Today I'm playing the DB game in difficulty «very hard», as I have a tight connection in Hamburg.
What happened? The ICE to Zürich yesterday evening was short terminated at Basel Bad and is not running from Zürich today. SBB runs a replacement train to Basel SBB, but according to the app, neither the tram (cancelled) nor the train connection over to Basel Bad is working. DB consequently recommends going on a bus trip in the UK instead, if you click "alternative travel option".
#OperationOslo

I'm sitting in a warm Apm 61, I have tea and the train crew lady says that my ICE will be awaiting the connection at Basel Bad, no matter what the app says. All good, so far...
#OperationOslo

Arrival at Basel SBB. The train manager wishes all passengers travelling onwards to Germany «good luck». 😂
The tram is still cancelled, so I take ICE 202 over to Basel Bad.
#OperationOslo

And indeed, my #IrrfahrtenUndChaosExpress ICE 78 is waiting at Basel Bad. Unfortunately, the little chaos didn't get us a better rolling stock, it's still a ICE 4. 😑
However, it apparently took DB totally by surprise. The train is not prepared and the screens display the wrong destination and the wrong reservations. The driver needs to prepare the train first, before we finally depart with +20.
#OperationOslo

Still +20, but it's also still breakfast time. 😋 Super friendly service. 😊
#OperationOslo

In the meantime, we've passed Hannover and making our way northwards. Despite a signal failure at Kassel and a detour via the classic line between Kassel and Göttingen (good for my line statistics), we managed to keep our delay of 20 mins. If it stays like this, it's all fine.
#OperationOslo

#OperationOslo is, by the way, at least half a work trip. I'll be attending an international railway meeting in Oslo on Wednesday and Thursday. As I refuse to fly, I had to find a way which allows me to participate in some online meetings on Monday and Tuesday and to be in Oslo on time on Wednesday. Hence, it won't be a crazy route as usual, but I'll still do a bunch of lines I haven't been on so far.

Northern weather and northern trains at Uelzen. We're being held in a siding outside the station. Flixtrain overtakes us for the second time already, just behind a fast ICE. This adds another 10 minutes to our delay.
#OperationOslo

Which got me thinking. If the government really scraps the new high speed line project Hannover—Hamburg, the stations on the existing line need to be upgraded. In our case, we've been held outside the station for overtaking even though we had a scheduled stop. The reason for this is that there are only three platforms, one of which is blocked by the Metronom. With two fast platform tracks per direction, trains could be overtaken while they stop, which would improve capacity.
#OperationOslo

Crossing river Elbe and shortly after arriving at a very wet and grey Hamburg Hbf with a delay of 33 minutes. Could be worse for crossing Germany.
#OperationOslo

Mandatory picture of McDonald's Hbf while getting a little snack.
Our empty train from Basel is still here, blocking valuable platform capacity, when I'm back at platform level about 10 minutes later.
#OperationOslo

Nostalgic rolling stock on the RE to Kiel, which is arriving 25 minutes late but departs on time. I expected something modern, but I'm not even mad. 😁
#OperationOslo

Bloody dismal weather. 😬
How good to sit in a warm train with a big cup of tea.
#OperationOslo

Brrr...
Plus: Level crossing failure, another +15 minutes. Also, we're losing 1-2 minutes with every stop. Maybe bad adhesion due to the drizzle?
Anyway, it's getting tight towards the end...
#OperationOslo

16:45 and it's pitch black. The only good thing with this is: Tomorrow is the earliest sunset. Afterwards it's getting better again, at least in the evenings.
#OperationOslo

16:54, arrival at Kiel Hbf. +20 delay on this train, +57 on the whole trip. Shouldn't have been much more, ferry boarding is until 17:15. So no time at all to explore this interesting looking station with a nordic touch when it comes to shops.
#OperationOslo

It's a 10 minute walk along the waterfront to the Stena Line terminal. My vessel for tonight, the Stena Germanica, comes into view long before the modern terminal building. Check-in on the first floor did not take more than a minute. Afterwards it's quite a walk on the long gangway onto the ship. Very quick and convenient rail-ship connection. That's how it should be.
#OperationOslo

The ship seems to be rather quiet tonight. I'm booked in a bunk bed outside cabin, the flex ticket was EUR 186 – which is way cheaper than comparable accommodation on the Zürich–Hamburg or Hamburg–Stockholm sleeper.
More exploration later, first I'll lay down for a few minutes. 😴
#OperationOslo

