Around Ptuj, the oldest town in Slovenia

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The oldest town in this country and the second-highest blood sugar of this entire trip: Day 60 was a day of extremes that actually ended up being pretty relaxing and spiritually nourishing for us two travelers. For this was the first full day that Masayo and I spent in the town of Ptuj in eastern Slovenia.

The day began, unfortunately, with a BG so high that it woke me up at 6:00 am. I was 392 – the first time I’d been high in about three days, and the second-highest reading of the trip so far. (Shamefully, I was ten points higher in Budapest last week.) I took four units of Humalog – and was so out of sorts I forgot to get a BG selfie of the 392 – and slid back off to sleep.

I guess my suspiciously “perfect” readings after the pizza last night were indeed not good. As I’d feared. I bet my worry about them, plus my liver’s trying to help, is what made my level go so far up from the 103 before bed.

We awoke for real at 9:00 and I was still 232: a rough start to the day. But it was breakfast time, and the Bed and Breakfast Žiga staff, who had promised us a breakfast after at first saying there wouldn’t be one when we checked in last night, outdid themselves.

It wasn’t free (we agreed to the fee) but it was pretty wondrous, considering that I was expecting (not unhappily) a small roll and coffee or something like that. But they had a big platter with breads, juice, pastries, meats, cheeses, eggs, spreads, and coffee. More than we could actually eat.

Best of all, Masayo made sandwiches out of the leftover bread and meat, so we had all the makings of a free picnic lunch for later as we strolled around Ptuj.

Before going out Masayo did some of her laundry with the Scrubba bag on our private bathroom, hanging the wet clothes around the room. I’m waiting until we get to the capital, Ljubljana, to do mine since we’ll be there longer and my cotton shirts take forever to dry.

Laundry: certainly one of the more boring aspects of long-term budget travel. The Scrubba does help somewhat though.

Out in Ptuj

Then it was time to see Ptuj (pronounced “p-too-i”) whatever my blood sugar. It was a cool but not terribly cold day, and there was even a sly warmth detectable in the moist and mostly-cloudy air in town. Some shops were open but there weren’t too many people out. In the bright day time, the small town’s Christmas decorations offset the distinct lack of foot traffic with a stately, frozen-in-time festiveness.

We first headed into a dull part of town and a large shopping center called Qlandia, because back in Balatongyörök, Hungary, Masayo had left her power adapter behind. In an electronics shop in Qlandia she found one, a large and heavy universal adapter that cost €10 – much more expensive than the one she’d had before. But there was no choice; she needed it and she paid the price.

The streets of Ptuj were full of interesting and oddly photogenic scenes – cracked expanses of pavement painted in irregularly-shaped bursts of colors in an impressive effort to make lemonade out of lemons; little back alleys with religious alcoves and old worn stone walls; a rusty metal sculpture in a median beside an intersection depicting two squabbling figures pushing each other in the head.

Ptuj has a restless creative energy that somehow matches its laid-back demeanor. It’s the oldest town in Slovenia; maybe that gives the residents a certain pride and confidence to express themselves and not explain themselves.

After a little while I checked my BG to see how I’d handled the super-high and the large breakfast. Not bad: 71 – maybe a little bit low, so I had some chocolate.

Up to Ptuj Castle

The day was dominated by our main excursion, up a long incline to Ptuj Castle which is situated on the highest hill in town and from where you can look out over the medieval-looking red-roofed buildings and the gorgeous, lazy Drava River that snakes through Ptuj.

Although Ptuj Castle dates from the eleventh century, and is open so tourists can see displays about its history as a defense against Hungarian warriors, Masayo and I elected not to go inside. Sometimes you feel less into gaining knowledge and more into wandering and taking things in in your own way.

We did go far enough in to find a cafe where we bought some bottled water, then sat outside in the just-warm-enough castle air to have our sandwiches from breakfast. I took a Humalog shot beside the wall beyond which the scenic town lies, and had Masayo take one of the cooler Insulin injection photos of the trip. (The shot was right through my Bluff Works pants, as usual.)

Masayo was not in fact feeling all that well; she’s had an on-again/off-again runny nose and sore throat for a few days, so we went back to the room in the early afternoon to take it easy. On a long trip like this it’s usually worth it to take a day off if you feel something coming on.

After relaxing a while, I found that my blood glucose level was now 173. Not great but given the badness of the morning, not too objectionable. It was Sunday night and we knew that not much would be open for dinner, but we managed to locate a place called Pizzerija Slonček that, besides pizza, sold pasta and hamburgers.

My dinner was a bowl of spaghetti. I’m notorious for not handling pasta well when I take insulin; it’s always higher in carbs than I think but I can’t bring myself to up the dose that much. The meal was excellent, and I did my best with the shot. I need to get over my fear of a too-high dose of Humalog; when it comes to a thick pasta meal it probably isn’t warranted.

Follow the numbers and get over your own psychology about insulin doses. Wise words, if I could follow them better myself.

Back in the room I watched a live Atlanta Falcons game (against the Steelers) streaming on NFL Game Pass on my laptop. The Falcons lost but the game was good. And like the Falcons, I felt pretty good but in fact lost the battle: my blood sugar was 261 after the game. I took two units of Humalog, sighing.

Wrapping up the day in Ptuj

So the day in Ptuj was pleasant and relaxing, and the weather was nice enough for an outside picnic. We got to know the curiously creative heart of Ptuj pretty well; it’s been a very enjoyable introduction to Slovenia. On the bad side, my BGs started and ended high.

But diabetics are forced to see the good side in everything: my readings were good most of the morning and afternoon. And the trip rolls on – tomorrow we’re headed for yet-unknown parts of Slovenia.

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