A little more than a year ago, Trey Ratcliff visited Chernobyl despite warnings from his close friends and relatives. If you don’t remember, Chernobyl was home to one of the largest nuclear disasters in history. In 1986, the town of approximately 55,000 residents was urgently evacuated when one of the nuclear reactors at the power station exploded.

In Trey’s post, Nuclear Winter in Chernobyl, his writing and photography take us on a tour of the abandoned city. He also visits Prypiat, a neighboring town that was home to many of the plant workers. Here’s a sampling of his trip, “First, we stopped in Prypiat, a fascinating place right out of the Day After. Prypiat was built as the ultimate Soviet communist panacea, a place for Chernobyl plant workers and their families to live, go to school, play, and live their lives in master-planned bliss. Prypiat was immediately deserted after the accident – kids left schools with their books still on the desks, families rushed out without getting everything, just complete and instant desertion. While I was there, it was completely quiet, and it was extra surreal with the early 80’s styling of the Soviet buildings, windows ajar and stuff still sitting in all the windows.” Click Read more for additional information and photos.

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Starbucks steps up their WiFi offerings. With their recent switch from T-mobile to AT&T, all Starbucks gift-card holders will receive two hours of free WiFi access daily – no purchase is necessary.

As Upgrade and WiFi Net point out, this is a pretty sweet deal: “Walk in, buy a $5 gift card, activate it and you’re on for two hours a day from then forward. You can also use multiple devices with a single account, within reason.” Perhaps Starbucks is feeling pressure from the many independent coffee shops offering free WiFi. Between Starbucks and Cybercafes, you should be able to score some internet access while you’re on the road.

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On March 30, the Open Skies agreement goes into effect making it easier for travelers to cross the Atlantic. Once before, airline carriers traveling from the US to Europe had to stop in their native country before continuing to their final destination. After the 30th, carriers will be able to offer more flight options and hopefully cheaper fairs for trans-atlantic travelers.

Unfortunately, this news comes on the heals of increased fuel prices forcing US airlines to squeeze flights and potentially jobs. Last week USA Today reported that fewer planes, fewer flights, and fewer jobs were how US airlines responded to the 30% rise in fuel prices over the past six weeks. So while options for international travel may increase, flight options domestically will probably shrink over the next few months. Click Read More for additional news from today’s travel headlines.

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