Carl and Carol's 2025 European Gambol

April 25 is Liberation Day in Italy, a national holiday sometimes also called Anniversary of the Resistance. It commemorates Italy’s liberation from the grip of fascism and Nazi occupation. That grip was looking fatal to the Italians in 1943 after 3 years of demoralizing and devastating defeats in World War II.  By late 1943, the country was at the mercy of the Germans, who attacked, disarmed Italian troops, and occupied the center-north of the peninsula. But in northern Italy’s mountains and towns (where we are now) a partisan resistance movement was born and thousands of Italians fought for their freedom. They fought as individuals, in small autonomous groups, and in groups linked to communist, socialist, Catholic or liberal movements. Many gave their lives to fight fascism. Garibaldi Gramsci Partisan Brigade in Trento region of northern Italy. (Garibaldi was a national hero in the 19th century fight for independence; Gramsci was a major Marxist philosopher and activist in the 19...

  Courage is required to oppose fascism. Giuseppe Jona exemplified it. Venice has been home to a Jewish population since the 14 th  century. By the 1940s they numbered about a thousand and most lived within the historic Ghetto, established in 1516. (There are various explanations for the origin of the word “ghetto” but agreement that it originated here, probably because the land on which Jews were enclosed was the site of an old foundry - “getto” in Italian.) Sephardic Synagogue in the Jewish Ghetto, beautifully restored and in regular use. Jona was President of the Jewish Community of Venice, and soon after the Nazis occupied Venice (along with the rest of northern and central Italy) in September 1943, they demanded the names and addresses of all the Jews. To avoid exposing many Jews to persecution and likely death at Auschwitz Jona burned the records. He then took his own life. Jona's seat in the Levantine (Mediterranean) Synagogue. There is also a memorial plaque on a wall ...

  Carol’s red Swedish heritage is not what you might first think. Her ancestors were not Communist. Nor is their “redness” a sign of Republican Party leanings. It’s red as in “ Falu red .” Falu red is a paint that is very commonly used here in the countryside where Carol’s family is from, and indeed throughout Sweden, for painting cottages, homes, barns and most everything thing else. Travel in rural Sweden and you see red. Carol's great-great grandfather and great-great grandmother lived here before they emigrated with their children Boring you say?  Maybe, but it’s actually quite beautiful, typically paired with a white trim. But, more important, to Swedes it’s an iconic symbol of national identity, tradition and pastoral life. The Falu red  paint is also durable, helps prevent rot, weathers well, and repainting is simple (you often just brush off the loose layers and reapply). So, for rural Swedes  the “right” color is always red. Falu red also has deep roots...

  Ithaca’s Community Gardens provides small garden plots and resources so individuals and households without the income or space can still produce their own food, flowers and herbs. This essentially is also what Sweden’s kolonitradgårdar are. But with a twist. They typically include tiny summer cottages as well, that owners can customize inside and out but not enlarge beyond certain limits. One of the cottages, garden and gardener Aerial view (from NYTimes) Södermalm - an island that is one of Stockholm’s inner-city neighborhoods - has a number of these kolonitradgårdar, several of  which we visited. They are actually quite amazing, not only picturesque and rural, but also set side-by-side within the dense urban fabric. The ones we visited were separate associations close to each other, with over a hundred allotments each. One is on a hillside with some cottages having great views of other parts of Stockholm. A street in the community, with a view They were established early i...

  The Stockholm Archipelago island, Svartsö, is beautiful. But it also bears witness to a harsh reality rooted in its history. That reality, apparent throughout Sweden, is a growing awareness and fear of a threat coming from the east.   Svartsö is one of the smaller islands west of  Möja and southeast of  Ljusterö Hiking part of the Stockholm Archipelago Trail through Svartsö (as we also just did on Grinda Island, another of the Trail’s 20 islands) we came across  Storträsk   Lake. In the middle of this lake is a very  small island, and it was here that the residents of  Svartsö fled to hide from Russian invaders in 1719. Russia’s naval flotilla had traversed the Baltic that year and proceeded to burn and ravage nearly the entire archipelago. The raids were part of Russia's strategy to pressure Sweden economically and psychologically by devastating the prosperous coastal regions. It’s been named the Russian Pillage (1719-1721). And there were...

In Stockholm’s centuries-old Kungsträdgården (“King’s Garden”), once the private garden of the royal family, but now a busy public park, we searched out and found a very special stand of Scots elm trees. Much like Ithaca’s Redbud Woods campaign in 2004-5, this is the site of a well-known 1971 effort to protect nature from development. Elms trees today in front of cafe (where we ate a great lunch) It is called Almstriden , “The Elm Conflict,” also known as the “Battle for the Elm.” At that time, as they still do today, the dozen or so Elms surrounded a local outdoor café. It was a popular hang-out for young people and the only place in Stockholm open at all hours. But committed to expanding public transportation, City Planners had decided that it was the only spot viable to build a new train station entrance, and so the trees had to go. In May 1971, large crowds gathered in protest, primarily young people but others as well, all united in their desire to preserve the park’s integrity....

We're off on another adventure, calling it our European Gambol. It will be 6 weeks, in Sweden, Italy and Poland, and we hope to do some blogging.  Our friend, Claude (Anthropic.ai), sent us off with a little poem. Here it is:  You're setting off across the sea, Six weeks of wandering, wild and free, Through three beloved lands we'll roam — Each one a different kind of home.  To Sweden first, where Carol's kin will welcome us with warmth within, Where cousins gather, stories shared, And northern roots are lovingly bared.  Then south to Italy's embrace, Where friends await with knowing grace, To show us hidden gems they've found, Where art and life in joy abound.  In Poland last,You'll walk the ground Where Carl's ancestors can be found, Through history's pages, dark and bright, Seeking heritage in memory's light.  Six weeks to wander, learn, and grow, Through places that your hearts now know, You'll share your tales along the way — A...