Lunch at the Mandarin Oriental

About a year ago, Mandarin Oriental opened their second hotel in London and, having read all about it in Condé Nast Traveller (which, incidentally, has its editorial office just across Hanover Square), I was intrigued to check it out, especially its rooftop bar with expansive views over central London.

With double rooms going for £1,200 (sic!) tonight, Anna and I decided that it made far more sense to stay at the Ibis Budget next to Heathrow for £50 and spend a tiny fraction of the difference on lunch and champagne at the Mandarin Oriental’s 12th-floor “Abar”. While I opted for the Salmon Sashimi Don, Anna went all in with the Wagyu Burger. Both dishes were truly divine, perhaps not surprising given that the place has already bagged a Michelin star.

Afterwards, we popped into Hagen Espresso Bar next door for a stellar caffeine fix and a few posters of the sandy Danish west coast which was just the mental preparation we needed before taking a summer-warm Piccadilly Line underground train back to reality in Hounslow West.

Morning departure

When in Copenhagen last week, Anna discovered that the Imperial War Museum is hosting a special exhibition on the Japanese “comfort women” system which seemed highly relevant to her research. As such, she decided to make a last-minute surprise trip across the North Sea today. With roundtrip tickets available for 1,500 SEK by combining Ryanair and SAS, I could not resist tagging along for a spontaneous day in London.

Now at Landvetter, we are waiting to board our flight to Stansted. My legs are still absolutely smashed after Alpaca, so I am hoping to go for a gentle recovery jog this afternoon to help ease out some of the muscle soreness.

Lift us up where we belong

For the second time, I took on the brutal course known as The Alpaca Race on Hisingen. Designed to mimic the elevation profile of the Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc, each loop is officially 10.6 kilometres (though actually a bit longer) with over 600 metres of elevation gain. Five loops mean 55 kilometres of running and more than 3,000 metres of climbing.

Taking bus 17 from Munkebäckstorget shortly before 6 am, I met up with the 12 other runners attempting the five-loop version. Seven others had already been out on the course since the night before, trying to complete ten loops. Of those, only one man would ultimately make it. No woman has yet completed ten loops, which probably says a lot about how tough this course is. When the gun went off, I felt strong after a recovery week with only a few dozen kilometres logged. I completed the first loop in 1 hour and 47 minutes, with my quads still able to absorb the downhills. By the third loop, though, they were already sore. My spirits were lifted briefly when Eddie made a surprise appearance, handing me a Huel energy bar.

Throughout the course, signs marked with alpacas offer encouragement – or mockery – depending on your state of mind. Phrases like “What you don’t have in your legs, you need to have in your head”, “Giddy up”, and “Lift us up where we belong” greet you at critical points, especially when yet another brutal climb begins just after a soul-destroying descent.

Each loop includes two super-technical segments where you are basically scrambling. Rain during the first two hours made the rocks slick, though they eventually dried out as the day wore on. With the 12-hour cutoff looming, I pushed myself hard on the final loop. Even so, it took 2 hours and 46 minutes – but I made it, crossing the finish line with just 13 minutes to spare.

Manon les Suites

Located next to Ørstedsparken in central Copenhagen, Manon les Suites is part of the Guldsmeden group, with boho-chic hotels stretching from Reykjavik to Bali and Menton. And checking in last night, I truly felt worlds away from the traffic on nearby H.C. Andersens Boulevard.

Staying in room 213 next to the highly instagrammable “junglefish” pool, I ordered their signature “Tea time in Bali” cocktail with cachaça and lemon while Anna opted for the “Citrus Dream” mocktail. Sipping away on our drinks between lapses in the pool, it almost felt like we were back in Ubud, minus the jetlag.

Making the most of our mini-weekend escape, we kicked off the morning with a city jog to The Union Kitchen, where the perennial Scandinavian language confusion turned “salmon” into “ham”. Even if I typically prefer Eggs Royale to Eggs Benedict, it was still perfect and such a true escapist treat before taking the train back home across the bridge.

