notamermaid

In the Rhine thread https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2984992-rhine-water-levels-2024-and-similar-topics/page/9/#comments @euro. asked a question. I answered partly with statistics on the Danube. I am posting this again here with more explanation in figures. Here goes, the Bavarian Danube (Pfelling gauge) water levels in the first half of August (1st to 15th): 2018 - no sailing of 135m ships possible in the shallow parts of Germany, bad in Hungary as well. Figure range at Pfelling was 227cm to 259cm. 2019 - not too bad, sailing restricted, Hungary was okay as far as I know. Figure range at Pfelling was 274cm to 458cm. 2020 - bad start, fine from 5 August Figure range at Pfelling was 247cm to 557cm. 2021 - perfect Figure range at Pfelling was 344cm to 497cm. 2022 - see 2018 Figure range at Pfelling was 217cm to 266cm. 2023 - perfect Figure range at Pfelling was 322cm to 486cm. Note the huge range in 2020, it brought the river to a high level that impacted sailing under the bridge at Passau. This made the graph look like this: That is not considered bad flooding, it is a regular occurrence, it is just that one bridge at Passau does not have enough headroom for ships with a high superstructure. The surge took the river less than 24 hours to get from "fine" to "not sailing under the bridge". So how did the month of August progress in those years, was the second half different? 2018 - no, just as bad 2019 - fluctuating and minimally better 2020 - after the surge the river went down maddeningly fast to a too low level for many ships but recovered at the end of the month 2021 - levels continued to be stable and perfect for sailing 2022 - the level recovered fast and after a surge was "wobbly" as regards the ability to sail but okay for some ships 2023 - went high and at the end of the month a river traffic ban was issued. So, basically, errrr, no way of knowing what the river at Pfelling will do from one week to the next... notamermaid

A German cruise blog also talks of a deviation for the person's cruise with Viva Cruises and their stop at Nijmegen do to construction work at Arnhem. notamermaid

Going back all the way to the Celts: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhenus_Pater Rhenus bicornis of the Romans, a sculptured head: https://www.rheinische-geschichte.lvr.de/Epochen-und-Themen/Themen/der-rhein-im-denken-der-roemer/DE-2086/lido/5d63a243246c37.82044604 The two horns are said to represent the fact that the Rhine has two branches in the Netherlands. notamermaid

Indeed. The abysmal year of 2018 seems to have brought in more awareness with companies that people prefer to be informed prior to sailing and from what I have gathered there have been more notifications and e-mails sent to passengers. Also, passengers are generally more aware of what may be in store. However, it is not a given that you will be informed or that the company can inform you. Say you leave on 10 August to a cruise starting in Amsterdam and all river levels are fine. You sail the Rhine and by the time you are on the Main river the weather is really dry and the level in the Danube drops. A hydrologist may have been able to tell you of the risk on 9 August but neither he nor the company can tell you for sure on 11 August that you cannot sail on 14 August. It really depends on what level the river is at when you leave on 10 August and then you can still not be certain either way. Likewise it is the same coming from Budapest and then finding the Rhine is too low. We have had passengers report that the captain announced in the morning that they would not be able to sail the Danube (at Pfelling) the same evening. Lots of scenarios... It is not an exact science but usually both rivers are low in a similar time frame as we share weather patterns overall. However, the "cut-off point" for sailing or not sailing on the German Danube is often reached before the corresponding level on the German Rhine (in the Rhine Gorge that is). An important difference between the two rivers is that on the Rhine the shallow area just extends in length as the river level drops whereas on the Danube you get two shallow sections, first one in Germany and then one in Hungary around Budapest (scenarios further down from Hungary I am not familiar with, low water happens there as well though). Major ways of avoiding both Rhine and Danube shallows: 1. Choose a route that does not include Pfelling (mentioned before and explained in the Danube thread). 2. Do not choose a "Grand European" itinerary. 3. Choose a route that does not include the Rhine Gorge (which you may prefer to keep in the itinerary because it is the most scenic part (tough luck!)). 4. Choose a 110m ship over a 135m ship. As a rule of thumb that gives you a tiny advantage of lower draft and could be the difference between sailing and not sailing. Finally, my "disclaimer". I cannot and will not give figures of when ships cannot sail. That is a range of figures depending on each individual ship and its captain and may even vary going upstream or downstream. However, from past years' experiences and authorities commenting in the news I will give hints and tips about it when the rivers get low. Flooding is different so there are figures declared by authorities to be the maximum when ships are allowed to sail. Just before that level for a specific section of river is reached captains know a river traffic ban will be issued. Another problem if you want to call it that is, by the way, the fact that as the river level drops on the Rhine, so do the landing stages and the available water for the ship hull at the embankments. You may have to dock away from the prime spots. @euro. I am taking the liberty of using your question to put a bit more statistics in the Danube thread. notamermaid

