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Today was a long slog of fighting off high blood sugars while Masayo and I walked all over Vilnius, Lithuania after arriving yesterday from Latvia. It wasn’t a good day diabetically, but we really enjoyed Vilnius. Bad BGs don’t have to spoil your mood. Especially when Pink Floyd and Frank Zappa enliven your day!
Hey that’s no way to wake up.
In the morning my BG was 298 – the Pakistani dinner from last night still working its evil magic in my bloodstream – so I had a simple bowl of cereal (well, a coffee cup of cereal) and half an orange. And a big old shot of Humalog — that ought to bring it down.
Me working the Scrubba in the shower stall.
But it didn’t. After a load of laundry with the Scrubba, I was not down but up: #bgnow 354. It’s not a good sign when BGs in the 300s become so commonplace that you give a little disappointed sigh, shoot up some insulin, and just get on with your day. But in the moment that’s all you can do. Dutifully I injected more Humalog, and Masayo and I set out to explore our new temporary home of Vilnius.
#bgnow 354, a total surprise. Every diabetic can relate to this photo.
No crowds on a Saturday?
The first thing we noticed was the lack of people. It was Saturday, what was going on? It was busy yesterday. But today there weren’t even any cars on the big street near our hotel.
It turns out, it was All Saints’ Day. I don’t know what that is exactly, but in Vilnius it means “stay home”, apparently.
Super quiet on All Saints’ Day.
The crux of the biscuit
The first thing I wanted to see was, for music nerds, a famous spot: a bust of Frank Zappa, up on a pole, in a non-descript concrete courtyard on the edge of Old Town Vilnius.
And there he was — in all his mustachioed glory, Frank’s 1980s-era visage peers permanently at some dull apartment blocks and a dumpster. Lithuanians, inspired by his iconoclasm and philosophy of freedom and self-expression, erected the monument in opposition to Soviet rule. Now times have changed but ol’ Frank still occupies his ignoble little spot here.
I think he’d love it.
Jeremy, Frank, and Masayo.
What Frank looks at, all day every day.
BG getting too low too fast
My Humalog had finally proven effective after visiting the head Mother of Invention: stopping in at a delightful little cafe called Klaipėdos Senamiestis, my BG was a mere 82 – excellent reading, but one that unnerved me since I was 354 just 90 minutes ago. I had some cheese soup with croutons, plus some juice, and took no insulin. This teeter-totter better stop soon.
#bgnow 82. Too low too fast?
The moment of decision
I seriously considered going back to the room at this point — let Masayo wander by herself, because my BG was getting me down. Physically and mentally. Should I even be outside?
In honor of “Lithuanian patriots, shot to death in this former KGB building.”
But I decided to tough it out. My BG wasn’t likely to be any different in the room, so why not at least stay out here and see more of Vilnius? Besides, the next stop on our mini-tour is the attractively-named Gates Of Dawn.
Lest you don’t know
Pink Floyd’s 1967 album The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn is the greatest thing ever. Led by then-guitarist Syd Barrett, it’s inspired and ground-breaking, shiveringly psychedelic, and a nonstop parade of phenomenal creativity. When I saw that Vilnius had something called The Gates Of Dawn, I had to go see it. (The album title was actually taken from The Wind In The Willows, but hey – close enough.)
The piper at the Gates Of Dawn.
The Gates Of Dawn (Aušros Vartai) is a large arch at the edge of Old Town, inside which is a statue of Mary which is said to perform miracles. We gawked up at the grand structure, and of course I mimed a flute in front of it. Locals probably see people doing this all the time, I thought, before realizing that maybe the album isn’t as popular with tourists as I might imagine. In my mind, it’s Vilnius’s version of the Abbey Road zebra crossing. But maybe it’s just me.
The view from mighty Gediminas Tower
After living out my Syd Barrett fantasy, my BG was 115. Bull’s eye? Seemed pretty good to me, though my insulin-less lunch was now making me nervous. Oh well, forget it — check it and move on! I had some juice out of fear that 115 was actually too low for the circumstances. An obviously poor decision, as I would soon learn.
#bgnow 115 — nice if it stays there.
We hiked up to the top of a large hill on the eastern edge of town, atop which sits the grand red-brick ruins of Gediminas Tower. The views over Vilnius, with its uniform-height red roofs and lack of modern skyscrapers, was fantastic and inspirational, overcast sky and all. The ruins were fun to climb around and photograph too, though the museum was closed.
The Cathedral
Back in town we stopped in at Vilnius Cathedral, a huge and fabulously ornamented structure dating from the mid 1700s, though the site has been used for religious purposes for over 2,000 years. I snuck some photos while people prayed silently, and Masayo and I marveled at the ostentatious decorations inside.
My BG was 264 afterwards. Curses. Didn’t need that juice after all.
Shouldn’ta had that juice.
The human chain STEBUKLA tile
In 1989 two million people joined hands to form a human chain from Tallinn, Estonia to Vilnius in opposition to the Soviets. (I hope Frank’s head saw it.) The Lithuanian endpoint is marked outside the cathedral with a tile on the plaza. Masayo and I had read about this and wanted to see the tile, which is not obviously marked and tough to locate. We had fun walking all around trying to find it.
Vilnius Cathedral and tower in the cold but picturesque Vilnius evening.
Finally we saw the tile; it says STEBUKLA, which means miracle. The center of the tile looked like the Red Hot Chili Peppers logo to me. I found out later that you’re supposed to make a wish and then walk around the tile 360º. We didn’t know that so we didn’t perform the little good luck ceremony – a chance sadly wasted. Oh well – I think the benevolent ghosts of Syd and Frank are watching over us anyway.
The lighting conditions overwhelmed my new camera.
Near the Stebukla tile, incidentally, was a tile with two footprints in it. I couldn’t find out anything about this one. Just one of those travel finds. Who can explain it? Someone; not me!
Dinner and more disappointing BG
A supermarket provided our dinner, as we wanted to take advantage of our room’s kitchenette: lasagna, salad, cookies, and beer. I took a shot, crossing my fingers that it would end up ok.
#bgnow 286. An overall poor showing today.
It was not to be: I was 286 afterwards. Another squirt of Humalog and then time for bed. Tomorrow is another day in Vilnius, high BG or not – I somehow managed to really enjoy the city today even with roller coaster readings.
Have you really enjoyed something even with really high blood sugar?
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