Friday. Evening. Gothenburg.

Took the early milk run north through the country, from the south coast to the west coast. Spent most of the train ride writing, largely offline.

Grabbed the train’s sturdy conductor to explain that there was no way to get online.
Oh, so the Wi-Fi is down? The stressed conductor asked, his expression failing to hide my inconvenient observation.

No, the Wi-Fi is fine – full strength, I replied.

So what’s the problem then? came the inevitable follow-up question.

In my most pedagogical tone, I explained that Wi-Fi and the internet are two entirely different networks. That you can have perfectly functioning Wi-Fi, but if it isn’t connected to the internet, it’s utterly useless.

I might as well have been speaking ancient Egyptian. The distinction – or the dependency between the two – didn’t sink in. To the conductor, Wi-Fi and the internet are same-same. Not different.

The meeting with Fredrik von Zweigbergk at the Gothenburg Museum of Art went much more smoothly. He was happy to receive “Abandoned,” which he has purchased to sell in the museum shop. And soon my book of abandoned places will also be available at NK in the capital. Alongside Akademibokhandeln, Bokus, Adlibris, and of course, Amazon.