notamermaid

Can I hear the worry in your voice for your scheduled river cruise in June? Probably needless to say that I think it may be justified. What are the arrangements for you to get to Oberammergau after your cruise as per what you booked with Scenic? I wonder how they would uncouple the Oberammergau stay and the tickets from a river cruise if a river cruise wasn't happening or merged with another one? I can imagine cruisers being rather unhappy about not seeing the Passion play if they cannot secure tickets privately at short notice, would they be able to use their tickets from the Scenic contingent? There would likely be some customer who would decide to come to Germany without the cruise and go to Oberammergau independently. notamermaid

Track 1 is for the regional arrivals, tracks 2 and 3 for the long-distance trains. So the ICE should come in on track 3. From track 1 to 9 it is a bit of a distance when handling luggage so for the connection I would always make sure there is a buffer of eight minutes just to give me peace of mind. Ten minutes sounds okay. notamermaid

No need to be sorry. With a bit more time I would try and find our discussions but I am not sure if we actually talked about the trains in detail. Good of you to mention the West, or as we call it, the left bank of the Rhine. Trains can travel on both sides of the Rhine Gorge but the left bank is the more prominent one as regards traffic, meaning from Mainz the only one that takes the IC/EC/ICE trains, with few exceptions, so you should be on the left bank (Mainz itself is on the left bank anyway). Both the left and right bank have slow trains, the RE (several stops) and RB (tons of stops). On the right bank is the VIAS line which is quite slow but I think it does not stop at the airport. Both sides are scenic, but for photos of the Lorelei you need to take the left bank. Booking in advance can make fast trains very reasonable. The Moselle line is not a very main line so has no high speed or very fast service. Deutsche Bahn has been criticized for not having fast connections along the Moselle anymore... There is only one track on the Moselle, you are right, no difference between trains. On the Rhine, if the train stops in Rüdesheim, Kaub, Braubach or Lahnstein you are on the right bank. If it stops in Bingen, Bacharach or Boppard you are on the left bank. Both sides are nice of course. I would say because of the Loreley and Marksburg castle, being on the left bank is more attractive. On the ICE you should be a little faster as regards overall speed. The regional trains will obviously need longer due to them stopping at stations. Would a slow train be more scenic? Not sure if there is that much in it, but for taking photos of castles, yes, it is probably better to be on a RE but a RB can be a bit tedious. The ICE is probably a bit more spacious with luggage but I tend to find the regional trains comfortable enough. They are all modern carriages. Just one note on booking. Changing trains can mean just four minutes at Koblenz train station, I would check that. There is a setting on the DB booking website where you can give yourself more time for connecting. Koblenz is not big, four minutes is probably enough when the train is on time, but you do need to change platforms normally. Down and up escalators... See how you feel about that. notamermaid

With the Aegir still in the shipyard, it is obvious that her next cruise from Amsterdam will be done by a different vessel. According to this website, the passengers were to be bussed to Vienna and another ship would come (not clear from where that would be and when) on which they would continue to Amsterdam. Not all ships by Viking were already out of the harbour at Cologne Niehl last week so I can imagine one being sent towards the Danube. Kind of would be interesting to find out how it was handled in the end. Interestingly and oddly, a passenger is reported as having said "we do not know what happened to the captain". "A sudden medical problem" can mean a lot so I hope the man is okay. Nighttime sailing is obviously more dangerous than daytime sailing. I dare say "it could have been worse" as the ship was going upstream so usually more slowly than downstream. However, I do not know what adjustments in speed are made for nighttime sailing. The crash was bad enough, it was no scraping of a pillar, but a "head-on collision" with concrete. Said article with a photo of the pillar and its crash markings: https://www.cas.sk/fotogaleria/2649403/kapitan-vyletnej-lode-na-dunaji-skolaboval-strasne-co-nasledovalo-panika-a-strach-o-zivot/6/ Elsewhere, I saw a photo of a steel door having been dented. Definitely a major job for the shipyard with what appears to be some structural damage to the front of the hull. Wonder how long something like that takes? I hope all people are well now and have the confidence and trust to sail on a river cruise ship again. notamermaid

