Daily Archives: 1 July, 2023

Wonderful that summer is here. We are so well-deserved of summer holidays. I try to keep up the training even though it is very hot. Therefore, I have for craving for salt and it is perfect with herring and potatoes. I was lucky to get a few sunny days by the Mediterranean in the south of France before summer started in Sweden. To stay on the safe side. I remember rainy Swedish summers even if they are few.

Somehow it felt safe to be in France. Right now there are riots, but the police and sometimes the military quell the unrest. In Sweden, people are shocked to see someone in a military uniform. President Macron claimed at an early stage of the pandemic that we have an invisible enemy in front of us. I had a chat with the man at the hotel reception and he said that “like all other countries, France shows sympathy for Ukraine”. Even though I was on vacation, I had Ukraine on my mind when I flew over the Alps.

I remember the breakfasts in France. At that time, I stayed with a real Madame. At the top of the house, I had access to a small balcony where I saw the Pyrenees every morning. At breakfast, I had coffee, a croissant or a petit madeleine. Then it was time for the wooden stairs, as you can see in the picture below, and I was off for the university.

French breakfast is still delicious, and I tried this week to have some baguette with ham and cheese for breakfast at home, but it can never be as good as in France. Tried prawns for dinner an evening in Juan les pins as a change to fish balls in my everyday life. French cuisine just cannot fail. Also great to enjoy the incredible fresh tomatoes from Provence. A concentrate of sunshine.

Back home in Sweden, I felt grateful to Finland, which has recently become a member of NATO. Our Nordic neighbors have always protected us Swedes. We have two centuries of peace, but Finland, Norway, and Denmark know that war occurs, with all that it can mean.