Barbels Bistro - day 9

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We woke up feeling pants ... We knew it was going to be a tough day because we were both still in pain from yesterdays mountain trail. Breakfast was immense though. We were in a much richer European country than the day before and it showed. We had eggs and sausages and bread and butter - We both concentrated mainly on the bread and croissants though as they became almost like an insurance against exhaustion.

Put simply - If you eat lots of bread you are providing your body with long term slow energy release throughout the day - For me it became a mental thing. If I eat lots of bread the day won't be so long - maybe we'll finish at 6pm instead of 7pm.

Has anyway seen the film Little Nicky ? Well, Dave snores just like Adam Sandler in Little Nicky ... go rent it - or just ask Jen - poor girl !

It was clear though after 20 miles we were both shattered and we agreed we needed a rest day. The hills were becoming just as bad as the czech republic so we started looking for Penzion ( Hotel ) signs around 40 miles. We kept heading in the direction of Weida and about 4km from Weida at the top of a hill we came across one - we followed the signs to a tiny little village with a Bistro beside a pond.

It was unbelievably hot - somewhere around 35/36 degrees. We stepped into the bistro dripping sweat but we were warmly welcomed by Barbel who essentially became our surrogate German mum for the next 24 hours.

She asked where we had cycled from and where we were going. We had to wait for one of the other guests in her bar to translate for her but she seemed very impressed. "Budapest ?!" she said.

She asked us for 34 Euros for the night and we felt like the luckiest men alive.

We had our showers and rested our heads for a bit in front of the TV before the England game at 5pm. ( GMT + 1 )

I have to say, I feel sorry for you Jen. Despite the fact it was around 4pm in the afternoon, Dave was snoring his head off ... Just to give you an idea of the decibells - He was snoring so loud that the people in the beer garden outside the Bistro were wetting themselves. The guy doesn't just snore though, oh no - Dave grunts, sighs, moans and makes as many stupid noises as he can to disturb anyone elses naps- it's like being in the same room as someone who's possessed ! - Has anyway seen the film Little Nicky ? Well, Dave snores just like Adam Sandler in Little Nicky ... go rent it - or just ask Jen - poor girl !

We watched the football - it was a boring game and England looked pants - nuff said ...

Then Barbell cooked us pasta - yum !

By this point the bar had become full of locals. They had all obviously been talking about Daves snoring and our journey from Budapest because one of the locals poked his head round the door, gave us a big smile and a thumbs up and sent us two drinks. Barbell delivered the drinks and said they were from Mike so it felt rude not to join them.

We sat down inside the bar and were quickly joined by Pear - a cheese farmer from a neighbouring village who had studied in the US. His English was fluent so we got chatting and ending up playing pool for a couple of hours - so much for our rest day !!

Pear left us with an invitation to go visit him the following morning so that he could show us how he makes cheese and we promised to go and visit him.

43 miles covered !! - rest day