Café Sander had very nice cake and apart from fruit cake we got the apple cake again. Four out of five stars this time as the base was a little bit too soft. But the apples had a very good taste to them again. We went back to the car straight away again as we wanted to go a little further upstream and had planned another quick stop. Fortunately there are bridges close by so we could hop across the river. The road gives you that lovely view (you can do better than me when you are not sitting as a passenger in a car doing 80km an hour) of Thurant castle above Alken: But there is also this construction on a hill near Niederfell - we looked at the village from the other embankment now of course - which looked quite inviting for a magnificent view over the valley: It is called the "Möch-Felix-Hütte", named after a monk: https://www.niederfell.de/tourismus/moench-felix-huette/ We headed downstream towards Winningen and its aerodrome for mainly small pleasure aircraft. This way: Actually, this is not a road sign, it is for river traffic, hence the fact that you cannot read it from the road. And yes there is a very high motorway bridge over the river in this photo. It carries the Autobahn 61. It even has a short English Wikipedia entry: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moselle_Viaduct Switch to the German for more photos. Winningen is an attractive small place surrounded by vineyards. We have talked about the village briefly before. This time we wanted to go up to the aerodrome to which I had not been in many years. It has a Greek restaurant by the way, if you fancy staying longer than to admire the few planes and the view from the hill over the village: If you fancy, you can walk up to there from the village, through the vineyards and then on a tiny stony path where you see the banister interrupted in this photo. Looked dizzying to me. There is a hut which you can book for small parties, note the direction signs for the serious hikers: This is the name of the hill: Winningen stands at 79m, so quite a nice steep climb. It was time to head back and coming out of the car park at the aerodrome I noticed the service car on the runaway to the right. "Interesting" I thought and then I turned left in time to see a plane approaching and in the next second flying in quite close over our heads! We recovered from the unexpected and scary sight quickly and drove home, hoping we will be back along the Moselle soon, with perhaps the time to explore another small town further upstream with a hill to - drive up to. notamermaid

While life has returned to almost normal for me and more and more people behave as if everything is normal, apart from mask-wearing which is going down in count, i.e. I count fewer and fewer people wearing masks indoors, there are still restrictions when entering the country. When you have tested positive there are rules and the health sector and social services have enforced regulations. There is mask-wearing on public transport. You will need to check whether it is just surgical masks or the N95. This varies. Here is an article on entry into the country: https://www.iamexpat.de/expat-info/german-expat-news/3g-travel-entry-rule-extended-until-end-may-germany And isolation: https://www.iamexpat.de/expat-info/german-expat-news/germany-shortens-covid-isolation-5-days-what-you-need-know And here is the sherpa website: https://apply.joinsherpa.com/map?affiliateId=sherpa&language=en-US which is good if you arrive by plane. But do check with government websites to make sure the info is up to date. I do not know how things will progress going into summer and autumn, especially with booster and fourth jab (which we call "Impf-Abo" by the way, a let us say not quite so positive word, meaning subscription to vaccine jabs) and what the people in Berlin may come up with (and the people in Brussels) as regards ideas what expires when. I tend to ignore the doom and gloom, but it is not so easy to get away from, I am still sent feeds on my smartphone with the latest covid-19 figures, long covid discussions and so on. I will look out for news that may be relevant for tourism (workplace sends me relevant e-mails including the regulations from the state government in Mainz) but for now I am enjoying spring, dealing with tourists on a larger scale again (hooray!) and eating German strawberries (found a very good local source). notamermaid

While I am here - original idea for post to follow - a quick info on water levels. Kaub gauge has fallen to 157cm. The effect of the recent rain has gone and it is a dry, warm week. But a few clouds and showers are forecast for Friday into Saturday. I had the idea to post about something out of the ordinary, something you may encounter in Mainz from 20 to 22 May. There is an annual festival called "Rheinland-Pfalz-Tag", a weekend to showcase what my state offers, anything from the fire brigade and social services to commerce and tourism. It is about celebrating and connecting and generally having a great time. It is hosted every year by a different (large) town and this year it is Mainz' turn. And it is big! If you happen to be there on that weekend be prepared, it will be full. But it is also a great opportunity to see beyond tourist sites, even get into places that are normally not that much open to the public, like the Landtag (state parliament). 2022 is a fitting year for the capital Mainz to host the festival as we also celebrate the 75th anniversary of the founding of the state. On Sunday there is a big parade. There is only a website in German but you can download a map to see where everything is: https://rlp-tag.de/de/programm-20-22-mai-2022/ A few images from the press release including scenes of years past: https://www.swr.de/swraktuell/rheinland-pfalz/rlp-tag-104.html Honestly, if you do not mind crowds and have the choice between Mainz and Heidelberg on that day of your itinerary for example, I recommend Mainz. But I am biased, have never been to Heidelberg, so take that into account. You may prefer the castle, bridge and old town of the city on the Neckar. notamermaid

Thank you, I am sure your guide will be very good. But I would enjoy taking some cruisers to some hidden places away from the standard towns. To be honest, I have not been to Mainz city centre for quite a few years. I am busy at work but hopefully I can get to the festival next weekend. Excited? Hmm, not sure. It can be great, seeing that you will see the whole width and breadth, for want of a better expression, of what my state is about. notamermaid

