notamermaid

If I was the new PM that would make me feel awkward. All the best to the most splendid old lady. Day before yesterday my neighbour fell down the stairs. The paramedics that picked her up did no sound too concerned but she is over 90. Hopefully I will hear good news from the hospital (through her family) in the next few days. notamermaid

Thanks. I stumbled over that one as well. I do not know the actual owner, not sure if it has changed from the interim people in Hamburg? I also do not know the forum people so cannot contact them. Perhaps someone within the community will point it out, it was only uploaded earlier today. notamermaid

Rain sweeping over Germany, the radar film is a nice arc of yellow and darker colours that goes from the Alps over Bavaria and then turning in a Northwesterly direction towards the North Sea. So little rain is actually falling in the Rhine valley, with the Lower Rhine for a change getting more than the Upper Rhine. Which does not help Kaub gauge in the Middle Rhine valley. It will be interesting to see how the afternoon develops. Kaub gauge at 68cm. Forecast for tomorrow shows figures in the 70s, Saturday a jump to 80cm and above. Firm 90s on Sunday and possibly above? I am skeptical. What is pleasing to see is that the recent rain has turned patches of brown stubble back to half green parks and river embankments. But trees will not go back to full summer foliage in many areas, I fear it is too late in the year for that. Still, I think our trees in the streets around here are saved and that is a good thought. notamermaid

Quick update: Pfelling gauge at 259cm. Rain over much of Bavaria on the radar, sweeping East towards the Czech Republic now. notamermaid

So this is her new "passport", her details according to Binnenschifferforum: https://www.binnenschifferforum.de/showthread.php?112293-RIVERSIDE-MOZART-KFGS-04805980&p=446885#post446885 notamermaid

I had never realized that the Dee in Aberdeen refers to the river. So you will be quite a way up in Scotland. Never been that far North. Have a great time. notamermaid

Very much so. The reason is the huge commercial harbour they built in connection with the Main Danube Canal enabling traffic from Rotterdam to the Black Sea. River cruising is only a by-product on the Canal really. The Canal is a big by-pass of the actual city centre there. The river in Nuremberg is the Pegnitz which is not navigable and can only be used by non-motorized vessels. To be brutally honest, on most rivers and canals that you sail in Europe river cruising is only a "by-product". In modern times many canals have lost their commercial importance and have barge cruising and stuff but that is a different matter. The harbour master is the controlling element for docking but to be honest Viking is the big player with (too) many ships and have their own landing stages. On the Google map it specifically says that it is a Viking dock, so I have at least the suspicion that Viking may be having too many ships in Passau right now to use only their prime spots in Passau. Reason for me thinking is that on the Rhine at Koblenz it has become apparent that Viking has so many ships now that double docking at their own location at Deutsches Eck is not enough anymore. They more often than not dock double. So several times now I have seen them use a new area in Ehrenbreitstein meaning they have three river cruise ships in town at the same time on some days. Generally, Passau suffers from overcrowding with river cruise ships, well at least in 2019 that was a big topic which was quite inevitably going to return at some point, and I think in this exceptional situation it shows. In short, in this particular instance I am not sure that the harbour master was the sole decision maker, wish I could ask him/her. notamermaid

Sorry about that. What a disappointment. We have talked about the unattractive harbour area on this thread before. Is it this one? This is the dock in the winter harbour at Racklau (suburb of Passau). notamermaid

Remember I put this on the back burner? I had given you an answer but wanted to provide more details. I was looking at the report's section for river cruising so checked if they provide a graph or pie chart on cargo, so among other stuff this is what I found: Taken from https://inland-navigation-market.org/chapitre/2-freight-transport-on-inland-waterways/?lang=en I had forgotten how much sand and gravel is transported, raw materials for concrete, etc. In 2018, building sites actually ran into problems as the reduced transport lead to supply chain problems. notamermaid

Good news! Pfelling gauge at 260cm. I think you will hear the gravel under the hull... Fewer people (tiny, tiny bit) and perhaps less water in the tanks (more than a tiny bit),which I reckon they have done, should help you along. You could ask the crew if they have reduced the water in the tanks but first deep breath and no disturbing the captain. notamermaid

It has rained and not little, in many parts of the valley! With high hopes I looked at the river levels this morning. So where are we? A fast and nice reaction at Maxau gauge. Not that much but we are grateful for every centimetre more that does not disappear within an hour in the graph: The geography again: Maxau is near Karlsruhe in the Upper Rhine valley and past the last lock, that means free flowing. It is still very warm in the valley and we need more drizzle and cloudy days to stop the river from falling to the low levels we saw at Maxau in the two previous days and in August. More rain and a slight further rise at Maxau is anticipated for tomorrow and Friday. Now to Kaub gauge: 69cm. That is a drop from yesterday and understandable but a reaction to rain may be in the graph reflected as the level was even lower this morning. It is not clear if we will see centimetres added during the afternoon and evening or if this may be all the improvement we will be seeing today. Perhaps a few more centimetres tomorrow? The forecast does not think so and puts the improvement into Friday. But it does more look like a pittance than a pound, i.e. we need 40cm rather than 4cm to get us to really decent river levels that get us through autumn and get the landscape to look like it should in September in my opinion. Figure for Friday 68cm after a tiny loss tomorrow. Let us hope the forecast is wrong and we will at least see 70cm. Saturday may well look a little better but I am still skeptical about the 78cm that is suggested for that evening. notamermaid

