def join(path1, path2):
    """
    nicely join two path elements together
    """
    if path1.endswith('/') and path2.startswith('/'):
        return ''.join([path1, path2[1:]])
    elif path1.endswith('/') or path2.startswith('/'):
        return ''.join([path1, path2])
    else:
        return ''.join([path1, '/', path2])
