After an intense few days discovering Warsaw, it felt wonderful to start this week off with an hour-long workout at the gym. First, a 30-minute run on a treadmill, 30 minutes on a wide range of mostly upper-body-focused machines, and then a cooling swim in the sea.

I’ve been sober for 12 days now. Not trying to break any record and it’s really anybody’s guess how long I’ll be on the wagon this time around. But for each day that passes, I feel curiously stronger and more resilient when the inevitable thought or, temptation to have a beer, a glass of wine, or a tumbler with bourbon and soda arrives. Still haven’t opened any of the bottles of bourbon, whisky, or Champagne given to me by generous friends during our last gathering here in Malmö. Don’t miss the casual sipping and definitely not the binge drinking at all.

Even more fascinating is that I seem to have gained a nice buffer, a cushion of sorts, to help me escape from the grips of frustration and stress.