Thank you for taking the time to post from your cruise. More vineyards, more castles on the Main! Okay, definitely not in that density. Spotted at Rüdesheim, the MS Treasures is docked and the Vista Sky is just arriving: notamermaid

Thank you for joining us here on the river boards before your cruise and taking the time to post during your river trip. Have a safe journey home. I hope you enjoyed your time on the Moselle and Rhine with Amawaterways. notamermaid

You are right, not looking too good. Thanks for the photos. That is a lot of concrete exposed. Pfelling gauge update: 258cm. Scattered rain over Bavaria this morning, just leaving Germany towards the Czech Republic now. Does not look too promising for new clouds forming during the afternoon. Not sure how much rain came down overnight. notamermaid

@pontac Thank you for the very detailed long review. Lots of reading for me to do! Just a few things I have picked up so far and the photos of castles and wine cellars have really increased my wish to see this corner of France. notamermaid

Good to read from you again. Hope you are keeping well and and the Dessau area is a bit greener than the Rhine valley. notamermaid

I like that. And yes, much sailing is during the evening and at night, so with reduced daylight, fabulous autumn sunsets can be had, but there is also less landscape to look at. During the day, depending on water level and docking location, the cabin view can be - concrete. But October often brings lovely days that can be enjoyed on the sundeck. I can only repeat what others have said: ramps, steep slopes, stairs to get over rafting ships. Docking not always in prime location. In short, I recommend talking to the cruise line before you leave and taking the walker. Have a great time on the Danube. notamermaid

Thanks for the info, have just read the press release coming through this German website: https://anbord.de/luxus-auf-der-donau-das-neue-flusskreuzfahrtschiff-riverside-mozart/ notamermaid

I can sort of relate. I have been to the British Museum in London six times now I think and I still need lots to take in at my next visit whenever that may be. Three hours sound sufficient to fill a brain with images. Does the museum have a kind of "principal things to see on a short visit" guide? I found this quite useful at the British Museum. notamermaid

Interesting. Certainly an unusual time. We are on UTC+2 now in Germany, you are right. What exactly was going on only the people on board and the harbour master would be able to tell you but I think it is a good scenario that you have suggested, dropping people off in Düsseldorf for Cologne. Coach rides from Zons into Cologne to safe time (make up time that was lost due to slow sailing) or Speyer/Mannheim/Ludwigshafen scenarios for the Heidelberg excursion as a routine on itineraries are seen. notamermaid

Update for Pfelling gauge: 262cm. Mild rain along the Alps this morning, drizzle forecast for today and tomorrow. Substantial amounts of rain forecast for Bavaria for Thursday. Temperatures very warm again today, set to rise to 25 and 27 in towns, the Rhine and West of Germany are likely to be even a bit warmer than the Danube valley. notamermaid

On balance I would go with "aquarium class" although swans sounds more graceful. Sounds as if for many people seeing the full birds is not possible as the windows are too high. For a proper aquarium feel you would need to have larger windows of course but safety makes it impossible. Not sure that I would want to be able to see what goes on in the murky waters of the Rhine, I mean it is not the clean "Sea Life Centre" experience. Talking of seeing into the water, you can watch the migrating fish (when they come, not guaranteed) in the fish pass centre at Koblenz on the Moselle: https://www.mosellum.de/en/index.html I have never been but it looks to be interesting, at least for a different perspective of the river. Update on Kaub gauge: 75cm. As I expected, a bit better than the forecast had suggested for today. New forecast for today: stable, the tiny wave passing through, lower figures for tomorrow, probably 70cm and a little below that. As a reaction to the rain forecast for tomorrow, the probability chart puts the figures above 78cm as the most likely scenario for Sunday with the outlook for Monday and Tuesday certainly being promising for a further rise, 90cm is a real possibility. But first, we need to see if the rain does come down in the right places and take it from there. notamermaid

No I am afraid I do not. To be precise I need to say that the Main Danube Canal is officially up to just after Kelheim, not Regensburg. I have always assumed that the locks further downstream, i.e on the Danube up to and including Straubing would keep the level sufficiently high near and in Regensburg. The really shallow stretch is only considered to be between Straubing and Vilshofen where the Danube flows freely. I may be mistaken with the locks. Or Viking has logistical reasons for doing this, you may certainly be right there. notamermaid

Thanks for that info. I remember now reading this in the 2018 drought. As the two cities are quite close to each other generally speaking for itineraries this should not be too much of a problem, but logistics may be a bit awkward. Hope everything went smoothly for you. Kaub gauge update: 70cm. Forecast ignores the little wave at Maxau yesterday, put shows stable figures between 71cm and 68 cm. Sounds as if at least the level will not fall further. I am not fully convinced about that modelling today. We will need to see how it develops. And also: I have not looked at details but rain with thunderstorms are forecast for Wednesday in Germany. That could be isolated showers or a bit more widespread rain but it again sounds like a short affair. Swapping a ship in the rain is a weird thought, isn't it? But unfortunately, this can happen if the rain comes when the water is very low. It could of course mean the ships two days later do not need to swap anymore. Have a great cruise. notamermaid

Ah, yes. That is the town called Bogen and near it is the Pfelling gauge station (orange marker, as Pfelling is officially low). Thank you for the info and have a good transition to the Rolf. Update on Pfelling gauge: stable at the low level of 256cm. notamermaid