- Beer, Bacon, and Bridges - First Impressions of Prague Prague is the original hipster’s paradise–it is Bohemia after all! No one has told the Czech though, not a man bun in sight amongst the locals. The beer is fresh and dirt cheap, bacon and other delicious smoked meats are everywhere, and the music is funky. We’ve already stumbled into several underground bars that look like bunkers leftover from WWII (probably because they are).
- Where Even Jedi Fear to Tread Ireland’s reputation as the “Emerald Isle” may seem overblown if one just stays in Dublin and the closely surrounding areas. A trip to the Ring of Kerry will quickly disabuse anyone of this notion; however, small and windy roads, coupled with large and lumbering tour buses, makes the trip more exciting than perhaps it should be.
- Old Friends and Good Whiskey When we told our friends we were stopping by Ireland on our way around the world, they decided to join us on the Emerald Isle! We met John & Lindsay and Haru & Maura in Dublin on Sunday afternoon, dodging the crowds that were gathering at the pubs to watch a Gaelic football match. Dublin was playing Mayo, and both sides were exuberantly celebrating their side’s upcoming victory. We had a tour at the Guinness storehouse so weren’t able to watch the match, but watching the fans was much more entertaining as we walked across the city towards Guinness.
- A Dog Day in Dublin It’s not that I don’t enjoy waking up at 3 am for a flight. It’s just kind of hard to enjoy the wonders that your destination has to offer, while staring at the back of one’s eyelids at 4 in the afternoon.
- Iceland Q&A Favorite food we tried Dana - Definitely Skyr, which is cheating because I’ve tried it before in the states. But it’s so plentiful and cheap here, we had it as a meal or just as dessert every single day. Justin - The seafood stew was my favorite, because everything was super fresh tasting, and we had it at the end of a very long day when I was starving. Nom
- Of Horses, Cave People, and Fermented Shark Iceland is an expensive country. 100 ISK is roughly equivalent to a dollar, but lodging was roughly 2000 ISK for a single bed in a hostel, pre-made sandwiches at a gas station are around 1000 ISK, and the cheapest beer we could find was 800 ISK for 0.5L. Gas is 200 ISK per liter, or about $8 a gallon. This gets expensive when driving 200 kilometers a day. Fortunately, there’s plenty of free stuff to do when you get where you’re going.
- Hella Weird Landscapes, Yo. It’s our second night in Iceland, and we’re cozily bunked up in a tiny cabin beside a river that had a gorgeous sunset over it about an hour ago. It’s a big improvement from last night’s lodgings, sharing a room with 22 other sonorously snoring travelers. We were a little trepidatious about our first night spent in hostel, but turns out there’s nothing scary or weird about it…you just don’t sleep very well. Or at least we didn’t. I’m sure we’ll get used to it in no time though, once we master the art of earplugs and eye masks.
- Iceland Day 1 Iceland. It’s been an eventful first day. This is a jaw-droppingly gorgeous country, full of jagged volcanic scapes, tall blonde rawboned locals, and crisp lagers. The air smells amazing and the tap water tastes great. What’s not to love? So far we haven’t found anything, except maybe the crazy high food prices. The lifestyle seems straight out of an IKEA cataloge (just replace the meatballs with lamb hotdogs).
