New Blog Post! Featuring Roman Triumvirate & Other Friendlies

We have had Introductionsveckan here at the university. One lady gave a presentation about Östersund, and it sounds really nice--maybe I should visit sometime. One distinction it has is the title of Gastronomical Capitol of the World for 2011; an honour it shares in Roman-like triplicity with two other cities, both of which boast populations of several million. At roughly 60.000, the immutable mathematics of the universe dictate that Östersundarna get more mat (food) per capita. This is happy equation in that the cheese, fil, meat, herring, & root-vegetables are super-tasty, ergo, "the more the merrier." An important component of the "gastronomical" interest is a clear movement for local and sustainable food-production.  This movement might be understood as a tentacle of a broader commitment to energy-efficiency, but I think somehow that the latter is actually more fundamental to the city. In any case, Östersund, again together with two other cities--Trondheim & Sundsvall--created "The Green Highway" for coast-to-coast travel. Nabotaget is a train that connex the coasts, but there is also a green (figuratively) highway (literally) that does the same thing by providing electric-recharge stations for battery cars along the route so the electric-powered pilgrimage need not be impeded by your lack of juice.
Östersund ligger vid Storsjön. The latter is a lake, but it might as well be "the Pond" by the mood of't. Today I wandered down the cobbled streets to the water for some reflexion, since I'm profound and this is what profound people do. Across the water is Fröson, an island.
Another cool thing is the superabundance of bike-paths. It's almost overwhelming. You find, for example, bike-paths ever when you are looking for them.
I have been collecting svampar like a mycological manic. I have to say, it doesn't take much effort here. (Nicco, fjällig bläcksvamp is "wobbley-toppe" rendered in Swedish.) Another project I have been undertaking is picking currants. There aren't very many, but I found a couple patches and I have been harvesting them. They're a little different than American currants in that the stems don't so willingly part with their  rubies, but I have been taking them home togather and then spreading them out on the table to do the operation while I listen to P1 on the radion to try to learn Swedish. Another thing I am doing is collecting fil cultures. My plan is to purchase raw milk from the woman I met at last week's market and inoculate the latter with the sayd friendlies.

Some pictures from down by the water.

...And up at the University, på studentplanen. Mowing the grass...a normal day.