International train ride to Kroměříž, Czech Republic

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(the article below accompanies this video)

Another international border crossing today – it never gets old or unexciting. Masayo and I had made the decision just last night to leave Kraków, Poland and go to Kroměříž in the Czech Republic, the eleventh country so far on this trip. My blood sugars weren’t great but had some bright spots, even though for the millionth night in a row my reading was awful before bed.

At 8:00 am my blood sugar was 266. Bad food and insulin choices from last night were still affecting me. Masayo and I ate breakfast in our room on our last morning at Tulip Hostel in Kraków – yogurt, instant coffee, and cookies. Not much of a breakfast, but it fits a backpacking trip like this.

We checked out and walked through Old Town Kraków one last time, buying big pretzel-bread things for the minibus to the Czech Republic. These are sold all over Kraków, and cost about 45 cents each.

Last night I paid online for two tickets on a bus from TigerExpress to take us to Ostrava in the Czech Republic, from where we’d have to somehow find trains to the small town of Kroměříž, where I reserved a room at a small place on booking.com, which has become our standard way of finding lodging on this voyage. The bus people didn’t have any record of our reservation and there was some confusion, but after a phone call it was straightened out and we got on. They gave us free coffee on the bus, and we motored along the boring roads out of Poland.

When we actually crossed the Polish-Czech border I was dozing, so I didn’t see it. I like to try to get pictures of the welcome signs when we cross a border. Oh well.

We were dropped off at Ostrava Svinov train station under sunny Czech skies. We got some local money (Czech koruna) from an ATM and bought train tickets to Kojetín.

We’d need lunch on the train, and having just arrived in the country an hour or so ago I had no idea what to expect on the Czech train. So Masayo waited on the platform while I ran to a nearby minimart. Choosing very quickly, I grabbed some pieces of individually wrapped cheese, chocolate soy milk, doughnuts, and what I hoped was sparkling water. The clerk didn’t give me a bag so I balanced everything in my arms as I sprinted back to the platform, where our train was approaching.

We jumped on and found our seats. Well, we found some seats. If we weren’t supposed to be here I figured someone would come and yell at us. Until then, I checked my blood sugar: 157. I’ll take it. I shot up Humalog and we ate our tasty but probably unhealthy lunch.

In Kojetín we got off the train and I steeled myself for something I had been alternately looking forward to and dreading: I had to go to the ticket window and request two tickets for “Kroměříž“. How was I supposed to pronounce that? I’d done some research on Czech diacritical marks. Would it work?

I did my best when I approached the ticket window and spoke to the lady — I muttered something like “KRO mer zhizh” and she seemed to understand. The tickets were cheap, and the departure board matched what I had researched on the internet last night. Things were going smoothly; it was a nice welcome to the Czech Republic so far.

We very nearly missed the tiny single-car train for the nine-minute ride to Kroměříž because we didn’t notice it on the edge of the station, but we just made it. The walk from Kroměříž station to our room at Penzion Kroměříž was fairly short. Inside, we had to wait several minutes while someone rustled up the owner.

The room at Penzion Kroměříž is great — probably the nicest we’ve had this whole trip so far, but certainly not the most expensive. The reviews on booking.com wondered why such a nice place was so cheap, and I agree. Every detail is nice — attractive furniture, not just the cheapest stuff available — and there’s a kitchen and foyer-type room for clothes. A window looks out over a courtyard, and the room is spotless. There’s even an honor-system minibar with beer, water, juice, and Coke. If you drink anything you just leave the money in the room. Beer is €1, the others €.80 each.

To top it all off, my BG at 5:30 was a perfect 92. After a rest we headed out to find dinner. The pension guy had given us a card for 10% off at a restaurant called Uno so we went there. It was a nice little place, very few other customers but with a wide interior. They had English menus and there was a TV showing 1980s videos like “Total Eclipse Of The Heart” by Bonnie Tyler.

I got Kung Pao chicken with rice and ate it all. I was hungry. And, knowing how rice often makes me higher than I expect, I took a big Humalog shot for it. We ate until full and then went out to explore Kroměříž a little bit in the quiet darkness.

The entire town of Kroměříž is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It’s a well-preserved but still modern and vibrant place that feels like a kind of theme park, but real and inviting. As Masayo and I walked around at random, up alleys that led to floodlit churches and through the wide town square, we marveled at the sense of secrecy – this little place that we’d never heard of a couple days ago seemed so inevitable. Of course Kroměříž exists. And how lucky for us to end up here!

We were actually looking for a small shop to buy some water for the room, besides wanting to check out the town. The town at night is really striking. The big plaza of the town square was deserted but lit up, and gigantic churches loomed overhead. We passed a couple stores but they had closed much earlier and we never did find anything open. A smaller town than we’ve been used to lately.

In the absence of sparkling water, I had the beer from the minibar, plus the Snickers I’d been carrying for low BG since I was still hungry. I took more insulin for it, of course, and feared that this time I had probably overdone the Humalog. I fully expected to drop low, so I made sure to keep an eye on it.

And I was way wrong – that “eye” would be puffy from high blood sugar fatigue before long. Rather than being low I was a whopping 337 at 11:00. Lots of readings in the 300s after dinner these days. Not a good trend, but at least it’s consistent so I know what to fix. I took some Humalog, shaking my head at the thought of rice, mysterious Kung Pao sauce, beer, and Snickers. On reflection, being high didn’t seem so unbelievable.

It’s great to be in the Czech Republic; everything has been especially pleasant and reliable so far. Kroměříž is beautiful and comfortable, our room is spectacular, my blood sugars at least in the afternoons have greatly improved, and Masayo and I have established a nice travel rhythm. Plus I’m learning some central European pronunciation – and I’ll need it; the signs in this country are tongue-mangling!

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