Homeward Bound

Knowing today was my last day in Europe, I would consciously close my eyes taking mental snapshots of everything I smelled, saw, and felt. After which, I would put extra effort at storing these snapshots into the file that is permanent and unforgettable.

Nick and I strolled back to the Old Town of Prague during the morning. While walking the streets, we walked by the Torture Museum, and paid peanuts for a self-guided tour. It was interesting (and disturbing) to read about the creative ways people were tortured during the Dark Ages. Although it sounds sick/wrong, my favorite part was seeing these life size wax figures in the process of being tortured.

Later in the afternoon, Nick and I crossed the Charles Bridge to hike a nearby hill that looked over Prague. Even my loyal Cannon Rebel T2i cannot capture the gorgeous surroundings of this colorful city. Glad I took those mental snapshots!

Rubbing this plaque on Charles Bridge is brings good luck

Not until late afternoon did Nick and I decide to visit Terezin, the World War II Jewish ghetto and concentration camp located just north of Prague. However, on our way to the train station, Nick and I paid tribute to John Lennon by visiting "Lennon Wall" just a few hundred yards from the Vltava River. Lyrics like, "You may say that I'm a dreamer...but I'm not the only one" were spray painted all over the wall. 

Lennon Wall

I love Tasha too but this is Nick's chubby finger

Once we found our bus, we had to wait about 45-minutes for a later bus because the first bus driver was merciless to us poor American boys, who were literally running through the fumes of the departing bus. Exhausted, I fell asleep for the entire hour ride to Terezin hoping that Nick would just wake me at the right stop. It worked!

A beautiful but solemn graveyard left after the destructive Holocaust

Arriving just after 6 pm, Terezin proved to be a ghost town. We walked around the historical sites trying to piece it all together without an official tour. As soon as I saw the cemetery lined with gravestone after gravestone from innocent Jews and Nazi opposers, a feeling of reverence swept over me. As I walked between these graves, I was taken back to the Holocaust Museum, which Nick and I had visited in London. Interestingly, both the Cross of Christianity and the Star of David were placed about 50 yards from each other. To me, these religious symbols represent a bright hope for a future when a common faith in God will build a people rather than destroy.

The highlight of my trip to Terezin came at a moment of sheer panic. We were in such a hurry to get to Terezin that we didn't think about getting back. Hindsight, this was not smart. Tired of walking around all day, Nick stuck his thumb out when we found out that there were no more buses going back to Prague. Fortunately, God answered our silent prayers and sent a miracle in the form of Vlada and Radka. This amazing couple was just about to go walk Vlada's dog. Radka is from Prague while Vlada is a local to Terezin. Knowing we would be in serious trouble without their help, they told us that they would walk about half of the 45-minutes to the nearest train station and show us the rest of the way. Vlada gave us the historical tour we were hoping for as we walked through the Jewish ghetto towards the train station. I REALLY enjoyed my conversation with this young couple and hope they are okay with being friends for life. Instead of walking with us half the distance, they took us the entire way and wrote down instructions on how to get back to Prague. Seriously, I am truly grateful for this couple because no one at the train station spoke sufficient English.

After exchanging contact info with Vlada and Radka, we spent the next three hours traveling and waiting at two different train stations. It was after midnight when we got back to our hostel. However, sleep was the least of my worries because I would have a long flight in the morning.

This support crew definitely made up for the time when no one picked me up after my two-year mission

After flying from Prague to Atlanta then home to Salt Lake City, Nick and I were greeted by Tasha and the greatest parents we could ask for. Special thanks must be given to a few special people who made this trip possible... 


@Nick, many thanks for accepting my friendship long before Facebook was created. Through thick and thin, you've been there.


@Tasha, many thanks for supporting and inspiring Nick on his way to greatness.


@Dave & Heidi (Nick's parents), many thanks for treating me like your own blood. I still feel bad I threw Nick's shoe through your window.


@Mom & Dad, many thanks for teaching me to how to work hard AND play hard. I love you both.

Onward to Prague

We awoke about an hour before the members of the church started arriving. This left me plenty of time to change my clothes and take down the tent. While I was getting ready for church, Nick was frantically looking for a bathroom. Nick was a great Boy Scout growing up and has always internalized the Boy Scout Motto--Be Prepared! Whether Nick and I are gone for a couple hours hiking to the nearby hot springs or a couple weeks backpacking through Europe, Nick will always bring his Charmin (toilet paper). In all the years I've known Nick, he has never used his Charmin. So I thought this particular morning in Austria was going to change all of this. Fortunately for Nick, an elderly Austrian  showed up 30 minutes early for choir practice and saved Nick from using his precious 3 ply Charmin.

