Nésophilie

With islands being a recurrent theme here on Rawls & Me, I just had to borrow my dad’s copy of Anders Källgård’s Islands, fresh off the printing press. In chapter 22, the author recounts his colourful interactions with my dad and his rail travel agency over the years, and all the help he has received in planning his trips to the most remote of European islands.

Before leaving Kalmar, I of course had to play a round of “Ticket to Ride” with Eddie and walk out to the old pilot station turned café (“Lotsutiken” or “Lotsen” as it is colloquially known). Long before any of that, I did 10k at dawn across my old hometown, and went for one last swim in the public swimming pool which is soon to be demolished. Now on the train back to Gothenburg, I have tons of work to catch up on so I am afraid I will not be able to plan any bold new island trips for now.

Stensö revisited

Almost four months after my last visit, Eddie and I took the train across Sweden this morning. Even if I had started the day with 20 km of running in Skatås, I obviously could not turn down my mother’s invitation to run around Stensö together.

Considering that she just turned 76, it is quite impressive that she can still jog for more than an hour without feeling tired. I can only wish I will be able to do the same in thirty years from now.

Too much

My mother often cautions me against exerting myself too much. Yesterday at the gym, I listened for once – stopping already at 6k when my heart rate crept up toward 180. Instead, I slowed things down with a quiet coffee at Tony’s, the kind that stretches time and brings back memories of rainy mornings in Genoa, Livorno, and other similarly dreamy places.

Later, I took the tram into town for the first in-person meeting of our new research project, “Bioclaims”. Spanning the entire afternoon and evening yesterday, and continuing through today, it was intense, exhilarating – and a little overwhelming. As in the past, I am left with that old fear of being too much: too eager, too opinionated, too present. Not quite as bad as WPSA in San Diego back in 2019, but enough to make me wonder (again) why I find it so hard to stay quiet when I know I probably should.

Still, there is hope in next time. We will meet again in September, this time at the Bio+ conference in Stockholm. Maybe I will find a better balance then.

Hills to die on

Sometimes, I feel like I do not write enough about contemporary affairs on Rawls & Me. The reason is not that I do not think about them but rather the opposite, that every time I try to put something into words, I fear coming across as one-sided. However, in today’s The Bulwark, William Kristol correctly points out how silence and acquiescence play into the hands of autocrats like Trump and Erdogan, that if we do not stand for the democratic rights of those we disagree with, we do not stand for anyone’s rights. As such, even if the polling perhaps suggests that the deportation of (alleged) members of Tren de Aragua to El Salvador without due process may not be the hill that those with any sense of democratic decency should die on, what does it make of us if we do not?

Meanwhile in Turkey, fierce protests have broken out after the arrest of Ekrem Imamoglu, perhaps the last credible electoral challenger to Erdogan. Passing through Istanbul in October, I remember thinking that Erdogan’s rein has at least kept doors open to the world in a way that a more progressive regime would probably have not, but that should not be interpreted as excusing Turkey’s depressing slide into autocracy.

Still, justice is not about picking the easy cases. Sometimes it is precisely the unpopular causes, the marginal figures, and the inconvenient moments that test our principles. That is where we find out which hills matter. And which ones we are willing to die on.

Crispy seaweed

Today has been all sunshine and fresh spring air, first a trail half marathon with Anna that I topped up by running Parkrun in 23 minutes and 17 seconds, finishing as number one in my age group, and indulging in pancakes on the balcony afterwards.

Then, Anna and I persuaded the kids to go for a hike up to Östra Långvattnet. Though I have crisscrossed much of the Delsjö-area in the past, this led me onto some new trails that were truly lovely, and which I will definitely return to in the future. Once at Östra Långvattnet, we made a fire and enjoyed some family time together before hiking back, for a total of 13 kilometres.

Back home, I made salmon with oven-roasted golden beets, toasted pumpkin seeds, crispy Korean seaweed, and a miso mayo inspired by Anna’s and my visit to SK Mat & Människor last Tuesday. This turned into an instant favourite and something that I will repeat when in Kiruna over Easter.

Spring commute

Knipeflågsbergen

With five loops (53k) on the Alpaca course coming up in June, I decided to trade my usual gravel roads in Skatås for some technical trail running by following Vildmarksleden up to the Knipeflågsbergen Nature Reserve, a rock plateau with a system of rift valleys, all filled with small signs of spring.

Today is not only the spring equinox but also my mother’s birthday and we started the morning by singing for her on the phone, before deciding to book a trip to Kalmar for Eddie and me at the end of the month. Having not been in Kalmar since December and with the coming months already very busy, this felt like a good time to go.

 

Finally, in other news, my wallet completely gave up the other day, luckily only literally and not figuratively. Considering that I bought it at the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul in 2008, I am still very impressed by the quality since it was obviously not an original Boss wallet. In light of the times, I decided to go for a minimalist card holder rather than a traditional wallet as I basically never use cash any more.

