The Czech Republic

Our trip to the Czech Republic was brought on by a United Airlines magazine article about bicycle beer tours you could do in / around Prague. Although we didn't end up doing the bike tour, the prospect of great beer at bargain prices was too good to pass up. Prague was incredible and very relaxing. Our hotel (Hotel Pav) was fairly cheap and felt like a Westin. We were close to the river so we could walk around all the bridges and islands, etc. We also managed to see two great blues acts, an outdoor movie, and of course the huge Prague Castle. We consumed many Budvar's, which has now become our favorite pivo (beer, to the layperson).

After Prague we took a road trip in a Smart car to a little town called Ceske Krumlov. If you don't know what a Smart car is, chop a Civic in half and you pretty much have it. Ceske Krumlov is a great (and touristy) small town on the River Volga that looks the same way it probably did hundreds of years ago. We took some road trips through the country and also went on a 6 hour canoe ride, which was really relaxing despite our one-sided races with other canoers. Unfortunately we lost the disposable camera we were using so no pictures - maybe next time!

Barcelona

Well, apparently there is a lot more in Barcelona than half-naked ladies and street performers (although we did see plenty of both). There is also amazing architecture, great beaches and lots of cool outdoor parks. We were in Barcelona for about 4 days and did cool stuff like tour the former royal castle, take a Picasso walking tour, and walk around an amusement park on the top of a mountain overlooking the city. The food was amazing, although you had to wait until at least 9pm to eat it (planning for this involved a lot of napping and snacking). We'd highly recommend a trip here - let us know if you want info on where we stayed, etc.

The Big Trip and the First Week

After the wedding in Spokane it was on the road again to Seattle for more packing and the big flight. We also had to have lunch and dinner at our favorite places one last time and sell Casie's car - quite a bit to fit into a day and a half! Below you can see my last call to the parents from the States and Casie in front of the big BA jet. The view of the sunrise was from our first temporary apartment; it was tiny, but the view made it worth it. As soon as we woke up, of course, it was straight to the pub...

Spokane and Cour d'Alene

Our first week was spent in a rush of packing, road-tripping, shopping and boating in Spokane and Cour d'Alene. Our friends Kyle and Jessica got married at a great house on the outskirts of Spokane, and we stayed with Casie's parents in Cour d'Alene for the remainder of the time. Here are some of the best photos from the week...

First Post!!

Finally, Casie and I have gotten off our rears and made a post. Well, actually a series of posts, which is the only way that we can cover all the weeks that have passed since we left the great Northwest. So much has happened - hopefully we have pictures of most of it! Ms. Kelly Schneider will have to help us out with some dumpster diving photos, more on that later... Enjoy the blog!