First frost and back to commuting (in style)

335 meters

Working from home today, I made the most of the morning hours by running a half marathon in the forest mist after I had finished marking all the quantitative methods exams. This is the third semester that I am teaching statistics, and I must say that it is really something that I have come to appreciate, perhaps mostly as I can focus on the pedagogical side without getting emotionally invested in the way I easily get when talking about for instance climate policy.

Running in my Hoka Speedgoats, I first made the same full loop around Delsjön that I did last Friday before topping up with the 5k loop in Skatås, for a total of 335 meters of elevation gain. Unlike in Umeå, it is really a luxury to have hills just outside the door as I keep training for my Spanish mountain ultra in March. 

Indulging in a cinnamon bun from Lilla Sur afterwards, there is great news from the US where Google has just ordered six small nuclear reactors (SMRs) from Kairos Power, with the first one to be operational in 2030. Unlike the buying of renewable energy certificates that only increases grid volatility and locks in fossil gas, the building of these reactors will directly decarbonize Google’s energy supply while showing the way for other energy-intensive companies.

Past sins

Having been out and about for the last couple of weeks, I have fallen behind a bit with the running, so today I have done two 12k runs in Skatås, the first one with Eddie, who was not overly amused when it started raining, and the second one on my own in the afternoon when I had better luck with the weather.

As for making up for past sins, I have tried to compensate for that Uruguayan steak house visit with lots of oven roasted vegetables and alcohol-free beer. Unlike the commuter madness before we left for South America, the coming week also looks fairly stress-free with only one trip to Halmstad on Wednesday.

Mug shot

Considering our sizeable collection of Starbucks mugs from around the world, we decided to invest in one from Montevideo as well, shallow as this habit may be. Returning from South America, the kids were otherwise happy to have us back, and we can now look forward to a weekend together as all trains are cancelled between Gothenburg and Kalmar, which unfortunately also means that I will not be able to take part in the celebrations as my dad turns 75 on Sunday. 

After marking exams during the morning hours, I went for 15 faster kilometres in the Delsjö area today, with the sprinting reminding me of Finalloppet last year. Having Bandolerita in March to look forward to, I think I will save my money and not register for any more races, with the possible exception of a local headlamp race like “Skatås mörkaste” or ”Black Friday Trailrun” on Hisingen.

Bandolerita

Waiting in the Lufthansa Senator lounge next to the Z-gates in Frankfurt, Anna and I got to see Lufthansa planes departing to all corners of the world. Though our original plan had been to take the S5 and hike a bit in the Taunus, the arrival of the extra-tropical storm Kirk made us to rethink and instead stay at the airport until our late-night flight to Gothenburg.

With all the planes in the background, it felt like the right moment to book a major trail running adventure for 2025. Having secured entry to the much-coveted 80k “Bandolerita” in Andalusia, I saw the opportunity to combine this race with a trip to celebrate that Sofi turns fifty, all while completing my status match challenge with SAS at a very reasonable cost (the beauty of booking flights five months in advance). Starting in the tiny town of Prado del Rey on 8 March, the race has 3,293 meters of positive elevation and will probably take up to 15 hours to complete given the extreme terrain in the Sierra de Grazalema. As such, it will be the perfect way of keeping me motivated at the gym throughout the winter.

LH511

Boarding our Boeing 747-8 “Saarland”, it felt almost like Christmas which was a bit funny since last time I had the privilege of flying on the upper deck of the Queen of the Skies was in 2008 when I was given a surprise upgrade to business class as a Christmas present by Singapore Airlines.

Having walked up the stairs and gotten seated in 84A and 84C respectively, Anna and I were handed a glass of “Avionic” which is Lufthansa’s new inflight cocktail that aims to “usher in a new golden age of travel”. Despite that the cabin attendant suggested that the taste was reminiscent of Gummibärchen and I have read mixed reviews on the Internet, I must say that we both appreciated it.

Unfortunately, once we were ready to push back, a passenger aboard had a medical issue which delayed our departure for more than an hour as his luggage had to be offloaded for security reasons. Considering the 13-hour flight time covering more than eleven thousand kilometres, it is of course always better to be safe than sorry as there are not that many diversion airports over the Atlantic.

After adding some extra fuel, we eventually departed Buenos Aires at 6 pm and set course towards the northeast, first flying over Uruguay and then Brazil, a country that always surprises me with its vast dimensions. For starters, we had sea bass with roasted pumpkin and a glass of Grüner Veltliner, followed by grilled Argentinian rib-eye steak, corn farofa and another remarkable Malbec, this time an “Ultra” from the high-altitude vineyards in the Uco Valley. Topping up with cheese and port, I was certainly a happy bunny when I eventually turned my seat into a bed and fell asleep, still flying over the interior of Brazil.

