Prague. Is it all that 'they' say it is? Plus a random travel tip!

My quick trip to Europe.

This past October I was able to join Mark in Frankfurt, Germany after he went over for a business meeting for a few days. I know a few days? Yes, I was only in Europe for four (4) days, but what I have come to realize - if someone asks if you want to go to Europe, no matter what the duration, the answer should always be YES!

Anyway, if you have ever read any of my travel blogs before you know we are not the go to one place and hang out there for the entire time kinda people. Mark and I try to see and do as much as possible in whatever time we have pretty much wherever we go. This was no exception. I landed in Frankfort at early in the morning German time I believe it was about 7:15 AM. Mark met me at the airport and we grabbed a rental car (this time we got a Ford Focus wagon a huge step up from the Smart Car we had on our last European adventure) we stopped back at the hotel where he had stayed had some breakfast and got on our way.
I tried my best to stay awake, but with a six hour time change I was no match for sleep (trying to sleep while in a car on the autobahn is interesting).

We drove the 5.5 hours to Prague. This was our first time to the Czech Republic. I had heard stories from people over the years that had studied abroad or traveled to Prague and it only got out of this world reviews which always makes me a little hesitant. Will it live up to the hype? Has it completely changed since these people were here 20+ years ago? How is Czech beer?

Side note...

Now I am realizing my original thoughts on this post are not going to work. This is more than one post. Way more. So we will start in Prague and work our way to our crazy side adventure en route to Berlin.

Prague.

Prague is divided into districts and we stayed in Old Town.
Now as I sit here to write this I think this may be more than one post too (I am sure it is more than one)...even though we only stayed in Prague for a few days.

We talked with the hotel front desk awesome Prague ambassador

and asked a few questions like where it go to try Czech beer and all of the other important questions.

Somehow I was anointed the navigator (I think Mark was punishing me for something) and we wandered out in the lovely Prague evening. We walked from our hotel heading to the Prague Beer Museum. I am not sure why it is called a museum because there was no beer behind glass or history of Czech beers. Maybe something was lost in the translation.

On our way to the Beer Museum we stopped at the iconic 14th century Charles Bridge.
The Charles Bridge is a pedestrian bridge that crosses the Vltava River and I believe it is crazy busy no matter what time of day you go...

One of my favorite parts of travelling through Europe is how our American version of old is nothing compared to European versions of old. This bridge has been around since the 1300s and it is still completely functional and stunningly beautiful.

Across form the bridge is the Church of Saint Salvator. This Catholic Church was built by the Jesuits between 1578-1601. It is one of the best examples of early Baroque Architecture in the city.

Onward to beer! My only exposure to Czech beer prior to our visit was Pilsen, which conveniently was first brewed in the city of Pilsen in the Czech Republic and is where we get Pilsners...the more you know. Anyway, the Beer Museum was only a few blocks away and we were ready to see what these brews were all about.

We made it!!!

I had no idea just how many Czech beers there are and I love beer!

Travel tip #958 - Instead of going to a currency exchange just withdraw money from whatever country you are in from an ATM! Just be sure to let your bank know you are traveling so they don't put a hold on your cards! Also good to at least have an idea of the exchange rate...smarty pants here withdrew a wee bit more than he intended.

Please note flight #7...
You get to try ALL 30 BEERS AT ONCE!!!! I wanted to sooooo bad, but decided I needed to be able to walk back to the hotel and this would not be wise. The cost of a flight of 30 beers? About $45 USD depending on the exchange rate at the time of purchase. I WILL try this next time.

Sorry for the dark pictures...but I am not sorry for my dark beers.

Mark had a wheat beer I am sure (he does this to ensure I will not drink his beer because I abhor wheat beer). Every one of my beers was more delicious than the one prior.

Yep, I did two flights because I could not get enough of these amazing beers. Honestly these were some of the best beers I have ever had. EVAHHHH!

After beer we navigated our way to the Old Town Square where the gorgeous Astronomical Clock is located.

Ummmm WOW!

The oldest part of this clock dates back to around 1410. 

1410!!! 

As you can see the tower is under renovation and should be complete by October 2018 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Czechoslovakia. 

After Old Town Square there was another local beer...

Then back to the hotel and the more common Pilsner and off to bed...

So much walking and so much delicious beer!

Now I am realizing this needs to be several posts so I can touch on how we ended up walking about 2 million steps a day and saw so many amazing things in just a few days.

To answer my own question I posed in the title of this post: Is it all 'they' say it is? My simple answer is yes!

Stay tuned for more Prague in the near future.

BOOKS! Some of my recent favorites...

Summer is here - what is on your reading list?

Whether you read a physical book or prefer to listen here are a few of my recent favorites.

