Grandeur in Kraków, Poland’s Old Town area

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(the article below accompanies this video)

The first full day in Kraków, Poland was spent doing something that every diabetic can relate to: trying to get my appetite back after a couple of days of high blood sugars. We saw some breathtaking sights around Kraków but I was listless and whiny all day. Oddly enough, it took a large rice-filled dinner to fix both my mood and my blood sugar.

When Masayo and I woke up in our new room at Tulip Hostel in Old Town Kraków I learned that my juice gamble from last night hadn’t paid off: I was 242. Absolutely nothing to blame but myself.

We had breakfast at a placed called Gospoda Koko, recommended by the hostel guy. The breakfast was simple but a great deal, 12 złoty (about $3.60) for eggs, tomatoes, bread, and coffee. Would my Humalog shot bring me between 70 and 130? I hoped so. Optimism springs eternal in the heart of a high diabetic.

Having run out of my beloved Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soap, which I use for body wash, toothpaste, shaving cream, and laundry (simplicity rules!), I stopped in at a beauty shop and picked up a bottle of concentrated natural “Aleppo” soap. It wasn’t Dr. Bronner’s, which they didn’t sell, but I hoped it would be good enough. It was expensive ($15) so it better be.

Back in the room it was a laundry morning with our Scrubba bag. We haven’t been washing clothes often enough so we had quite a bit to do and it took all morning. We’ll be here for three more days though, and it’s supposed to be comparatively warm. Maybe our thick cotton shirts will dry in that time.

Then we went walking, though I didn’t have much energy and my whining was getting on Masayo’s nerves. First we went to the main square in Old Town, just behind our hostel, and paid to climb up the Town Hall Tower. There are nice views on the highest floor you’re allowed to reach, which is about halfway up (just below the clock). The stairs leading up are windy, steep, and narrow. A lot like the cathedral in Tartu, Estonia.

At 1:00 I checked my blood sugar and was 210. Yet another high, and by now I realized that my string of bad blood sugars (including the really terrible day yesterday) had robbed me of my appetite. I never know how much that’s physical and how much is psychological, but the truth was Masayo was hungry for lunch and, weakened and annoyed though I was, I was uninterested in food.

But we stopped in at a little bakery/cafe called Piekarnia Kawiarna Lajkonik. I had a small doughnut and some water. At least it was something.

Walking around after “lunch”, I had no energy and little interest in what we were seeing. I did perk up a little when we happened upon a huge castle on a large hill, which turned out to be the famous Wawel Castle and Cathedral. Alas, it was getting late and we didn’t go in. There were a lot of other people walking around — tourists busy on a Sunday.

Back in the hostel I was happy to see that my BG had come down to perfection: 92. And even more importantly, I was feeling hungry enough to go to a Ukrainian restaurant on a back street we’d passed. I’m getting into this idea of eating totally unrelated international cuisine in the different places we visit! Just like the Pakistani food in Lithuania, and the Azerbaijani food in Estonia.

Smak Ukrainski is in a cellar built in the 1500s and decorated really interestingly, with a dark, ancient feel. Ukrainian music (I assumed) played and there were no other diners most of the time. Funny how things are so much more enjoyable when your BG is good.

I ordered a skewer with big pieces of beef, onion, cucumber, and bacon on it, plus rice and a tomato sauce. It was as excellent as it sounds, especially now that I had my appetite back after so long in the wilderness.

As a drink I innocently ordered a hot chocolate – and the thickest (and tastiest) beverage you can imagine was set down before me on the table. I’d never had any chocolate drink like this; it was as if they’d melted down an entire chocolate bar and added nutmeg and cinnamon. My stomach said, “What is this?!” and Masayo drank a tiny bit of it and declared it sufficient as her dessert. What would my diabetes say? I’d find out soon enough. At any rate it went well with the Ukrainian food.

And, shockingly, when the big BG-checking moment came at 1:00 am I was 190. After the last few days I’ve had, and after a large rice and chocolate dinner? I’d definitely take a 190. Thanks Ukraine!

So despite my diabetically negative mood Kraków was enjoyable even through the haze. Tomorrow we have big plans, one of the things Masayo and I have been talking about for months: a visit to the Nazi concentration camp at Auschwitz.

What international food have you eaten in an unrelated country while traveling?

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