Waking up just off the coast of Galicia, I felt well rested, and ready for the breakfast that was served once we crossed into the Bay of Biscay. Though clearly not the most modern product out there, I would give Lufthansa high marks for this flight, and I will be sad to see the 747 retire even if I never again will get the chance to fly it, at least not in this way.

Esma

Before leaving Argentina, we decided to head out to the museum Esma or "Espacio Memoria y Derechos Humanos", documenting the countless victims of the “Dirty War” carried out by Argentina's right-wing military regime between 1974 and 1983. Growing up in Sweden, the 1977 disappearance of Dagmar Hagelin became our own part of this national trauma, and the Esma museum definitely brought home its massive scale and utter meaninglessness.

Confusingly, among the exhibition halls, there was one building dedicated to the Falkland Islands or Islas Malvinas as they are referred to down here. Despite the failed 1982 invasion and that 99.8% of the island population has since voted in favour of remaining British, Argentina has not given up on its territorial claims. Considering that it was, in no small part, precisely the loss of the war that brought down the right-wing junta and restored democracy in Argentina, the continuation of nationalist expansionism by the same people who are now mourning its victims left both Anna and me rather bewildered.

Buquebus

Departing from an old school ferry terminal with a glass of bubbles in hand, Primera Clase aboard the Buquebus high-speed catamaran “Francisco” was a few dozen dollar more than Turista Clase but definitely the better deal, especially considering how tired we were after getting up so early.

Flying above the water in 58 knots with two 22 MW gas-turbines powering Finnish waterjets from Wärtsilä, it felt more like an airplane than a boat, and though bits of the ride were a bit bumpy, it was nothing to talk about. Once ashore in Buenos Aires however, it took quite some time to get our backs and find a Uber but around midnight we made it to our Airbnb in the Palermo district where we are staying for two nights now until it is time to head back to Gothenburg and the boys.

La Parrilla De Williman

After a decade of blogging (mostly) vegetarian food, I went all in tonight in the opposite direction as Anna and I realized that we could not leave Uruguay without a visit to a genuine steakhouse. On a backstreet not far from Aloft, we found La Parrilla De Williman which felt incredibly warm and welcoming. 

In addition to incredible steaks, we got to try the local Patricia lager which, unsurprisingly, is not available at Systembolaget despite being of excellent quality.

Sunday slow

Still waking up ungodly early, Anna and I hit the Aloft gym for 40 minutes on the treadmill and some strength training until the first rays of sunlight appeared. Then, we headed out along Playa de los Pocitos which felt like the river water version of Ipanema.

With the morning clouds giving way to yet more spring sunshine, we ended up spending this Sunday strolling around Montevideo, checking out two modern art museums, and Américo Café for a delicious brunch. Unfortunately, the wind seems to be picking up so tonight’s ferry ride back to Buenos Aires may turn out to be quite adventurous.

Montevideo

Crossing the Rio de la Plata in a 13-year-old Embraer 190 that seemed to be in desperate need of some TLC, Anna and I luckily landed in the Uruguayan capital as planned and were immediately rewarded with stamps in our passports. 

I do not know what we expected, but with its many beaches and low inequality, it was an instant match as we set out for 16 kilometres of city jogging with stops at the Pre-Columbian and Indigenous Art Museum, Café Brasilero and the world-famous Escaramuza Libros bookstore. In many ways, Montevideo feels like a kinder and smaller version of Buenos Aires, and we are very much looking forward to tomorrow when we will have a full day here in Montevideo before taking the high-speed ferry back to Buenos Aires.

3x Buenos Aires

Florería Atlántico

Back on the Lonely Planet trail, we spent most of yesterday walking through the San Telmo neighbourhood, being the birthplace of tango with plenty of murals, cats in bars and modern art museums, eventually making our way up to Plaza de Mayo and its Casa Rosada where Evita used to give her speeches.

As expected, Buenos Aires turned out to be an incredible and highly walkable city, with a distinct yet confusing southern European atmosphere as one cannot decide if one is in Madrid, Rome or somewhere else completely. Ending our walk at a florist in the Recoleta neighbourhood per the suggestion of one of Anna’s colleagues, we found the hidden fridge door leading into the basement “speakeasy”, where we got to try the owner’s own “Apóstoles” gin. Listed as one of the top 50 bars in the world, it goes without saying that the Florería Atlántico was an instant Rawls & Me classic.

