Lmst

Taxing air travel is unfair and makes it unaffordable, say airline companies who, er, don't drop their prices when the right wing government in #Sweden completely abolishes the passenger tax.
https://www.svt.se/nyheter/lokalt/stockholm/flygskatten-tas-bort-da-blir-resor-fran-arlanda-billigare-eller
#NotFlying #FlyingLess #AirPassengerDuty #Flygskatt

Here endeth my THINGS TO SAY. If you're still curious about how to cross Germany when lots of trains get disrupted, feel free to ask.
Oh, one last thing. If you suffer GWR trains on a regular basis, YES they really are well in the running for worst in Europe.
Worst seats. Worst lighting. Worst cringe-inducingly English cutglass pronunciation of Tswinnnndon and Cardiff Tsennntral in the recorded announcements.
Croeso nol! It's good to be home.
#WalesToSweden #NotFlying

On my last #SwedenToWales train, London to Cardiff. Two days of enjoyable travel with a few bits of unexpected excitement. Looking at you, Deutsche Bahn.
As an out and proud #NotFlying #EuropeanRail traveller, I now have IMPORTANT THINGS TO SAY. Some of which may improve your day, and one of which could save your life.
(Am I selling this too hard?)

In other #SayWhatYouSee matters aboard this ferry, is the answer "German clichés", Roy?
#NotFlying

Stairwell wall art featuring a bright-eyed, big-smiled guy in Lederhosen.

Stairwell wall art featuring a doe-eyed, big-tongued German shepherd dog

It's a while* since I worked as a professional typesetter.

But this Rorschach test in the wall art on the Stena Line ferry from Gothenburg to Kiel is catnip for a smut for brains like me.

What the fruck?

#SwedenToWales #NotFlying

* decades

Framed print on wall. Picture mosaic of trucks and trucky things with block caps text overwritten that (thanks to background clutter) surely spells FRUCKERS.

@geraint
Hummus is indeed in play, although #NotFlying changes the available outcomes. Close body search at UK Border control on arrival in Harwich, for instance.

@Philsturgeon
Not suggesting you tear up your route because of a random #BikeTooter, but you might be interested to try out the new (and cycle friendly) sailing catamaran option between Dover and Boulogne.
https://www.saillink.co.uk/
That's how I plan to start my ride to Switz in August.
#NotFlying

@Havant_Enviro
Train travellers… easy access from Dover Priory and Boulogne Ville train stations.
Cyclists… they've got you covered! Stowage space for several bikes is available. No dismantling or boxing up needed.
#NotFlying #EuropeanRail

@robriley
No worries. Glad to have been of help. I've done #NotFlying to every EU nation except Cyprus, so I can take a stab at getting to most European destinations.
Feel free to post whatever you might be wondering about #EuropeanRail.

@geraint
More surprising is that the tea was German!

I will tot up the cost of my #NotFlying travel from #SwedenToWales and back, and inflict that tedious info on my follower.
I suspect, given luggage and seasonal prices, that the classic "flying's always cheaper" assumption will be disproved on this occasion.
It really does just come down to time, and whether someone actually likes travelling (as opposed to sitting in an airless metal tube between shopping malls).

Packing for the two-day trek #NotFlying #SwedenToWales.
Important preparation is to stock up on good earworms to fight the terrible music I may be exposed to en route.
Pulp and Divine Comedy CDs on heavy rotation.

I prefer their earlier work.
#NotFlying

Mildly disturbing sculpture of a brightly dressed boy/gremlin riding a swan

It appears that the TT-Line ferry company employs artisan signwriters.
#NotFlying

Ship's hatch, all pristinely white painted, with delightful handpainted red text: PL KEEP CLOSED AT SEA

There are Wales warnings in rail areas Viking and German Bight as I set off again #NotFlying from Sweden to Britain.
Two night trains and a day ferry in between. 45 hours door to door is kind of leisurely, but resilient with luck. Schedule has already survived the total cancellation of all fast catamaran ferry services from Malmö to Rostock, and a 90-minute retiming of the Berlin–Brussels #SleeperTrain.

Been a while since I was last on this SJ nattåg. I do the ferries more often between Germany and Sweden.
Compared to the #EuropeanSleeper I was supposed to be on last night, this Euronight compartment feels newer, but much more cramped. (I ride Berlin–Brussels/Rotterdam overnight quite frequently now when #NotFlying between Wales and Sweden.)
That's a sink, btw, not a toilet for exhibitionists.
#TrainTravelEurope

#ThisIsTheNightRailCrossingTheBorder is back on track, as I wait for the SJ Euronight train from Berlin to Stockholm via Hamburg and Copenhagen. Not departing from Hauptbahnhof, but temporarily from Gesundbrunnen, a Watford Junction kind of station. But somehow less, er, Watfordy.
#NotFlying
#TrainTravelEurope

@MartinJBreen
Only a hunch, but it may be the case (because #CapitalismSucks) that Eurostar were willing to cover my hotel because I held a Premium ticket. I can imagine Interrailers may get told to take a hike.
My default approach to resilient travel is to build in ways to make your situation their problem. As I was stuck at Bxl, despite holding valid Eurostar tickets both to get there and get away, it was hard for them to pass the buck.
#NotFlying
#TrainTravelEurope

The highlight of my very brief wander round #Köln (an hour between trains) was going to be the ambulances, whose sirens smoothly change key on approach to traffic lights. No idea if that's automatic, or if the copilot was in a 90s boy band.

But then I refound Stövchen, a proper old school cafe. Plants, books, old furniture, old regular customers, two brothers behind the bar. And vegetarian sauerkrautsuppe with a beer for €10.

#NotFlying
#TrainTravelEurope
#ThisIsTheNightRailCrossingTheBorder