No bitter truths

Yesterday, Anna and I finally had a chance to check out the new café that has opened on Bögatan, just a kilometre or so from our door. Called Bar à Kaffe, it has taken over an old florist’s shop, and the owners seemed lovely — if a bit exhausted, as they appear to have underestimated how popular the place would become.

Afterwards, Anna took William on the train to Jönköping for a chess tournament, while I got to stay at home with Eddie before renting a car tomorrow to pick them up (and finally clearing out all the stuff that has been accumulating in the basement).

Meanwhile, Donald Trump is going full 17th-century trade philosophy on the world, ignoring basic concepts like comparative advantage and confusing money with wealth. Contrary to what Trump seems to think, the U.S. has benefited enormously from globalization and the shift to services – its economy has outpaced Europe’s and much of the world’s. The real issue has been distributive justice and a chronic lack of social investment at home (especially in early childhood education). The question now becomes whether Trump can learn the bitter truths from his policy failures and the tumbling stock markets. Given how Germany has persisted with its energy transition despite mounting physical evidence of failure, I am not overly hopeful – especially since Trump has been banging the tariff drum since the 1980s...

Finally, on a completely different note, do take a minute to check out this blog on ultramarine and the post-semantic apocalypse. 

Brödfabriken

Though I was tempted to continue all the way along Aspen to Lerum as the trails were absolutely lovely this morning, I stopped as originally planned at Brödfabriken in Jonsered for a post-run breakfast in the sun since I had to return to Gothenburg for a few online meetings.

Following Gotaleden for 19 kilometres, I was reminded of last summer’s great adventures, and excited about the arrival of spring as I sprinted up Getryggen. With Öland Ultra now on the calendar for June, I have got four ultras lined up this summer, so I am making the most of every opportunity to get those longer runs in.

Queer

Apparently, William S. Burroughs’ novel Queer – left half-finished for three decades before finally being published in 1985 – was adapted into a film last year, premiering at the Venice International Film Festival in September. Pouring myself a glass of Austrian Pinot Blanc on the balcony after six hours on Zoom, I am suddenly transported to Mexico City in the fifties by the literary original.

Luckily, I was able to break up the Zoom sessions with a lunch run in the sunshine, as I really want to make the most of these precious spring days, finishing the run at my new favourite Vietnamese restaurant. With another class on evaluation starting on Friday and ten different thesis projects to supervise, I am struggling to find time for longer runs. Still, with a bit of luck, I am hoping to do a long run tomorrow morning, heading up to Brödfabriken in Jonsered for a post-trail breakfast.

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.