Similar to our Sabbath Day in Florence, the Austrian church members were so kind to us dirty backpackers (however I did spend about 5 minutes in the bathroom trying to clean myself up). Anyway, I'm really grateful Nick and I were able to attend church because although we spoke a different language and came from a different background, we felt unified with these members because of our faith in Jesus Christ. We sang hymns, participated in the weekly ordinance of the Sacrament, and with help from a translator, listened to members of the church give talks on gospel principles. Although the culture many differ slightly, the doctrine taught stays the same. The prayer that blesses the Holy Sacrament stays the same. And the hymns sung have been translated into hundreds of languages blessing millions of lives each week.


Again, we found ourselves in a tight situation. After Sacrament Meeting concluded, we needed to catch our train to Prague. Fortunately, Klaus Lingren, a Finnish member of the church, had recently married an Austrian and now lived in Linz. Because I served my mission in Finland, Klaus and I shared many of the same friends but we had never met. He was kind enough to drive us back to the train station so we were able to make our departing train. Both Nick and I look back at these moments standing in amazement at how giving these complete strangers were toward us.

Old train in southern Czech Republic

The train that took us to Prague, Czech Republic was much more run down than the trains we had previously rode. We sat in another stuffy compartment until we pulled the windows down. I rode part of the way with my head sticking out of the window to enjoy fresh air and the beautiful landscapes of the Czech Republic.

Nick wasn't a fan of these Czech trains.

Once we stepped off the train, a nearby vending machine caught my eye. The prices were completely different from the rest of Europe, which caused me to ask Nick, "Does the Czech Republic use the euro?" The lady at the information booth informed us in a thick Czech answer that we needed to convert our Euros to Czech crowns. After wondering around the train station and asking random people on the streets, we found a place to exchange our euros. A metro and tram ride took us within walking distance of our hostel--Czech Inn. At 14€/night, this hostel was the cheapest hostel we stayed at and, surprisingly, the nicest too.

Old Town Prague

Old Town Prague

After securing our backpacks in our rooms, we ventured out to see the nightlife of Prague. Everyone told me that Prague was a beautiful city. I understand what they meant because the buildings of Old Town Prague are brightly colored. We bought cheap gelato and watched street performers entertain many while we crossed the St. Charles Bridge.

Standing in front of St. Charles Bridge

We hiked uphill for awhile to check out the Prague Castle at night. There was hardly anyone around when we made it to the castle grounds. Nick, however, bumped into a group of Koreans (Nick served his mission in Korea). They were flabbergasted that an American would learn their language.

Nick and his Korean friends

Prague Castle

According to Guinness Book of Records, the gothic Prague castle is the biggest castle in the world. It was quite interesting to pick out the similarities between the castle and the Salt Lake Temple. After walking through the castle grounds, we headed back to our hostel to get a good night sleep.

Salty Mines & Free Lemonade

It took me awhile to realize where I was when I awoke in my sleeping bag. After reminding myself I was in Austria, Nick and I took down my tent and started making the trek back to the nearest bus stop. My parents spoke highly of the salt mines in Austria, so we decided to find our way there. It took a good hour before we stood in line for tickets (45 minute train ride + 15 bus ride). Everyone dresses up in these dirty white singlets. I couldn't help but laugh when I heard Nick say, "Ugh...I think this one has blood on it."

Nick and I all geared up to travel into the mine.

We were grateful, however, to use the white pajamas because we both would wear the same clothes for days and didn't want them to get too dirty. I learned that the salt mines outside of Salzburg were the reason the town flourished so well. One of our favorite parts of the tour was the way we got around. Besides walking hundreds of feet underground (in both Austria & Germany), we would slide down long steep slides, which is how the miners commuted hundreds of years ago. The creepiest way we commuted was by boat on an underground pond. They played this bizarre music accompanied by strobe lights, which made me feel like little Charlie on Willy Wonka's boat ride. I'll never forget that.

Sliding down one of the underground slides.

After 90 minutes hundreds of feet underground, we surfaced. They took pictures of us on the train but they definitely weren't worth 7€. I like my pictures better anyway. Our bus back to the train station wouldn't come for another hour, so I told Nick to find me in the nearby pasture. I quickly fell asleep when I laid down in the nearby pasture. I was tired. Nick, thinking he was funny, woke me up 45 minutes later by first sticking blades of grass in my ear (didn't work) and then shoving larger blades up my nose (this worked).


