Day 18

Day 18, Monday 20^th of June,

Well, here we are in Kleinmehring after a day of around 83km, we certainly have passed the half way mark! You may well ask how is it all going? Well, it is a mighty long way and therefore that means on the bike every day and to be honest some days are better than others. I had thought that my body would have adjusted to this daily sitting in the saddle, but today my coccyx bones are feeling pretty sore! Also shoulders and hands don't like to be for too long in one position (get pins and needles in my left little finger at times) but the cycling gloves help And at times a bit of willpower is required to keep cycling on. But, there is no must do, it is all choice and I enjoy the freedom of that. No timelines, no phone's to answer, no appointments to keep etc!! It is fabulous to ride through the country side, see the villages, towns and cities and get a bit of an idea how people live and work in this part of the world, a sight you just don't see when you travel by car or public transport. You get some wonderful glimpses of what people do and how they enjoy themselves. Last night as Graeme mentioned the farm had a big entertainment area and there must have been a good hundred or more people eating, drinking, dancing, talking, singing and having a great time. Then there was this older lady hanging out of her upstairs window when we rode past one day and how delighted she was when we gave her a wave (she waved back). We have had some great help from people giving directions if required and the manner in which we all try to speak each others language, sometimes causing more confusion and at other times it has come to some hilarious situations.

Today we were in Neuberg at lunch time, a great city with some interesting history, our plan was to park the bikes somewhere and to have a look at the Palace, museum and church but unfortunately due to it being a Monday all was closed!! We strolled around the old town and then went in search for a place for lunch.

In a side street we happen to stumble upon this little cafe and convinced by the owners friend we decided that we would stay and eat. The owner was a colourful and very happy personality who was delighted that we Aussies would eat in his shop. The owner was Polish so he told us and had only opened up this shop 3 months ago. These photo's were taken in the shop and I believe it tells the story better then my words could. He had all sorts of things/food in this shop and often only 3 of each items at most, shelves full of wine and alcoholic drinks, shelves of boxes or baskets with fruits and vegetables (e.g. 3 potatoes in a basket), most interesting!! Anyhow he made us a delicious mixed fruit drink and a pizza. The funny part was that he picked the basil leaves from his few plants he had outside for sale (not bad, double value!), it was a great experience and he made our day!

But now at 8pm we are sitting on the bed and I am plumtuckered out! (Sorry Nederlanders dit is een Australian coloqual uitdrukking wat je niet in het woordenboek zal vinden). Time for me to stop. Not sure when we can post this, it requires internet connection. We can check our mail on Graeme's galaxy pad, we we are not able somehow to get to post this on the blog site. Love to you all.