Epic Bike Trip

At the end of our time in Prague, Marico and I had a lot of time to just hang around.  Our flight left at 6am, which meant we had to hang around then take the night bus and sit in the airport for the night.  This sounds a little rough, but it gave us time to talk about The Epic Bike Trip.  We've decided to bike from Delft to Barcelona.  There may be some train travel along (it's about 1800km and we've only got a month) the way, but we're going to cycle most of it.  It'll look a little like this:

Sketch of Epic Bike Trip

We're planning on cycling all of August.  To partake of this trip I went ahead and got a NEW BIKE!  It's a Cube touring bike, and it's quite sleek.

Marcio and I with our bikes

To kick it off, Marcio and I cycled to Leiden, west through the tulip fields, and south through the dune fields this weekend.  It was a marvelous, 60km journey.  Marcio has the photos, so I'll just include a map until I can get them from him.

First real trip with the new bike: Leiden.

And here's me at the tulip fields wet of Leiden!

Praha, meu irmão!

After the Coastal Dynamics exam I went to Prague!  Marcio and Aline went as well, and we had a good week of nice parks, beautiful city, and delicious (cheap) beer and food.

Me at the Atomic Clock!

Overlooking the city's may bridges

Me with Dvorak (the composer; see New World Symphony)

There was a big fair on the market square for Easter,
and they had a bunch of booths making these: Trdelnik!
They're rolled dough covered in butter & cinnamon.  Yum!

Statues on the Charles Bridge at sunset

Look!  He's holding the Praha Castle!

Penguins leading ships through the lock

Praha Castle by night

Travelers overlooking the city

Attendants waiting for the 4 horsemen...

Marcio riding a giant anteater!

They have this there, too!  It's just spelled funny...

Gates to the Praha Castle.
This says "Mess with the Czechs, and you will die a cruel and vicious death."

Gates to the Praha Castle.
This says "Mess with the Czechs, and you will die a cruel and vicious death." 

After Prague I had to return to Delft to take another exam (this one in Probabilistic Design for Engineers).  Once again, it took some studying, but it wasn't too bad once I got to it.

The next thing on the horizon is Queen's Day (30 April), which is a day of live music, beer, and street food in Amsterdam!

Trahan EuroTrip!

At the end of March (about 1 month ago now...) the family came to visit!  Tim was here for a week, and just when he was getting ready to head home the rest of the family came.  It was a good time, and we went a lot of places.

Tim and I in front of the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam

Ian and Moholt playing the bells at the concert hall in Bruges

Moholt in Brussels

Family on the main square in Brussels (Fisheye)

The Keukenhof Tulip Garden

Ian at the Kuekenhof Tulip Garden

At the top of the Delft Nieuw Kerk Tower
(high above the mausoleum of William of Orange)

My mom and I waiting for the departure train

It was really a great trip.  The only thing I would do differently is take more pictures!

Unfortunately, I had to jump straight into exam period after this.  I got 3 days to prepare for the Coastal Dynamics I exam, which was stressful, but I think it turned out just fine in the end.