I continued by nap on the bus and train back to Salzburg trusting Nick would figure out when to get off. Nick is very talented at many things but working with bus/train schedules is not one of them. I awoke at one point afraid we were going to far but Nick put his hand on my shoulder and comforted me, saying, "Graden, go back to sleep. I got this." To Nick's credit (and the local sitting next to him), we arrived back in Salzburg in the late afternoon.

The beer factory.

Austria is famous for beer. Although we don't drink beer, we thought it'd be interesting to take a tour of the HUGE beer factory in Salzburg. We literally ran from the train to bus #26, because we wanted to catch the last tour. We missed the last guided tour, however, they allowed us to go on a self-guided tour. This turned out to be much better & quicker. I think Nick would agree that the best part about the tour was the free drinks at the end. Their brewed (nonalcoholic) lemonade was to die for! Plus, they were free!

Eating crackers & drinking lemonade. 

Lemonade--the only nonalcoholic drink available.

This was our last night in Salzburg, so we decided to use our Salzburg Card for one more thing--a 45 minute "cruise". It was truly gorgeous cruising along the Salzach River as the sun set behind the Alps.

Cruising along the Salzach River.

The next day was Sunday, which meant we needed to find a church somewhere. If we took a train all the way to Prague, it meant we wouldn't be able to attend church. On the other hand, if we stayed in Salzburg, we would get to Prague way too late, which would leave us only one day to spend in Prague before flying home. I pulled out my trusty map and found Linz, Austria. We used a nearby cafe's WI-FI to see if a branch of the LDS church was located in the city. Thanks to LDS.org we found ourselves an address. About an hour after we stepped off the boat, we stepped onto the train heading to Linz.

Humored Nick waiting for our train. 

It was dark by the time we go to Linz. The only things we knew when we arrived was (1) church started at 9:30 am the following morning and (2) the address was Spaunstrasse 83, Linz. We probably stopped and asked for directions from about half a dozen people before two girls located the church on an iPhone. Hallelujah! In broken English, they told us to jump on the metro and get off at a certain stop. Thirty minutes later, we were kicking ourselves for not getting more detailed directions than take the metro and get off.


A nearby gas station caught my attention, so I suggested we try to find a map of the local area and ask for more direction. Linz is much more of an industrial city than beautiful Salzburg, which is situated in the Northern Alps. While the lady behind the counter was being so kind to locate a map and look for the street, in walked a girl in her late 20's. She headed straight for the fridge and pulled out a six pack of Corronas. At that moment she heard the lady helping us say, "Oh wow, it's quite far away!" Without hesitation, this Good Samaritan (whose name I forgot) asked if we needed a lift. Along with this girl and her two buddies, Nick and I crammed into a tiny 2-door vehicle with our large backpacks on our laps. Not able to see anything with my backpack obstructing my view, I handed the address to the unknown driver on an old receipt.


The ten minute drive miraculously felt shorter than I was anticipating. Without this car of Good Samaritans, Nick and I would have walked for many hours weaving in and out of neighborhoods looking for our church building. Although I had never seen this church before, it felt quite welcoming in the dark with its tall steeple. After Nick and I thanked the strangers a dozen times, their car sped off leaving us in a dark neighborhood. Fortunately, the church had a nice 20 feet of grass on the right side of the building, so we pitched my tent, set an alarm, and slept. 

The Hills Are Alive!

The 48-hour Salzburg Card was the best thing we did in Austria. With this card we...


...saw Mozart's Birthplace

Mozart's Violin

...rode a cable car to the summit of Untersberg Mountain.

Summit of Untersberg

Nick always wanted to be in a cloud.

View from the cable car.

...ate traditional Salzburg bosna.

Bosna is addicting & VERY unhealthy. Bad combination.

...saw the sweetest zoo where ALL animals were within reach.

Nick about to touch the monkey's tail.

...visited the trick fountains.

Fortunately I was the only one who didn't get wet. I lucked out because we were going camping later.

Beautiful sight of the gardens.

Palace in the background.

...and camped in the hills just outside of Salzburg.

Camping near a river at the base of Untersberg.

Lost in the cornfields.

Lost in Venice

Nick and I were shaken awake around 5 am. With the others gone, we had about 45 minutes to lay down across the seats. Fortunately, one of the conductors shook us awake and asked if we were going to Venice. He told us we'd better hurry and get off so we could catch our connecting train. After a restless night, Nick and I sat dazed waiting for our connecting train in the middle of the night.