The Rhine as regards water levels is the "easier" of the two rivers to sail in August, but there can certainly be low water. So let us have a look at the Danube. Track record of first half of the month in: 2018 - no sailing of 135m ships possible in the shallow parts of Germany, bad in Hungary as well. 2019 - not too bad, sailing restricted, Hungary was okay as far as I know. 2020 - bad start, fine from 5 August 2021 - perfect 2022 - see 2018 2023 - perfect For further info on how to almost avoid this see here: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2984995-danube-water-levels-2024-and-similar-topics-plus-tips-and-info/page/2/ post #48 and #49. notamermaid

Hello and welcome to Cruisecritic. I will start with this. Last year's Rhine thread, perhaps start on page 10 and work your way forward: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2910181-rhine-water-levels-2023-and-similar-topics/page/10/ As you are also interested in the Danube, here is the thread, I have given you page 13 as a start: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2910185-danube-water-levels-2023-and-similar-topics-plus-tips-and-info/page/13/ Both give you an idea of the conversations we have had. For logistics of ship swaps the roll calls of last year, mainly the Viking Rhine Getaway and the Grand European, tell you how the ship swaps work and how people felt about it. The Viking roll calls are the most active. Many people prefer just to post there, not on the main river cruising board (i.e. this one you are on now reading this thread). You are right about unpredictability but we can look at statistics that help a little to narrow it down and put into perspective. More on that in another post. notamermaid

I must admit that I am in two minds about the updated infrastructure and the increase in the size of the ships. Well, they showed the Viking landing stage... But it is not just Viking. It used to be only 110m ships that were allowed on the river, then some years back they said 135m ships are okay, now most of them are the 135m maximum length. It is not that many more people per ship of course. So on the one hand I would say "what are they moaning about?", but on the other hand I can see where they are coming from, i.e. the passengers come in a bulk, have a guided tour, an ice-cream, and disappear. I do not fully agree with that assessment, though. It is a mixed thing. As a day tripper in Bernkastel-Kues I strolled along, had a quick lunch in a café and disappeared. And a pittance in parking fees. Almost any river cruise passenger leaves more money directly and indirectly in town. But I also do not fully agree with the mayor saying that people that have been on a river cruise very often become a repeat visitor on land (with more money they will leave in town). Again a mixed thing. Depending on the individual, the country of origin, the budget. I doubt a person from (insert US State of our choice) will tell ten friends how great Bernkastel-Kues is and five of them turn up at a café in Bernkastel-Kues a month later... Anyway, I hope they find the right balance, and do not turn the place into "Rüdesheim-on-the-Moselle". 😉 As for Traben-Trarbach: when I went I found it a bit quiet and so far I have not seen that many ships dock there. I understand the townspeople trying to keep a bit more of that "sophisticated" approach to tourism which is well becoming to this once famous wine centre, but a bit more should not do harm. But as always, just a bit more may turn into a lot more and better complain now than when it is "too late". I can understand the citizens looking at other places, we know Passau is struggling, and saying that they do not want this. Traben-Trarbach is too small for hordes. By the way, on this topic. Beilstein. The village is quaint and popular and if a Viking river cruise ship docked there the passengers would more than double the head count in town. Beilstein only has 149 inhabitants but a landing stage for ships. The place is no hidden gem. notamermaid notamermaid