Puerto Madero

After a redeye flight over Bolivia and into Argentina, Anna and I landed at Ezeiza International Airport around 5 a.m., quickly cleared immigration, and took a Uber into town. Staying for points at the glistening harbourside Hilton, we were recognized as Diamond members even as my status had lapsed back in April, so we were able to use the hotel facilities right away, including the rooftop pool and the eight floor executive lounge for breakfast. 

Thanks to Strava heatmaps, we figured that the best way to start the day would be to go jogging around the Reserva Ecológica Costanera Sur. Running in the fresh Atlantic breeze, it felt strange to imagine that the promenade was known for its splendour and decadence in the 1920’s. Continuing into the revamped harbour area across the compulsory white walking bridge by Santiago Calatrava, we passed the campus of Universidad Católica Argentina and vintage cranes making me wonder how different the city with its porteños (port people) must have looked like when Evert Taube first visited in 1910.

Back in Bogotá, well, sort of

Six years after our last visit, we once again landed at El Dorado International Airport, eager to explore a bit more of Bogotá before the sunset. However, once off the plane, we found ourselves in one of the longest immigration lines that I have seen in my life, with the staff informing us that it would take several hours until we would be on the other side. After a long flight, and with our internal clocks already approaching midnight, we decided to play it safe and remain airside.

While obviously disappointing, not getting kidnapped in Colombia or missing our connecting flight to Buenos Aires both remain high up on our list, so instead of our promised evening stroll through gay-friendly Chapinero, we can now look forward to lounge guacamole and plane spotting, the latter featuring Emirates and lots of Avianca planes in addition to our Turkish Airlines plane which is about to continue to Panama any minute now. On the flight, I worked for about six hours before watching some light entertainment in the form of The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare which is sure to satisfy any Ian Flemming-fan.

Taittinger

With flights to Iran, Iraq and Jordan all screaming “cancelled” in dark yellow at Istanbul Airport this morning, the geopolitical realities of the present were on full display. As much as I am critical of the last decades of Turkish politics, it is nevertheless impressive how much of the world that remains open for Turkish Airlines, that it is still possible to have a flight for Moscow boarding next to one for Washington D.C.

As Anna and I fly out over the Tyrrhenian Sea, a sumptuous breakfast has just been served, consisting of poached eggs with shakshouka (a long-time Rawls & Me breakfast favourite) and a glass of Taittinger, not to forget the "Exotic Bali" mocktail. Reading in my Lonely Planet guidebook and online on my phone, I am trying to make out what areas of Bogotá that are sufficiently safe for an evening stroll once we make it across the Atlantic. For now, flying a five-year old 787-9 which just returned overnight from Tashkent, Turkish Airlines certainly lives up to its reputation of bringing the world together, something that appears more urgent today than ever.

At the Bosphorus

Landing at 3.30 pm, we taxied for ever, as one always does, at Istanbul’s gigantic airport before finally being let out in the afternoon sunshine. Sharing the same Istanbulkart, Anna and I got into town for less than 50 SEK but we soon realized that the past decade in Sweden has made us forget how busy a 16-million people city can get and how packed a subway train can actually be. Eventually, we arrived at Taksimbul Design Hotel, which turned out to be a perfect budget stay close to everything, including a rooftop restaurant from where we could watch the sunset with the Topkapı Palace at the other side of the Golden Horn.

As we strolled through town later at night, the city was as lovely as I remembered it, with lots of cats and narrow alleyways. Last year’s centenary of the founding of the Turkish Republic was still very visible, with many Atatürk posters, which I presume are sending a mixed message these days.

TK1798

And with that, Anna’s and my global adventure is off to a delicious start with raspberry mint lemonade and clear skies as our Airbus 320neo climbs out from Landvetter Airport and starts its journey towards the south-east. More than two thousand kilometres at the other end lies Istanbul where we will spend the night next to Taksim Square, trying out the new airport subway link for the first time and seeing how the city has changed in the five years since my last visit, before our 13-hour daytime flight to the Colombian capital tomorrow morning.

For lunch, I ordered the wild seabass while Anna went for the grilled chicken, and Turkish Airlines certainly did not disappoint with either. In our backpacks, we have packed several books, starting with Zoran Nikolić’s Atlas of Unusual Borders. Ever since I was a child, I have been fascinated by maps and geographical oddities, and remembering a scenic drive through the Musandam exclave, I immediately fell for this yellow paperback covering unusual boundaries and territories across the globe. Already tomorrow we will fly above a few, such as Međurječe in Bosnia and the Spanish enclave Lliívia in France on our way to Bogotá.