SK Mat & Människor

Waking up at 4:30 am, Anna and I headed out for an 11-kilometre run under a misty full moon, once again feeling so privileged to have the forest right outside our door. After a quick shower, I went into town to have breakfast with my dad, who had spent the night at a hotel. We got to talk about our upcoming maritime adventure – sailing for two days on the Queen Mary 2 between Hamburg and Southampton in August.

Unfortunately, William still was not well enough to go to school, so the rest of the day turned into yet another round of “vobb.” I accepted a request to review a manuscript on ecomodernism for the Journal of Environmental Policy & Planning and supervised a couple of students over Zoom. Meanwhile, my dad was busy being the railway version of Father Fouras, representing his travel agency at Chalmers University of Technology as one of the stations on their “climate quiz walk”. His question? How many islands in the Mediterranean have railway lines? (The correct answer: four – Sicily, Sardinia, Corsica, and Mallorca).

Then, at 5:30 pm, I met Anna at the Michelin-starred restaurant SK Mat & Människor for the first of our complimentary “Dining by Amex” experiences. Having been awarded 25 out of 25 by our local daily Göteborgs-Posten, our expectations were honestly through the roof – which is not always a recipe for success. Located just above Berzeliigatan, the restaurant felt very sophisticated yet relaxed, with parts of the kitchen set right between the tables so we could watch our food being prepared.

First out on our set menu was an amuse-bouche with duck liver, which would not normally be my first choice but tasted excellent. It was followed by an innovative fusion of China and Japan: miso cabbage pudding with duck breast, celeriac, and black currant, all served with a perfectly matching glass of Pinot Noir (or more accurately, Spätburgunder) from Baden – reminding me that Germany is not to be overlooked when it comes to Pinot Noir.

After our main course, we were served a generous dessert of toffee ice cream with raspberry, hazelnut, butterscotch, and meadow sorrel, which was simply out of this world. All in all, we paid 490 SEK for two divine glasses of wine and an espresso, while American Express covered the rest (1,150 SEK) of the bill, which I think makes this benefit really worthwhile.

Verdejo

After a few days of grey skies and snow, the sky finally cleared this morning. But with that came a sharp drop in temperature, all the way down to -7 degrees. I could not help but worry about the spring flowers in the garden outside. Around noon, however, the quicksilver had climbed back firmly above zero, just in time for a 12k river run (in reverse this time) wearing my old trusted Hoka Clifton 6s.

With William still coughing like crazy, this week has been one long “vobb” as I have been working on the first article related to my new research project on competing sectoral claims for biomass and planning the remainder of the spring semester. On Monday, I am back to commuting again as I head down to Halmstad to grade exams and meet a new batch of teachers who are writing their final theses.

Later for dinner, I decided to make a long-time Rawls & Me favourite, namely Kerala-style mango salmon together with some self-imported Marqués de Riscal from a bit north of Madrid. Based on the Verdejo grape, it has a fresh taste of pear and melon, making me dream of Salamanca and all the other magic towns of Castilla y Léon.

3x Spain

In print

I still remember the moment on Malta in 2021 when I was asked by Marcel Wissenburg if I wanted to write a chapter on ecomodernism for a new Handbook of Environmental Political Theory in the Anthropocene, to be published by Edward Elgar. By August the next year, I had submitted my first draft. Then came the long wait - over a year for reviewer feedback, and another for the proofs. But yesterday,  the book finally appeared in print and online.

I am not saying this to complain, but rather to illustrate just how drawn-out academic publishing can be these days, especially with collaborative volumes involving authors from all over the world. That said, I am grateful to have been part of this project and to have had the opportunity to further develop ecomodernist ideas.

New horizons

Well, that didn’t take long. I am now officially registered for the 100-mile edition of Halland Ultra-Beach on 2 August. Unlike the 100-km edition, which started at midnight in Olofsbo, the longer race will start at 10 am in Åskloster just north of Varberg, which I think will work much better with my internal clock.

Well before that however, Pembrokeshire Ultra with Anna is coming up in six weeks’ time, as we head over to London with British Airways which once again offered incredible value in Club World for 30,000 Avios and 14 SEK in taxes. Flying Club means that we will also get to check out both Qantas and Cathay Pacific’s eminent lounges in T3 at Heathrow (which I have long had on my bucket list) for a celebratory brunch before we fly back.

Back to Skatås

Taking off from Copenhagen Airport this morning with “Estrid Viking”, Öresund was like a misty fairytale and, once on the ground in Gothenburg, I could not resist lacing up my marigold Torrents for 11 km of spring sunshine in Skatås.

After being so cold in Spain (sic!), it is simply wonderful to be back and having this beautiful forest just outside the door. With Bandolerita cancelled (still no official communication), I am seriously considering signing up for the 100-mile edition of Halland Ultra-Beach in early August, starting in Åskloster and finishing in Båstad.