We have had warm and dry days, a bit untypical for April, that in summer would have a negative impact on the water levels. But it is still early spring. The figure at Pfelling gauge is 383cm and those figures have been stable so there is still enough water in the Danube basin for good levels in Germany. And rain is now sweeping over Bavaria. notamermaid

Seeing that we have had dry days here, this is a very valid question. I am being to see a slight problem that hopefully will not turn into a real problem. The level at Dresden shows a fast drop (20cm) which suggests that the authorities in the Czech Republic may be retaining water now. No way for me to find out, but the dry water has drained water out of the Elbe basin. The level is now 107cm. The weather has changed and rain is coming into Europe. A band of moderate to heavy rain is sweeping over southern Germany East-North East so today getting into the Czech Republic. Water for the Vltava and the Elbe and a good sign. notamermaid

Water levels are very difficult to predict for the Danube, I mean not even in detail. In August flooding is rare and low water can certainly happen, it is a wide range. My advice is to have a look at the itineraries starting and ending in Vilshofen. They avoid the bottleneck between Straubing and Vilshofen where low water is most likely to happen. notamermaid

You mean Kinderdijk is not on a river but at a canal or rather low lying ground that fills with ground water if the windmills did not do the pumping? Thanks, had not checked actually. It is quite fascinating how much land the Dutch have taken from the ocean/floodplains and cultivated it. With a bit of help from German forests and mountains I may add. The Netherlands still import much stone from Germany today. notamermaid

Ah, yes. You are right. Another aspect of different uses of words in parts of the German-speaking realm. Quite some years ago a popular television series made use of that when in the story a Bavarian guy moved to the island of Rügen. Hardly gets any more extreme than that. I have never seen more than six horses drawing a cart/wagon/carriage. Eight or ten is a lot to handle. May be used in Royal processions and such but I have never noticed it. Beautiful day yesterday, was great fun working as all people apart from one woman were happy and even jovial. Busy tourism weekend. Fortunately only needed to do one day (although I have been finishing a few things off in the background today). Anyway, I hope you can now all enjoy the floral delights of spring. Helped my elderly relative planting a type of roses (we call them that in German sometimes) today that is called Alcea, apparently they are the family Malveae in English. notamermaid

The water levels continue to be good. After dry and warm days the weather is now changing and the rain next week should bring the level at Kaub over 250cm again, staying any under levels that could indicate flooding in the near future. 208cm is the long-term mean so you can look forward to continued very pleasant sailing on "my" river. So let us have look at the islands in the river again this year. Tons of them about and one section of it has actually been dubbed the "Inselrhein", that is between Mainz and Bingen, as there are so many islands close together. Many are uninhabited (by humans), some are designated nature reserves or have another protected status, a few are peninsulas due to interference by humans, others are inhabited and one is a separate administrative entity, i.e. a proper village. One very interesting one historically is up there in Switzerland. No need for a moat or artificial way of creating a recluse - just use the mighty Rhine. Rheinau with its former monastery: https://www.myswitzerland.com/en/destinations/rheinau-abbey-island/ While this a distance from Basel and other places in Switzerland are more popular, with good reason, for extensions, I have long thought that it would be nice if a company could put a bigger focus on the upper reaches of the Rhine beyond Basel. The nearby Rhine Falls are not massive compared to others in the world but the scenery is nevertheless stunning. It is a different aspect of the Rhine that is worth seeing to "complete" the picture of this river in Europe I find. notamermaid

I just have to go to Ghent after seeing these photos! That castle is even better than I remember from other photos. Looks similar to the model one I used to play with (together with my male cousin). I very much enjoyed Bruges so it would be nice to compare the two. notamermaid

Forecast not looking too good, you are right. But as you say you have been to the area before. If you happen to check out the wine list, please post some info if the offers are regional, i.e. wine growing regions in Germany or France. Would love to know if they include the rarer Belgian wines. Have a great time. notamermaid