Gaza Grill

At least if Svenska Dagbladet is to be trusted, there are some signs that more people in Israel are waking up to the realities of what is going on in Gaza, and the unimaginable suffering imposed on the civilian population there.

Far away in Nørrebro, Anna and I just had an incredible dinner at the Palestinian restaurant Gaza Grill, with the kind of Middle Eastern fare that I have come to love during my travels to the region. I had the chicken sharwarma bowl with bulgur, pomegranate dressing and muhammara while Anna had the halloumi salad with za'atar. If ever in the neighbourhood, I cannot recommend it enough.

Italian Brainrot

Tonight, I felt like doing something lighter, namely, indulging in a bit of Italian Brainrot. My idea? To create a character named Windetto Powerello Lockettino – a flamboyant advocate for wind power whose true mission is to "lock in" fossil fuels.

Alas, the concept ended up being just a little too counter-hegemonic to turn into a proper video. Still, I did manage to produce a picture of a dinosaur in an Italian chef's hat standing proudly in a forest of wind turbines. And as they say, sometimes a picture says more than a thousand words

Made in Russia, recycled in Ukraine

Still reeling from listening to a chilling TED interview with Ian Bremmer about the fallout from Ukraine’s incredible Trojan horse attack on Russian strategic bombers, I am now sipping an espresso on the balcony with my new Ukrainian keychain, forged from recycled Russian tank armour.

It has been a whirlwind couple of days: twenty take-home exams graded, four Zoom seminars completed, yet somehow still time for an authentic Indonesian lunch with Anna at Sayur and a punishing gym session next to Draken. With the semester finally winding down, I am off to Halmstad tomorrow for a graduation lunch, and then to Copenhagen on Friday to check in at Manon les Suites.

Studiedag Adventures

Despite it being a regular Monday after a four-day weekend, Eddie’s school had a studiedag – a staff development day – which meant I had to come up with something to do. Since we have been to Styrsö many times, Eddie and I decided to take the boat to neighbouring Brännö, an island I had not visited since I was four years old.

Returning 42 years later, the skies soon turned sunny as we set off to explore the island and the Galterö Nature Reserve. Unfortunately, all the cafés and restaurants were still closed for the season, so we had to improvise with supplies from the local convenience store. For me, that meant antipasti; for Eddie, cinnamon buns and a Coke (yes, I felt like the worst parent ever).

At Galterö, we paused for a “sheepfie” but skipped the planned swim, a growing pile of work emails on my phone made it hard to fully relax. Still, a pretty great way to spend a bonus Monday.

Back to Bohus

Three weeks after my hard run along stage 6 of Bohusleden, I got to explore the same trails again at a much more leisurely pace, hiking with the kids for three hours from Angered to Bohus.

 

We stopped for fika at the same spot where I jumped into the water last time, and met a few more people on the trail, including some campers who were exploring the Vättlefjäll area with rental canoes.

 

As we approached Bohus, the kids were deep in planning their next Minecraft session, while I felt lucky to have gotten a second chance to see this beautiful stage of Bohusleden. Now the question is where to go next, the following stages all lack public transport. If I am not mistaken, this means I would have to run three stages (36 km) in one go... and still cannot be sure there will actually be a bus waiting at the other end.

Fartlek fun

Today, I got to take part in the Skatås Parkrun with William, who is still under eleven and thus must be accompanied by an adult, something that is easier said than done on the downhills when he speeds up to 3:15 min/km, but we still had great fun in the forest sunshine together with Eddie and Anna’s mother.

Having started the morning with nine very gentle kilometres, five kilometres of fartlek was just what I needed to shake up my running before I continue tapering in anticipation of The Alpaca Race. Back home afterwards, I made pinsa for lunch and, an espresso later, it is time to work a bit while the kids play Minecraft.