SK588

From some time after this summer, SAS will discontinue its Plus fares and align its service offerings with its new Air France/KLM owners, meaning that it will once again offer a true business class within Europe in terms of the soft product (the hard product will stay the same, with the only exception being that the middle seat will be blocked). As such, I appreciated this last opportunity to fly SAS Plus for an affordable price on Sofi’s and my flight to Copenhagen this evening. For dinner, we were served a lentil salad with baby potatoes, chicken breast, creamy piquillo sauce and green leaves together with a cute bottle of Shiraz “Down under” with a koala on the label. Just passing Paris, I can now look forward to five weeks on the ground in Gothenburg until all of the family heads up to Kiruna for the Easter holidays.

Distanca conducida 681

681 kilometres on the road later and I am back at Málaga-Costa del Sol Airport with Sofi after duly celebrating her 50th birthday with four unforgettable days in Spain, featuring our Airbnb with the kind donkey Cleopatra, a cancelled race in the storm, and a visit to Jerez de la Frontera that for so long had been on my bucket list.

From Jerez we drove along the A-381 through the Parque Natural Los Alcornocales to La Línea de la Concepción and Gibraltar which I last visited in 2009 on my way to Tangier. Like last time, it really felt so different from Spain just a few kilometres across as we had lunch at a waterfront Wagamama, speaking English, and paying in Pound Sterling. While the UK is about the introduce an ETA requirement also for EU citizens from 1 April, this time we were just waved across the border. I will see how different things will be in six weeks when I am heading over to Wales with Anna to run the Pembrokshire Ultra. Right now, I cannot escape the feeling that I have cheated somehow by feeling all fresh in my legs as I walk through the airport in Málaga, so different from in Seville a year ago.

Cleopatra

Bandolerita cancelled

All night, the wind shook the house as I drifted in and out of dreams filled with mountain trails. Around six, I got up and made some very Spanish coffee and breakfast, just as the rain started hammering down again outside.

At the start in Prado del Rey, there was a strange atmosphere, but I was handed my bib and given directions for where to leave my drop bag. Yet, with 30 minutes remaining, the big tent was still empty, and my suspicion that something was wrong deepened.

It wasn’t until I tried to hand in my drop bag that Sofi and I finally heard the words “todo cancelado”. After asking around, we discovered that, since the weather warning had escalated from yellow to orange, both the Bandolerita and the full 100-mile edition had been cancelled already the night before. However, the only communication had been via a Facebook Reel - not much help if you don’t have Facebook :-)

Somehow, I had been mentally preparing for this outcome ever since I first saw the forecast, but it still felt strange that no one had said anything as I picked up my bib and went through the usual pre-race motions. With the race not happening, Sofi and I jumped in our rental car and drove up to Seville. Though it rained heavily on the road, the sky cleared as we reached the Andalusian capital, and soon enough, the sun came out. That was, of course, frustrating, given everything I had done to prepare for the race - including paying for a special medical certificate. At the same time, as I wrote two days ago, what really matters is all the training that Bandolerita kept me motivated for. I can now return to Sweden free from injuries and ready for another race in the future.

Zahara de la Sierra

After a morning walk in the sun and a visit to the bullring (I much preferred the Ferdinand Disney-version of the sport) in Ronda, Sofi and I took our rental car up to the tiny village of Zahara de la Sierra.

Being one of Andalusia's White Villages, or "Pueblos Blancos", Zahara de la Sierra is perched on a mountain and was originally a Moorish outpost, one of the last to fall, which is quite obvious when one sees the geography. Stopping for a Café solo and some chorizo, the sky darkened, and the wind picked up in anticipation of what is to come, making me feel grateful that Sofi insisted on buying me a thermo balaclava for the race tomorrow.

Ronda

Starting the morning with a quick skinny dip at Dunas de Artola, Sofi and I drove through a fierce rain up to Ronda and the mountains where my race will start on Saturday morning. For the moment, the sun is shining over the Guadalevín canyon and it feels strange to think that another 60 mm of rain is expected to fall over the weekend.

As Sofi is taking an afternoon nap, I am looking through my photos over a glass of local chardonnay called Cloe, with the orange trees reminding me of my Sunday walk through Seville last year after finishing Transgrancanaria. I still do not know whether the race will go ahead as planned or being cancelled but, either way, I am definitely not finished with these mountains.

Flying start

And with that, Sofi’s and my trip to Spain is off to a flying start. In three hours, we will touch down at the far end of the European continent, with Africa just opposite, like so many years ago. Equipped with a new biography about Ernst Wigforss, the Halmstad-born social democrat who was one of the main architects of the Swedish welfare state, I now have something to read in case the race does indeed end up being cancelled. Right now, the forecast is pretty awful with a rainstorm throughout the whole day.

Before boarding, I helped Sofi book her conference trip to Thailand in October, reminding me of how much I enjoy planning global adventures and, being my father’s son, finding the best possible tickets. In the end, we settled for Austrian Airlines even as Qatar Airways with a possible stop-over in Doha was a close contender.

Tomorrow morning, Sofi and I will pick up a Fiat 500 Peugeot 208 and head up into the mountains. I am uncertain how much I time I will have to update Rawls & Me, but I will definitely make it up with a few retroactive posts once the race is over.