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(the article below accompanies this video)
When you’re traveling out of the regular tourist season, you see a different side of places. Since the Åland Islands are pretty off the tourist trail anyway, its tiny capital Mariehamn is not often buzzing with activity. Today was a Sunday, and it’s late October: it feels like there are literally no other tourists on this island.
So Masayo and I elected to take it easy all day. After learning about my Grandpa passing away last night, we weren’t much in the mood for anything anyway.
Even Steven, first thing in the morning
On the other hand, my blood sugar was perfectly perfect when I woke up – 100 even. I hoped I could hold it about there for the whole day, but as it turned out I would fail at this.
Masayo works the Scrubba.
Losing our Scrubba virginity
After the large and delicious breakfast buffet at Hotell Cikada – extensive enough to feature both 5-minute and 9-minute eggs, which was an impressive and indulgent touch I thought – the first thing we did was do laundry with our Scrubba laundry bag (and Dr. Bronner’s soap) — for the first time. It had been a gamble, paying $60 for this little rubber bag (whose valve was broken when we got it); we were anxious to see if it really made doing laundry easier on the road.
And the verdict? It was ok, certainly faster and easier than washing each piece of clothing in the sink like travelers often do. But it didn’t affect the wringing out and hanging to dry part, which still takes forever. Which is not the Scrubba’s fault, to be fair. Anyway, we had several days’ worth, and the Scrubba is small, so it took several loads. We hung everything to dry in the bathtub. I hope it dries by tomorrow morning when we check out. At least there’s a heated rack for drying socks in this bathroom.
Walking past the hotel lobby, which was dark and unstaffed, we headed outside to see the town. My post-breakfast blood sugar was by now 170 — good for a meal that big, I thought. Not perfect, but something like dodging a bullet.
Diabetes report – Buying insulin in Åland
In Mariehamn, although nearly everything was closed, we passed a pharmacy that was open called Nya Apoteket. I stopped in, the only customer there, and inquired about insulin pens. I didn’t need any; I was just curious. I still have a large supply I brought from Japan.
The blonde lady there, who spoke flawless English, said had insulin but they it would be pretty expensive for me, a non-resident. Locals get them free or nearly free through the national health insurance.
But at least they are available – just in case. I did elect to buy some insulin pen needles for $.30 each, just to see if they fit (and they did).
Even when I don’t need any diabetes supplies I like to check periodically to see what’s available in area pharmacies. If I had some emergency or for some reason needed something quick, I’d know what brands and types of stuff to ask for.
Self-catered lunch in a churchyard
Saving money by self-catering is one of the joys of traveling. We found a supermarket and got the fixin’s for a tasty little picnic: pita bread, sliced ham, cheese with sun-dried tomatoes in oil, doughnuts, potato chips, mini-carrots, and chocolate milk, for €5 each. I thought this was great fun; sometimes the best food on the road is the cheapest stuff from the local supermarket.
The clean, neat S:t Görans Kyrka in the middle of town provided a perfect place for our repast. A red brick church with a pine-green roof, the beautiful little courtyard contained a bench for us where we could spread out and eat while admiring the immaculate gardening and straight Scandinavian lines of the buildings. Giant white clouds puffed by overhead, and the sun blinked through making the chilly day just warm enough.
S:t Görans Kyrka in Mariehamn.
I counted all the carbs carefully from the packages, but was still 290 afterwards. I blamed the breakfast for its late-breaking carbs. But having an explanation doesn’t exactly remove the sting of an unexpected high. Grumpiness creeped in, as it often does. 290, feh.
Back in the room, the synthetic clothes were drying pretty well, the cotton ones not so good. I don’t want to pack wet clothes tomorrow, because they’ll get all musty. (I do try to avoid being the stereotypical smelly backpacker.) But when you are trying to dry laundry in a single cloudy day in October in northern Europe, you may have to take what you can get.
Limited dinner choices
Our hotel lobby was still closed — I hope someone comes to check us out tomorrow! — and so was the restaurant. The only place we could find open in town at all was called Koti Pizza, and we were the only customers. Do humans actually inhabit Mariehamn?
Strongly worded Diet Coke sign in Koti Pizza.
I ordered a pie called “Berlusconi” at random since I couldn’t understand the Swedish menu all that well. It was hand-tossed and cooked in an oven but wasn’t really enough for the price (€12).
After this slow-paced day in pleasant, quiet Mariehamn, my BG before bed was 97 – a bit low for pre-sleep I thought, so I had some Calorie Mate and hit the sack. Tomorrow, Monday, we have all day to kill before our late-night ferry to Estonia. Now that’s something to look forward to!
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“Our hotel lobby was still closed — I hope someone comes to check us out tomorrow! — and so was the restaurant. The only place we could find open in town at all was called Koti Pizza, and we were the only customers. Do humans actually inhabit Mariehamn?” – THAT WAS WONDERFUL!We were laughing like crazy! 😀
well, the truth is, that people DO inhabit Mariehamn, but they prefer to spend time at home (in summer – at their summer cottages at the countryside). So the tourists and the locals almost never meet 😀
Ha, thanks! It did seem like the people in Mariehamn were snug inside their houses. I wish I could have met more of them 🙂