W at the Ritz-Carlton Potsdamer Platz

Potsdam

For our two days in Berlin, we decided to stay in Potsdam – about 25 minutes from the city centre by Regional Express – where accommodation is much more affordable. Staying in Potsdam also gave me the opportunity to go for a sunset run through the Sanssouci (or “Sorgenfri" as it is known from a Malmö horizon) World Heritage castle grounds and to show the kids what used to be the residence of the Prussian kings.

Making full use of our ABC travel card with the Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe (BVG), we of course also explored Berlin proper – from the obligatory Brandenburger Tor photo-op to the GDR Museum for some Trabi simulator driving. As for the old East, few things remain the same, and the postmodern irony only deepens.

Instead of a Starbucks, an Espresso House (sic!) has opened in the Fernsehturm at Alexanderplatz, while the Disneyfied rebuilding of the Berliner Schloss is now complete – with three sides reconstructed as exact replicas of the original Baroque castle and the fourth side (as well as the interior) designed in a starkly modern style as part of the new Humboldt Forum art museum – all replacing what was once the Palast der Republik.

U-434

Waking up to the news that my 36 runs over the last 90 days no longer make me the local legend in Skatås, I decided to skip the rainy quays of Hamburg and instead stay indoors for six kilometres on the hotel treadmill. Having done some strength training in the gym last night, our Hampton Inn certainly felt luxurious compared to the facilities aboard the Soviet submarine U-434, which we explored yesterday. 

Built in Nizhny Novgorod on the Volga in 1976, the 90-meter vessel once served in the Northern Fleet. Though the kids and I appreciated the history lesson, its cramped quarters, and the thought of spending weeks beneath the polar ice, left us feeling distinctly claustrophobic. In sharp contrast, waiting for our ICE service to Berlin this morning at Hamburg Hbf reminded me of the freedom of interrailing: standing there above the great station hall with its 14 tracks stretching out to all corners of Europe, and letting the spur of the moment decide if one will spend the night in Paris, Vienna or Prague.

Kieler Förde

After a calm night at sea, Stena Scandinavica made it to the shores of Schleswig-Holstein or “Der echte Norden” as it likes to call itself (which, after all, makes perfect sense from a German perspective). This is one part of Germany that I have travelled relatively little in before, so I was quite excited to take the Regional Express across the “Holsteinische Schweiz” to Lübeck. Listening in on our biweekly workplace Zoom meeting as the beech forests and patchwork of lakes passed by, I was reminded of my many Schönes-Wochenende-Tickets in the late 1990s, and how I used to crisscross the country, far beyond the beaten track.

Once in Lübeck, we walked through the 15th-century Holsten Gate, with its inscription Concordia Domi Foris Pax (“harmony within, peace outside”), and took in its rich Hanseatic heritage before catching yet another Regional Express, this time down to Hamburg, a city I last visited with my dad in August, just before boarding the Queen Mary 2. Though only a few months ago, that trip already feels as if it belonged to a long-gone alternative universe. 

Stena Scandinavica

On my many Gothenburg harbour runs, I have often passed the ferries bound for Kiel, thinking that one day I would sail away with them and show the kids a country that has meant so much to me over the years.

After an intense day on Zoom, organizing a joint social policy workshop with 75 students from Halmstad and the University of Worcester, I took the tram with the kids and my parents to the ferry terminal around 5 pm, sensing their joy and anticipation. Before leaving, I managed one last morning run in Skatås, wrapping up 300 kilometres for October, and picked up a final piece of spelt bread from Lilla Sur.

Ahead of us lies an autumn break in Hamburg and Berlin. Since Eddie has been learning German for two years, it feels especially meaningful to give him a sense of the country. Taking Rawls & Me along, I hope to share a few moments from the road before returning to Halmstad next week.

Lighthouse challenge

Fifteen kilometres of indoor rowing at Giraffen and thirty kilometres of running on the streets of my childhood later, I am on the train back to Gothenburg with William. Having briefly climbed to seventh place yesterday, he ultimately finished right in the middle of the pack as number twenty-nine – already eager for future chess tournaments.

Though I failed to capture the heron at Långviken, I was rewarded with the most beautiful sunrises over Kalmarsund, too much coffee, and a firm decision to register for the 100-mile Öland Lighthouse Challenge in early June 2026. Ever since setting the (still unrivalled) FKT on Mörbylångaleden in 2021, I have dreamt of running the entire length of the island, from Långe Jan to Långe Erik, and watching the sun rise over Alvaret.

This, and much more, is in store for Rawls & Me – but for now, I will keep that promise of a break until 28 October, when I sail away with Stena Scandinavica to Germany with the kids for their autumn holiday.

It’s true whenever day breaks

After eight solid hours of sleep on the old white sofa that once stood in my grandfather’s farmhouse in Skåne, I woke up wide-eyed and ready to head out in my running shoes. With last night’s rain finally over, the day broke just as I reached Kalmarsundsparken and, of course, I had to stop to take a few pictures.

Ten easy kilometres later, I was back at my parents’ place for a quick shower and coffee before taking William and Filip out for some castle exploration and Kalmar sightseeing.

The last month has given me reason to reflect on place and continuity; how we draw our circles from Valencia to Melbourne before returning home, how childhood backstreets can mark the beginning of something new, and how open the future can suddenly feel.

Chess away

Leaving Gothenburg in the autumn rain, I am now on a regional train across Sweden with William and his friend Filip for the national school chess championship in Kalmar. Four hours to mark some exams and take in the last few weeks.

Earlier today, I went for a calming forest run in Skatås before taking William to the police station to get his new passport. Since his last one three years ago, he has grown more than twenty centimetres, and it feels like a much bigger boy who will be travelling to Germany with Eddie and my parents in three weeks’ time. Before that, I will go to a concert with Melissa Horn in Halmstad and try to submit one more manuscript. But first, Kalmar awaits – and the weather forecast looks promising for running.