who's interested in taking a vacation? i know i am. problem is i don't have any money. so, if i can't take one, i might as well help you out.

today's vacation destination? the czech republic.

i'm not trying to rip off this guy, who will be in prague soon. i just love anything that has to do with traveling, whether it be the next state over or the next continent.

before we get started, i will answer one simple question for you.

why on earth would you want to go visit the czech republic?

for one blaring reason. in a couple of years, your money will be worth squat in prague. last year when i was there, people were complaining to me how "expensive" everything was. expensive? for a kick ass two course dinner, two half-liters of rockin' czech beer, plus tax and tip, i paid $7. SEVEN DOLLARS. the same dinner would easily cost me $40 here. and that's the low estimate.

forget that downtown prague is absolutely gorgeous. forget that it's also scenic. forget that the people there are amazingly nice and love americans. forget that the history is unmistakable. forget that the beer is cheaper than a small bottle of water at a 7-11 and the nightlife is insane. i wont even mention the girls. forget that you can ride the subway for about 35 cents and a half-liter of the ORIGINAL budweiser costs about 85 cents. forget about the absinthe.

before you know it, the czech republic will be consumed by western europe, the euro, and capitalism, and you can kiss your cheap thrills goodbye.

now on to more important issues.

where to go in the czech republic:
-- prague. obviously.
-- kutna hora. to see the bone church. (although it's technically located in sedlec)
-- terezin. if you want to go the concentration camp route.
-- karlstejn castle, complete with turrets.
-- cesky krumlov (definitely click on this link and take the "tour," it's worth it). for many many reasons. the least of which being a lazy inner tube ride down the vltava river.
-- ceske budejovice
-- cesky raj. "the bohemian paradise." check out one of the many sandstone rock towns.
-- try one of the spas in karlovy vary.
-- hit the slopes in krkonose national park.
-- marianske lazne has all kinds of crazy healing spas and stuff.
-- try getting to olomouc in 2017 for their 1000 year anniversary.
-- stop in Punkevni jeskyne to take a boat ride through the caves.
-- go cycling in sumava national park.
-- telc is over 900 years old and is practically surrounded by ponds. neat.
-- did i mention prague??

this is just a start. almost all of these links will lead you to tons of info. i have also added travel links on my sidebar. use them.

if you are interested in going anywhere, i recommend going to your local barnes & noble and checking out the travel section. the best guides i've found are by let's go, lonely planet, and rough guides. if you are a member of AAA, you can get tons of free info from them as well. their europe travel book is a nice place to start, and like i said, it's free if you're a member.

sure, there are other guides, like fodor's, michelin, frommer's, and rick steves. i'm not a huge fan of the first three, as they are tailor made for people with a significant amount of disposable income. rick steves has some decent qualities, but he's kind of an arrogant ass, and i like being the arrogant ass, not reading one.

and, just so you are aware, here are the current ticket prices for round trip airfare to prague from 24 different cities in the US (prices are for a two week stay in april or may, which is a good time to avoid annoying tourists).

finally, some more reasons to go to prague... the astronomical clock, the jewish cemetary, the food (it tastes good, even though it looks strange), the view, the view, the view, the view.