The Travelling Pin Cushion

Travelling Type 1 Diabetic. Making mistakes so that you don't have to ;)

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Travelling in Twos?

So, after almost one year, I will be travelling back to my favourite city (Copenhagen). I’m so excited for this journey, however I will be travelling with a friend. This has brought equal amounts of stress and relief. 

1) If I’m suffering as a result of diabetes, I have someone there who can help me

On the other hand

2) Having hypos and blips means it slows down their trip

I have travelled with Jess once before though, a few days in Stockholm, Sweden. And I can honestly say that from that trip, she is the perfect travel buddy x

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4 words

Everything is going fantastically.

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My absence

Sorry about my absence, I have just been so relaxed. So I decided to have a change of plan. My original journey was Copenhagen>Stockholm>Oslo>Gothenburg but as soon as I got to Denmark 🇩🇰 I fell in love with the capital city to decided to extend my trip. With the brief trip over to Malmö in the middle, I will be in Copenhagen for a total of 13 days. Was so happy that interrail allows you tr flexibility to go wherever you choose to. And Malmö is so beautiful too. I don’t want to go back home😂 apart from to see my dog 🐾

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Never a worse train journey

I thought the London Underground was terrible, when I go back I will owe it a big apology. 5 hour train from Hamburg to Copenhagen. Midway through the train breaks down. They tell us we need to get off and walk to the dock to pick up a ferry. One hour on this rocky ferry and we eventually hit the coast of Denmark. We then wait 2 hours for a coach and take a 30 minute coach to a train station which we then pick up another 2 hour train to Copenhagen. It was 2:30am when we got there but I wasn’t too worried. Copenhagen feels like a safe city, so much so that I’ve cut down on my destinations and have chosen to extend my trip here. The rule is to never complain about the London Underground in case you have a train journey like this.

Another rule is to always have your pump suppliers number in your phone. For about a week my CGM was failing. It’s now back up and working but the stress was completely unnecessary.

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Love Hate Vienna

Vienna may be one of the most beautiful cities that I’ve ever been to: friendly people, safe roads and stunning architecture. I feel quite reluctant to leave! However, the one thing I desperately can’t wait to leave is the heat. I was surprised as how hot Austria was! As a result, my bloods have been awful! Rising high and not dropping and then dropping too low, it’s all been very odd. Not to mention I had to sleep in a boiling hot cupboard (I know, so so odd). If I were to visit Vienna again, I would go early spring, this way you get to see the stunning sides of the city without the really hot weather.

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I have left Munich. It was a very sad departure, I had fallen in love with the city. However, I am now in Vienna, Austria 🇦🇹 . 2 things struck me immediately: 1) The heat!!! It says it’s 31° but everyone is saying it’s hotter and I beleive them! 2) The smoking! Damn! The smoking laws really haven’t had that much of an effect here with apparently 30% of adults smoking daily!!!

However, this hot and smokey city is certainly beautiful! I can’t wait to find out more about the culture and dive into the history of this legendary city 🌃

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Sleep 🛏

I will not lie, since leaving I have not been sleeping too well. Having a night coach to Munich without being able to sleep just means that I have been shattered. As soon as I hit the bed in Munich, I was out for the count.

My main priorities have changed since I have left. I have added in “getting the right amount of sleep” rather high on that list. Anyway, I’m off to get some more sleep. Night night x

[cursedcatimages]

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The average evening in Belgium when even the cats smoke

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My last few hours in Luxembourg

Luxembourg is beautiful and I definitely want to come back but next stop is Munich, Germany. I have always really liked Germany when I’ve been (apart from one time when I was 11 but I won’t go into that. Once again, I was a tad worried about my train tickets and their validation. So I decided to take another coach. This FlixBus is on the same line I took, but I have an 8 hour journey from 1am to 9am. This should be fun. I’ve made sure I’ve done a lot of walking today so I’m extra tired, allowing me to just pass out on the bus (setting an alarm for my destination).

I did have a blip in Brussels however, when I had a sudden raise in ketones without knowing why. My bloods were fine, I was well fed, however they went up to 0.7. With a FaceTime to my mother and with her contacts with families of Type 1 Diabetics- I calmed down and eventually dropped to 0.1. Delightful. Oh well, just as I was settling in to the cosy, cultural and costly environment of Luxembourg, Luxembourg- I am leaving to a city of beer, big portions and bratwurst. Shall keep you updated 🇱🇺 > 🇩🇪 🚌 🇪🇺

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The thing that is wrong with Luxembourg

Luxembourg has to be one of the most beautiful cities I have ever visited. However, for a Type 1 Diabetic, it is a challenging one. Luxembourg is a country that is based on making money. You have no poverty here, everyone is very wealthy and everything costs a lot of money. As a result, businesses are able to be spread around the entire country. This means that walking to get food can be a long walk. Luxembourg is also built on mountains meaning that every walkway is either extremely steep going up or down. This would be difficult on anyone. I have not needed to bolus for my food since I have been in Luxembourg but have been walking off high carb meals. I wish I did more research into Luxembourg before I left

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I’m in love with Luxembourg 🇱🇺 Getting from Brussels to Luxembourg was so extremely stressful. Turns out my 4 hour train journey to Luxembourg was cancelled and I had no ticket to another one. Damn, this was stressing me to the max!!! That’s why I have to say a big thank you to FlixBus. This air conditioned internet coach meant that I could hop on the price of 2 cups of coffee and land in Luxembourg in just under 3 hours. There was less waiting with trains and more personal space. The FlixBus app will always remain on my phone 📲 🚌 Going through Luxembourg was one of the most beautiful scenes I have seen in a while. A developed city and one of the richest (the whole country only having a population of 600’000) but also one that kept charming little homes and plenty of trees, cliffs and waterfalls. I would urge anyone to stay in this beautiful country

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So, farewell Brussels. The trip went well. One hypo in the middle of the night but luckily there are Lidl’s everywhere where I’ve been able to pick up large bottles of water and a really sugary bottle of iced tea. This has been a very successful trip! Next stop, Luxembourg.

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Brussels 🇧🇪

I have just arrived in Brussels and I am avoiding saying that I am British in case Brexit debates get triggered

The city seems very happy, but very very hot. Sweating out of my mind! The city is small enough to be able to get around, however I’m absolutely starving and will go and get some food 🐚 🐟

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So I’m sitting here in the train station waiting for my train to Brussels. I’ve all of a sudden had a rush of excitement, nerves and hunger. Luckily there is a place that I can get food!! I’m so excited. The only bit I felt the most uneasy was when my bag of needles, insulin and many other contraptions passed trough security. Got some dirty looks and had my pump swabbed for drugs but all in all it was a positive experience. I can’t wait to get on board 🇬🇧🚞🇧🇪

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Dun dun DUUUUUN

So, 24 hours and I’m off. I’m so so so so excited.

My packing has changed. I’m no longer taking a 60l rucksack but a backpack for my drugs with a pill along case that doubles up as a rucksack for everything else. This just means that I can get to my stuff easily without having to unpack on the train. I have my tickets sorted and I’m pretty much ready to go. Still a bit nervous but so so excited

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Not long now! Still really excited. However, with the news that there have been problems with the EuroStar I am getting a bit worried. The EuroStar is how I get to my first stop, Brussels. I’m sure it will be fine.