnia and Montenegro.

Half the fun of long-term travel is planning– planning which train to catch, city to visit, hostel to book, sight to see…. Unfortunately, sometimes plans don’t pan out.

To get from Istanbul to Cairo, we had always planned to travel overland across Turkey, Syria, and Jordan. This route was popular among hippies, and we were looking forward to seeing Palmyra and Damascus especially. The problem was always getting into Syria. Despite frosty diplomatic relations, Americans could usually obtain visas at the Antakya-Aleppo border crossing. You may have to wait for 5 hours, but you would eventually get in.

This is no longer the case.  According to several sources, Syria just cracked down on this practice.  Americans can no longer obtain a visa on arrival. Of course, this was always the official policy but now it’s actually being enforced.  We might be able to get Syrian visas in Ankara, but I think it’s unlikely.  Plus, Ankara is out of our way. We will need a new plan.

Plan A:

1. Travel overland from Istanbul to Izmir
2. Fly from Izmir to Cyprus
3. Fly from Cyprus to Tel Aviv
4. Travel overland to Jerusalem
5. Attempt to cross into Jordan (tricky)
6. Travel south to Petra
7. Cross into Egypt at Aqaba
8. Travel across the Sinai Peninsula to Cairo

Pros: Interesting; unique; very memorable; get to see Cyprus, Israel, Jordan, and more of Egypt
Cons: Moderate risk of failure, potentially dangerous, Israeli passport stamp, border issues, cost, time (three weeks minimum)

I really like this itinerary. It would be great to see Jerusalem (not to mention the lox and bagels). I think time and cost are major obstacles though.

Plan B:

1. Fly from Istanbul to Cairo
2. Fly from Cairo to Amman

Pros: Cheap, safe, low risk of failure, fast
Cons: Kinda’ lame, no Jerusalem, more flying

I hate to say it, but I think we will probably go with the slightly lame Plan B. Otherwise, we would not reach Kathmandu until Thanksgiving.  That would cut into our Asian itinerary too much. Maybe we’ll have time for Myanmar now…

Have you traveled from Istanbul to Cairo overland? Any tips?

I hate hostels.

I hate the shirtless, guitar-toting Canadian that wouldn’t shut up about flowing lines in modern art. I hate the naked Danish guy that stared at us at 2 a.m. while we made our beds. I hate the “dude”-saying Brit who sprayed Axe in my face at eight in the morning. I hate the U-shaped, mildew-covered nightmare of a mattress in Bratislava. I hate being mildly electrocuted from faulty wiring in Poznan. I hate 10 a.m. checkouts and single-key dorms and cold showers. I hate it all.

Almost.

I don’t hate the great people like the Portugirls in Lisbon, those dozen Australians in Salzubrg (I insisted on calling the blond one Claire), the Fado/Port tour group in Porto, etc.  The people we meet are usually great, but the facilities are sometimes not.

After the exceptionally disgusting night in Bratislava (i.e. U-shaped nightmare), we decided to upgrade our accommodations for Prague. I turned to HostelWorld to assess our options. Several stood out, but I kept coming back to a newly opened joint called the Mosaic House.  We sprung for a private for our first night.

This place is ridiculous. Power outlets for each bed, climate control for each room, door locks and keys, en suite bathrooms, cloud-like mattresses, silky smooth sheets, towels, towel warmers, hot showers— this place has it all. There is even a stage for live music in the bar. It’s the fanciest 4-star hotel hostel I’ve ever seen.

I would, however, stop short of saying Mosaic House is a good hostel. It is very comfortable, and we were glad to have a little luxury after a string of disappointments. In my opinion, hostels should have character, encourage interaction among the guests, and represent some of the local culture. Mosaic House is a little sterile. I felt like I could be anywhere.

Mosaic House also boasts many “green” innovations like gray water recycling and motion-sensing lights. Now, I have no problem with conservation, but I would rather not have to waive my arms wildly to keep from showering in the dark. On several occasions, we were simply sitting in our room and the window blinds would inexplicably rise and then lower again.  What’s with that?

Their common room has a projector and trendy shag carpet, but I wouldn’t say it was a good common room.  Floor plan plays a big part.  Lisbon Chillout‘s common room was in the middle of the hostel.  You had to pass through it to go to the kitchen or bathroom.  You couldn’t help but bump into other guests, and it got everyone talking.  Did it have rain shower heads?  Hell no.  You could barely even fit inside the showers, but we still liked it.

Belushi’s Bar at Mosaic House had a stage for live bands, an impressive beer selection, and a pretty tasty breakfast, but I wouldn’t say it was a good bar.  The dimly lit bar at YoHo International Youth Hostel in Salzburg had cigarette-burned curtains and one beer on draught.  However, the bar tender was friendly and the drinks were cheap.  This is where we drank with the dozen Australians ’til 4 a.m. (see above).

I like hostels. I like atmosphere.  I like meeting new people.  I like changing scenery.  I like feeling like I’m traveling.  I like it all.

Almost.

Maybe it’s just me, but a Saturday afternoon just isn’t complete without 60,000 skeletons.  We decided to pay a visit to the Sedlec Ossuary to remedy the situation. But first, we had to find the damn place.

