How I got sick in Prague, Czech Republic

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(the article below accompanies this video)

I’m fond of pointing out to people that I never ever get sick – I haven’t had a cold or missed work or anything in several years, even when people around me are coughing and wheezing. Healthy food and good sleep can do wonders, really. But today in Prague I woke up feeling that feeling – something funny happening with my throat and my stomach not quite right. Uh-oh… could my streak be over?

In fact Masayo and I did walk around Prague a little bit and I never felt too much worse, but I never felt much better either. My blood sugar started out high but I managed to get it down by the afternoon, even though by bedtime I could tell that I definitely wasn’t over whatever I am getting.

In the morning my BG was 262. We went downstairs to check out the breakfast buffet at Hotel Jelení Dvůr and it was pretty huge – two rooms (!) of all kinds of food laid out for us. You know the breakfast choices are plenty when there are four kinds of cereal including “gluten-free musli”.

I felt bad but ate a decent amount, taking my Humalog shot through my Bluff Works pants leg at the table as usual.

We loitered around the room most of the morning, and discussed what to do today on our first full day here in Prague in the Czech Republic. The nearby Prague Castle has a three-hour audio tour that we decided to go on, despite its price of $35 each. (When in a famous European capital, you pay the prices they ask for or see nothing!) My diabetes wasn’t much better by 11:00 am, BG 225, and I was still feeling sick, but we headed out anyway down the quiet residential path that led from our hotel to the busy tourist hill and the Castle.

At the Castle we saw large groups of tourists gathered for a changing of the guard ceremony. We joined them, and at the appointed hour (to the second, one imagines) several groups of uniformed, scowling guys started strutting around in formation, spinning their guns and blowing their trumpets and walking back and forth in a spectacular and meticulously-planned drill. Just change the guards already! I thought to myself, amused.

Unfortunately I had to veto the Castle audio tour; I wanted to wait until I felt good enough to relax and enjoy it and I really wasn’t feeling three hours inside the castle trying to pay attention. Masayo was cool about it – she had felt bad in Kaunas, Lithuania, after all, and knew that sometimes you need a break when you feel bad.

So instead we walked down the hill along the crazy tourist street to see the Charles Bridge, a symbol of Prague and the subject of many stunning photos, one of which I’d taken from the internet as my computer screen desktop several years ago. And now I’d be seeing it myself.

Making the imaginary real – one of my favorite things about travel.

By the time we got all the way down to the bridge I was actually feeling OK. The Charles Bridge (Karlův most in Czech) was somewhat underwhelming, to tell the truth – it was an overcast day and besides my distracting sickness, the mood was soured somewhat by all the other tourists and the stalls selling trinkets and stuff. The best photos of the Charles Bridge are usually at night or early morning, with very few people and with a more serene and atmospheric feel.

Which is not to say it sucked; stately statues line the entire bridge (which is for pedestrians, not vehicles), towering over us humans and lending an air of seriousness and ancient strength to a stroll across. Also, at either end lies a great tower which you walk under and which acts as a psychological entrance and exit to self-contained little world of the bridge itself.

Once across the Vltava River we were on the edge of Old Town, which we avoided since we’re planning on seeing that tomorrow. So we sat at a cafe that had a mesmerizing view of the bridge… but nobody came to take our order. In fact a waiter snapped at me when I went inside to inquire about the ordering system.

You have to know when you’re not wanted.

So we left, walked back across the bridge, and looked for a different cafe that might be more friendly. I wanted a scenic diabetes selfie with my OneTouch monitor and on the bridge Masayo snapped a photo of me checking; I was 167. BG getting better even if I feeling a little sicker.

The cafe we found was called Cafe U Černeho Beránka and they let us in and even sold food and drinks to us for money, imagine that! Masayo and I each got a hot drink and a piece of cake; the total was $18. Much more expensive than it would be elsewhere, even in quieter parts of Prague I suspected. But sometimes you have to just pay the money and enjoy the experience without worrying about a budget.

It’s kind of like diabetes itself – some food might make you high but if it’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, just do it and don’t regret it. So it goes with budget travel, especially on a cloudy afternoon in chilly November Prague after spending the afternoon on the stunning Charles Bridge. Eat your cake and enjoy yourself!

Actually, the Humalog shot was psychologically hard to perform; my sickness’ symptoms resembled low blood sugar symptoms. I knew I wasn’t low but it’s still hard to plunge in a needle when you “feel” low. It takes guts if I may say so.

Diabetes – makes you stronger!

After relaxing in the dark and busy cafe at the western end of the Charles Bridge Masayo and I trundled back up the hill all the way to the hotel. She agreed to hang around the room for the rest of the day so I could rest and recuperate. It was only about 4 pm so I watched the Falcons/Browns game on NFL Game Pass. The Falcons gave the game away in the last four seconds which really annoyed me. But I was feeling slightly better.

At 7 pm we set out to find dinner and the only option we knew of was the tourist street. On the way, in a quiet and yellow-lit back alley, I checked my blood sugar and was super-pleased that despite my own grogginess ait was 91. Nice BG photo too; it’s been a good day for diabetes pictures.

The tourist street at night was much quieter than it had been in the afternoon. It was actually a pleasure to walk down the long hill now with nobody around. About half the stores were closed, but they were mostly the souvenir shops. Restaurants were still there and we found one that Masayo had noticed earlier called Red Lion.

Three cheers for the Red Lion – I had their special and it was wonderful. Thick spinach soup, chicken, pieces of fried potatoes, plus cake. Masayo and I split a sparkling water. My whole meal was only about $15, a fantastic bargain for a filling and varied dinner on a Prague tourist street.

Feeling increasingly worried about my physical state I spent the rest of the evening in the room, hoping that relaxing and resting up would fix it. I watched part of an Auschwitz documentary on YouTube and took my Lantus shot as usual at 11:00 pm.

But I didn’t check my BG before bed, which is unusual for me. I had no idea what it might be – I’ve often been high after dinner lately, but then again I was ok for much of the afternoon today. I didn’t feel high or low, just weak.

Forget diabetes – time for sleep and hopefully a rebound tomorrow.

What’s the most you’ve ever paid for a snack at a cafe?

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