Stena Germanica is a bit older than the other Stena ferries I have been on this year. And it has kind of a strange layout, probably due to its extension. Nevertheless it's a decent standard ferry with restaurants, bars, and an alcohol and perfume shop.
#OperationOslo

It's indeed a quiet evening. I'm too late for the Christmas buffet at one of the restaurants, but I managed to grab some classic ferry food in the Bistro. I'm however passing on the beer, as there probably will be enough of it in the coming days. Back to my cabin for a hopefully quiet night. See you tomorrow!
#OperationOslo

Morning from the Stena Germanica. I slept like a baby in the comfortable bed as we sailed through thick fog. Very eerie mood when we passed the Storebæltsbroen. Only the bottom of the pillars were clearly visible, the deck was hidden in the fog. Sorry for the lousy pictures.
#OperationOslo

A real bed, a big shower with good water pressure and a breakfast buffet: Take this, night trains!
However I miss the Coffee bar, which exists on other Stena ferries.
#OperationOslo

Spot on time at 09:15 we arrive in Göteborg. Unlike on other ferries, you're allowed to stay in the cabin until arrival. And, also unlike on other ferries, the gangway for foot passengers opens only minutes after arrival. A short gangway leads to the terminal building.
#OperationOslo

The customs dog shortly sniffs my bag, then I'm allowed to enter Sweden. 🇸🇪
A long footbridge leads over the port access roads to a backroad, from where it's only a short walk to the tram stop Chapmans Torg. All in all, it's not even 5 minutes from the ship to the tram stop.
#OperationOslo

The tram lines 3 and 9 (every ten minutes each) take you to Göteborg main station in 15-20 mins. A ticket is SEK 35 and can be paid contactless in the tram.
I'm not riding all the way to Centralstationen, as I'm staying here for tonight. Instead, I'm off to the nearest Espresso House for the first Kanelbulle and some work.
#OperationOslo

After a day of remote work, it was more than time for a bit of railways - Göteborgs spårvägar, to be exact. And no visit to Göteborg is complete without riding the retro M31 trams. 😊
#OperationOslo

Zürich 🤝 Göteborg
- Blue and white trams
- Retro trams with low floor extension
- Consequent use of line colours
- Weird tram interior colour
#OperationOslo

On the other hand, this is sadly still light years away in Zürich: Göteborg is replacing the ticket machines in the tram by simple card readers where you can buy a ticket by just tapping your contactless payment card.
#OperationOslo

Besides the M31, you'll encounter the unloved AnsaldoBreda M32 and the new Bombardier/Vossloh-Kiepe Flexity M33 on the network, both articulated low floor trams. I couldn't recognize any pattern in rolling stock usage, every tram type seems to be used on every line?!
#OperationOslo

The oldest M29 high floor tramcars also still seem to be in service. But I only saw two of them and sadly didn't manage to get a ride on one of them.
#OperationOslo

I also didn't miss a stroll through Göteborg's city center at night.
#OperationOslo

And with this Christmas mood photo of an M33 I say Good Night from Göteborg.
#OperationOslo

After some more work this morning, it was finally time to hit the rails again. But before, there's something I discovered on Openrailwaymap which I wanted to see.
Oh, and today was the day I finally realised that the M31 trams have an asymmetric front design! 🤯
#OperationOslo

Uh-oh, what's that?! Another M29 consist with a wonderful rollsign! But no time for a ride today. Instead, I'm gonna take the 3 to Brunnsparken.
#OperationOslo

Brunnsparken is the main tram hub in the centre, most lines pass here. While I wait for my tram, there's another chance to take pictures of most of Göteborg's tram types in commercial service.
#OperationOslo

My line 9 service to Angered is worked by a Flexity M33. The travel time indications on the passenger information screen already shows that this isn't your standard tram line.
#OperationOslo

The map shows that the line is completely separated from other traffic all the way out to Angered and has only three intermediate stops, one of which is in a longer tunnel. On the first few kilometres, the line runs parallel to the railway main line. After the flat junctions at Gamlestaden, there is even a short section of gauntlet track across an old bridge.
#OperationOslo

While Göteborg's trams are already more like a Stadtbahn (urban light rail) in the city centre, outside here it looks even like a proper railway line. There are normal tracks and signals, the line speed is 60 km/h and it runs across forests and grassland.
#OperationOslo