It’s Not the Destination, but the Journey.

The day started so well...

We heard plenty about this chapel, so we were excited to make the short ride to the ‘burbs.  Prague is great, but a chandelier of skulls?  Sign me up!  We grabbed our umbrella and hopped on the next train to Kutna Hora.  We soon realized we failed to look up the address.  Where exactly is said ossuary?  We didn’t know, but there would be a sign or something.  Also, what time was the train back to Prague?  We didn’t know, but there would be a schedule posted or something.

There was no sign.  There was no schedule.  However, there was a tour group, which trumps both in my book.  The group had a dozen or so members—matching T-shirts and all.  Their guide was reciting the story of the Ossuary and reminded them the train to Prague was at 5:00 pm.  Now we knew how to find the chapel and how to get back!  This must have been our lucky day.  I wanted to follow them, but Kim wasn’t convinced.

“This will be nothing like that train ride in Vienna”, I promised her. “It’s foolproof.” We followed them on the bus, paid our 30 Koruna, and off we went.  The rain was coming down harder now, so I was very pleased there was a bus involved.  We’d be bonin’ it up in no time.

We seemed to be riding for a while.

How far away is this place?  We must have stopped a dozen times.  Behind us, two British med students discussed how this week’s House was exactly like Renal Pathology 405, so we definitely didn’t miss the stop.  Finally, the tour leader announced that they had arrived, and we gladly followed the mob off the bus.

We were in the middle of nowhere. During the “discussion” that ensued, we lost the group.

We took a moment to assess the situation.  No group.  No map.  No chapel.  No damn umbrella.  Apparently, in our excitement, we left it on the bus.  We had no choice but to start walking.

We seemed to be walking for a while.

We finally saw a church in the distance.  We made it!  We merrily skipped to the entrance with our 60 Koruna and student IDs ready. “This is Sedlec Ossuary, right? The bone chapel?”

Wrong.  We weren’t even close.  The bone chapel was six kilometers away, and the ticket woman was obviously annoyed that we were asking her for directions to a different church.  Luckily, she sketched us a map on a Kleenex anyway, and we followed it faithfully.  After only two hours of wandering in the rain, we finally found the elusive Sedlec Ossuary.  We were literally soaked to the bones, but we made it.

The Destination

The chapel was built around 1400, and the surrounding cemetery dates from the 9th century.  What’s the deal with the bones?  In 1278, the local abbot traveled to Jerusalem and returned with a handful of soil to sprinkle on the cemetery grounds.  Soon enough, half of Europe was vying for a plot in Kutna Hora.  That was well and good…until the bubonic plague popped up.  Then they were dying to get in.

The abbot soon found himself up to his eyeballs in corpses.  He probably should have left that soil on Golgotha hill, in retrospect.  With no graves available, he had a great idea: dig an ossuary!  They exhumed the oldest graves, dumped the bones in the cellar, and plopped the quickly ripening bodies in the emptied graves.  Problem solved.

Dogs are strictly prohibited at the Sedlec Ossuary.

The bones remained in storage until 1870 when the chapel was purchased by the Schwarzenberg family.  The Schwarzenberg’s figured these corpses were a gold mine, so they hired a local woodcarver, Frantisek Rint, to spruce up the place.  Why pay for overpriced sconces at Crate and Barrel when you’ve got thousands of perfectly good bones?  Rint constructed four giant bells in each of the chapel’s corners, the Schwarzenberg coat of arms, and a chandelier comprised of at least one of every bone in the body.  He even made his signature with bones at the entrance.

It’s not exactly an upbeat destination, but it was interesting.  Our moods quickly soured again when we returned to the rain and glanced at a map outside.  The train station was only 700 meters away!  We rode that bus for 20 minutes, walked 6,000 meters in the rain, and lost our umbrella en route when the church was practically next door to the station.

I almost forgot.  We got to the station at 5:10 pm, so we missed the train to boot.  Kim spent the next two hours reading her Sookie Stackhouse book, and I played Angry Birds while trying to sound like Bill Compton.  “I do declare.  This level is very difficult, Sookie.”

Overall, it was a good day, and it will make the list of Kim’s Tips for Prague.  Check out all the photos from the day on Flickr.

It feels like I’ve seen more CSS and HTML than Europe over the last few days, but at least the new site is up and running!

Our old theme had some severe limitations, and I’ve been wanting to redesign it for some time.  I think you’ll find this layout loads faster and is easier to navigate.  Take a look around and be sure to subscribe to RSS updates by email, like us on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter.  We have a bunch of posts in the works, and RSS will keep you up to speed.

Also, you’ll want to check out Kim’s Tips for Kicks.  You can find her peaking out on the top of the site.  She has Dresden, Stockholm, and Vienna posted to date with 20+ more on the way.  These guides are geared toward independent travelers planning a trip around the world.  Kim highlights her favorite sights as well as some off-beat spots the guidebooks miss.  She ranks each city based on three criteria– cost, sights, and quality of ice cream.  Hey, ice cream is important!  Even if you aren’t traveling, check them out for an idea what we like to see and do.

So, what do you think?