Audio books have been my go to recently. I listen in the car. I listen on walks. I listen while mowing the lawn. I listen while making hippie goodies. I find I am a more voracious 'reader' when I can listen to my books. Most of my recent listens have been 'self help' kinda books with a few memoirs and fiction books just for good measure. 

Right now I am listening to Girl, Wash Your Face by Rachel Hollis and Daring Greatly by Brené Brown. Both are SOOOO GOOOOOOD!
I actually have the hardcover version of Girl, Wash Your Face as well and it is one of the few book books that I have actively read recently. It is well written and engaging and while I skipped a chapter or two that do not directly relate to who I am, I find it engaging and so full of truths it almost hurts. My highlighter is going dry with all of nuggets I am pulling out for later.

My last fiction was The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah.
OMG. OOOOOHHHHEEEEMMMMMGGGGGEEEEE! How have I not read this one before? What a story. I was sucked in from the beginning and I couldn't get enough of it. I hear it is being made into a movie. I will need tissues. All of the tissues. If you haven't yet - you need to now!

Random things I have learned about audio books:

• Self help books need to be read by the author and I have stopped listening to several because they weren't. I feel the author can give these books a life that another reader cannot.
• Fiction books should NOT be read by the author. LOL. The Nightingale and the Harry Potter series are both so exquisitely read that you can see the characters in  your mind.
• I will stop listening if I don't like the person reading the book - it could be the voice or the diction or the cadence I am sure I have missed out on some good ones just because of this. The one exception...The Princess Diarist written and read by Carrie Fisher. I love Carrie Fisher, but I didn't care for her voice later in life. She sounded like her dentures were loose and she had just smoked three packs of cigarettes.
• When I find books that I love I then ask for physical copies so I can mark them all up for the awesomeness they provide.

My top picks in no particular order:

• The Nightingale - Kristin Hannah
• You are a Badass - Jen SIncero
• You are a Badass at Making Money - Jen Sincero
• Braving the Wilderness - Brené Brown
• Girl, Wash Your Face - Rachel Hollis
• Rising Strong - Brené Brown
• The Art of Asking - Amanda Palmer
• American Gods - Neil Gaiman
• The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up - Marie Kondo
• All of the Harry Potter books - J.K. Rowling
• Big Magic - Elizabeth Gilbert
• The Four Agreements - Don Miguel Ruiz
• To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
• The Alchemist - Paulo Coelho

What should I add to my list?

The joys of moving - just kidding it is a pain in the ass.

The person that decided moving is one of the most stressful event you encounter in your life...
Was so right!

I have lived in several places in my life and feel I am semi-nomadic. I actually love living in new places and then trying something new...

So far I have lived in six (6) states and two time zones and now I am getting ready to move to the seventh and into a brand new time zone as well.

This move will be the biggest yet. We are moving from the greater Chicagoland area to Las Vegas baby!



I have always been a mid-westerner and east coaster so this is a massive change. Palm trees, low humidity, cacti, scorpions, and tarantulas here we come! 

My dad is also moving with us from Ohio so that adds another level of chaos as well. The logistics are ridiculous to put it mildly, but we are super excited for this new adventure.

Packing sucks.

Period. That is all I have to say about that.

We have been trying to purge and reduce the amount of STUFF we have and that we are taking, but that isn't going quite as well as we wanted it to. And frankly I feel it rarely does. The new house is about double the size of the one we are in, but we will also have stuff from dad's so I am sure we will have no trouble filing it up. 

Lessons learned from moving:

• my love of packing tape is only exceeded by my love of bubblewrap
• you don't need half the shit you have
• let go of everything that doesn't bring you REAL JOY and all the shit that has already served its purpose to you
• don't hold onto stuff because you feel obligated - set it free to bring joy to someone else
• no matter how organized I plan to be I always end up with boxes of plates and jewelry and knick-knacks and whatever else is within reach
• somehow it will all get done and moved no matter what
• you can in fact plastic wrap (or a more eco friendly option) your silverware in the drawer holder and transport it all in one big group
• buy a roll of contractor paper from your local hardware store and use this as packing material
• the hippies will reuse almost all of the packing materials we are using so they will be reused...keep an eye out on your future orders 😁

Now I need to get back to it...

Do you have any amazing pacing/moving tips to share?

The beauty of clay!

Clay. So simple and so powerful.

Natural ingredients. We strive to incorporate the power of natural ingredients in all of our bad hippies products. Clays are such an amazing and powerful natural tool that are often overlooked.

Growing up the only consideration I gave to clay was that it was a pain in the ass to dig through and it did not make for a nice garden as plants aren't so fond of it.

Fast forward to a few years later...

Now that I run two businesses I get exposed to new to me things all the time - like clay and how it can be used in so many areas for healthy skin.