After a short train ride, Nick and I set foot in Venice. There were no offices open yet, so we walked to the nearest bridge and watched the sunrise over the canals of Venice. Again, another breathtaking sunrise! We made our way to the city center and walked around. Venice is beautiful but expensive so we didn't allocate much time. I bought an ice cream cone and we walked around the city center for a bit until we started heading back.

Flocks of tourists started pouring in while we started heading back to the train station. For some reason it was much harder finding our way back to the train station. We didn't have a map so it felt like a maze winding between the narrow alleyways and canals.

We caught a bus just after 11 am to take us across the border into Austria. From there, we took a three hour train to Salzburg. Today was a day full of much traveling and resting. However, it was still bright outside to see how beautiful Austria's mountains are. I was awestruck with how majestic everything looked.

Locating a cheap hostel was easier than I expected. We dropped off our luggage and made our way to the city center. We were starving. However, everything was closed so we didn't eat anything. Instead, we climbed the nearby hill to check out the largest castle located in Central Europe. We could see all of Salzburg and more from the top. Lightning in the distance caught our eye and told us that rain may be coming our way.

An hour later, I found myself in the biggest thunderstorm I've ever experienced. Lightning bolts were everywhere! I asked a local if this was normal--he said the rain was normal but the lightning was not. I felt like I was in a war zone because everyone was running for cover.


Exhaustion settled in once we made it back to the hostel. We decided to get at least 8 hours of sleep. It was glorious.

Grime & Crime in Naples

We packed up our backpacks this morning and caught a morning train to Naples. We were originally going to go up to Venice today via Milan but the Ferrini’s advised us to see visit Naples instead of Milan. The Ferrini’s were the first of about 20 people who advised us to be very careful in Naples. As the third largest city in Italy, Naples is known for the pick pocketing, the mafia, and the birthplace of pizza.

We spent the rest of the afternoon walking along the harbor, exploring castles, and eating famous marinara pizza. There were definitely parts of Naples that reminded me of Guatemala City. Nonetheless, Nick and I were glad we visited the “most Italian” city. Besides the grime and crime, Naples is gorgeous. Beautifully situated along the coast, we could see the volcano Mt. Vesuvius off in the distance. Next time I’m in Naples, I will make sure I see the city of Pompeii.

While waiting for our train, we witnessed a thief getting caught. A large man was getting pick pocketed but ran after and caught the thief throwing him against the wall. The police came within seconds, handcuffed the thief, and took him away. Yep, Naples lives up to its name. After some train troubles, we finally got onto the most humid night train. We found our seats in a little compartment with four others. I thought it best to strike up conversation with these passengers to find out whether or not I should be worried about my backpack going missing. I’m a deep sleeper. We had a great conversation in broken English making me more comfortable about going to sleep. My shirt was soaked in sweat while I sat in the most uncomfortable seat imaginable; however, I slept. Sitting across from one another, Nick and I would wake up frequently because we had no legroom. Our legs were pressed firmly against each other, so when our friends left the compartment one by one, they would wake us up. It was a long night.

We packed up our backpacks this morning and caught a morning train to Naples. We were originally going to go up to Venice today via Milan but the Ferrini’s advised us to see visit Naples instead of Milan. The Ferrini’s were the first of about 20 people who advised us to be very careful in Naples. As the third largest city in Italy, Naples is known for the pick pocketing, the mafia, and the birthplace of pizza.

Naples Beach

We spent the rest of the afternoon walking along the harbor, exploring castles, and eating famous marinara pizza. There were definitely parts of Naples that reminded me of Guatemala City. Nonetheless, Nick and I were glad we visited the “most Italian” city. Besides the grime and crime, Naples is gorgeous. Beautifully situated along the coast, we could see the volcano Mt. Vesuvius off in the distance. Next time I’m in Naples, I will make sure I see the city of Pompeii.

Overlooking Naples with Mt. Vesuvius in the back.

While waiting for our train, we witnessed a thief getting caught. A large man was getting pick pocketed but ran after and caught the thief throwing him against the wall. The police came within seconds, handcuffed the thief, and took him away. Yep, Naples lives up to its name. After some train troubles, we finally got onto the most humid night train. We found our seats in a little compartment with four others. I thought it best to strike up conversation with these passengers to find out whether or not I should be worried about my backpack going missing. I’m a deep sleeper. We had a great conversation in broken English making me more comfortable about going to sleep. My shirt was soaked in sweat while I sat in the most uncomfortable seat imaginable; however, I slept. Sitting across from one another, Nick and I would wake up frequently because we had no legroom. Our legs were pressed firmly against each other, so when our friends left the compartment one by one, they would wake us up. It was a long night.

Nick trying to get some sleep on the night train.