In my Rodan + Fields business our Redfine Mask contains koalin clay which has been used in beauty products for centuries. Koalin (also known as China Clay) helps clean and exfoliate your skin by absorbing excess water and oil into itself. It is a totally amazing clay...

My favorite and most widely used clay at the moment is bentonite.

"Also known as montmorillonite, bentonite clay is clay formed from the ash of volcanoes. The name “Bentonite” comes from the location of the largest source of the clay: Fort Benton, WY." - Global Healing Center 

Why is bentonite my fave?

It is all about electricity baby.

Bentonite produces an electrical charge when mixed with water. 

Say what?

This negative charge then bonds with metals and toxins in your body whisking them away and helping your body purify itself!

Bentonite + pits = WINNER!

This bonding with the nasty stuff is why I use it in our bad hippies all natural deodorant - it is also why our deodorant has a darkish color. Bye bye conventional deodorant junk, hello fresh happy pits!

I also believe this is why so many people that have switched from conventional deodorant to our natural product have experienced either little or no pit detox time. 

Yeah for less funk and gunk all the way around!

Bentonite is also amazing for your face!

It seems so counter intuitive to put basically mud on your face, but it is exactly what you should be doing.

The hippies also sell pure clay masks in our good for the body line just for this purpose.

To use mix (remember to never use metal to mix your clay, this will reduce its ability to bond with the toxins and metals in your skin) with enough water to form a paste and the apply to your face. 

It will be thick! 

Leave on your face for about 20 minutes and wash off with warm water.

Use this gloriousness 1 to 2x a week.

Want to switch it up?

• mix the clay with plain yougurt
• add essential oils like frankincense or patchouli for added awesomness
• can also be used on minor skin irritations like, scrapes, razor burn, bug bites, minor cuts, itchy skin, and blemishes

Do you use bentonite for any other awesome purposes?
Let me know what they are!!!

Things that make you go hmmm...no really!

There are a few things out there that you just stop and wonder WTH?

Seriously. Help me understand.

One of my favorites is a single abandoned shoe on the side of or in the road.

Why?

How?

You find these lost souls on the sides of highways and on dirt roads and everything in between.

The shoes are always interesting too. Sneakers, flip flops, heels, boots, kids shoes (possibly more understandable), cleats, crocs, it seems no shoe is safe.

In fact this seems to happen so frequently there is an actual facebook page dedicated to this phenomenon (which is where I found the picture below). Check it out at Shoes on the Side of the Road - who knew.

Other things that makes you go - wait what?

For me it is the Reality Stars. Maybe I am old. Maybe I just don't care a whole lot about reality stars. Maybe I am old. I am sure they are lovely people. I have nothing against them. I just don't get why they are famous or how they make the world a better place. I guess I am just old.

Oh and why do I always turn down the radio when I am looking for an address when I am driving? This makes zero sense since my ears do not see things.

Why is the celestial body that orbits our planet not named and just called what it is? Jupiter has 53 named moons as does Saturn so why is ours just called moon?

I know there are so many more random things that we stop and think about and wonder WTH? What are some of the things that make you stop and go hmmm???

20ish things you may not know about the bad hippies...

It has been far too long since I have posted and even in the midst of the chaos that is moving two households more than halfway across the country I promise to try and do better...WAY BETTER!

Here are 20ish facts you may not know about the hippies - whether or not you wanted to know :) 

1. This whole adventure started because we wanted to make our own laundry detergent.
2. We started making our own soap because the store bought soap had tallow in it and we wanted to make our with no animal by proucts.
3. Our soap (and many of our products is vegan or we can make it vegan by request).
4. Many of our soaps can be used as solid shampoo.
5. Several of our soaps can be used to wash dogs & even horses or other livestock.
6. Plain jane can be used to wash your cat.
7. Care should be used with cats and essential oils.
8. Both our birthdays are in January.
9. We are moving to Las Vegas June 2018.
10. Moving is a pain in the ass.
11. One hippie is an omnivore one a vegetarian (vegan wanna-be).
12. One hippie works a traditional outside the house job.
13. The other hippie owns two (2) small businesses and also does contract work.
14. Neither hippie is a gambler even though we are moving to Las Vegas.
15. The bad hippie concept was born in Syracuse, NY.
16. The bad hippies became a real thing in Rolling Meadows, IL.
17. We take requests for products and if possible will create a product for you!
18. We teach soap making classes in the community.
19. I am an Aquarius. The bad hippie is a Capricorn.
20. We have one cat named BooBoo.
21. We love what we do...
22. One hippie is a marathoner and a triathlete (short ones, not the crazy big ones, yet).
23. If we never have to shovel snow again....we are totally cook with that.
24. We love to travel both domestically and internationally.
25. We have both been to 27 countries - so far.
26. One hippie has been to (we think) about 45 states.
27. One is a total bird nerd.

Are you surprised by any of these?

What are some of your fun facts????