I come from another geographical side and order lamb when I can, as it is not a standard offering on normal menus in Germany, apart from at Easter it being a favoured meat, and quite expensive here, too. I get it from Greek restaurants occasionally or cook it myself. Wish I had some money in the kitty to go on a river cruise. Anyway. Thank you pontac for all the info. Great for all prospective cruisers and I enjoy it, too. notamermaid

So, the Pearl is still on the Danube, I reckon going to be in Nuremberg for the day tomorrow. I would like to know also what the arrangement for tomorrow's cruisers from the Moselle are @loriva. Right now, I cannot see a ship docked in Cochem (apart from the standard excursion boats). The link is: https://www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais/details/ports/25373?name=COCHEM&country=Germany And there is no Scenic or Emerald ship in the harbour list for today, tomorrow or Thursday. notamermaid

Will you be in Mainz on 20, 21 or 22 May? Then you will find it very busy. The almost once in a lifetime chance to see the "we celebrate the Land" in the capital Mainz. I will write about it in the Rhine thread. notamermaid

Schwäbische Maultaschen! Donauwelle! Heisse Liebe! Lovely German stuff. Well done, Viking! Wouldn't mind having that lamb either. notamermaid

There has been an accident with a Viking river cruise ship on the Danube at Komarno. Sadly, Bratislava police reports 11 injured people. German news reports excursion boat, but Slovak news confirms it is a Viking ship. Apparently, the ship hit a railway bridge. For those wishing to translate: https://domov.sme.sk/c/22903338/komarno-nehoda-vyletna-lod-dunaj.html All the best to the injured, I hope recovery is fast and complete. Bit of a shock this... Only a few days ago, the Excellence Coral had her wheelhouse badly damaged - a bridge... Luckily no one was hurt. notamermaid

This small country in Europe borders on the Netherlands, Germany, Luxembourg and France, but also has a coastline along the North Sea. Despite the country bordering on the popular river cruising countries there is the somewhat curious fact about Belgium that none of the large and at the same time popular river cruising rivers flow through it. Yet the country is sometimes visited on river cruises that focus on this part of Europe. The Meuse is the longest river that flows through Belgium but of the over 900kms only 183kms are actually in Belgium. And the Meuse is sailed by river cruise ships but nowhere nearly as much as the other rivers we so often talk about. So we need to have a different approach here I think and say: tell us about Belgium! The country, the towns, the excursions from the Netherlands, the waterways that crisscross Belgium and are used by river cruise ships. To start us off with the waterways here is the European map, which you need to enlarge quite a bit to see the waterways of Belgium: https://unece.org/DAM/trans/main/sc3/AGN_map_2018.pdf notamermaid

Viking river cruises and others: https://travelweekly.co.uk/news/tourism/viking-cruises-cancels-2022-kiev-and-black-sea-sailings notamermaid

Here is the thread on the Main river. It runs entirely through Germany from East to West and joins the Rhine opposite the old town of Mainz. The river is navigable for a length of 388km from Bamberg to the mouth as a federal waterway, a few more kilometres can be sailed by small boats. At Bamberg (harbour) barges and river cruise ships divert into the Main Danube Canal leading to the Danube. To continue with more info here is the wikipedia page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_(river) Like the Moselle, the Main is a river that is rarely sailed by river cruise ships on its own, but is combined in an itinerary with another river or canal, a standard shorter route is for example from Frankfurt to Nuremberg, which is already on the Main Danube Canal. So much from me as a start. Over to you. Tell us about your experience. Further travel tips and info always welcome. notamermaid

Cruisecritic.co.uk ran this story on 11 April: https://www.cruisecritic.co.uk/news/3982/ TUI, apart from being a European well-known package tour operator, rang a bell with me as regards river cruising. There was something, in German, let me think... I have found it, TUI Sonata! Digging a bit deeper in my brain and consequently the internet, I re-found this article about the end of river cruising for TUI: https://www.schiffe-und-kreuzfahrten.de/sonstige-reederei/kein-tui-flussgenuss-mehr-aus-fuer-flusskreuzfahrtschiffe-ende-oktober/52455/ The TUI Sonata was one of four ships of TUI Flussgenuss that was an enterprise serving the German river cruising market. Sailings only started in 2011, it ceased operations at the end of the 2014 season. As a company not being a complete newcomer to river cruising as such, this article from the German correspondent with Seatradecruisenews, reads a little differently: http://www.seatrade-*****/news/news-headlines/tui-returns-to-the-rivers-with-three-vessels-for-the-uk-market.html And this is how travelweekly ran the news: https://www.travelweekly.com/River-Cruising/TUI-launching-river-cruises-in-2020 TUI UK will operate these three ships solely for the UK market. The vessels have not been confirmed yet, it will be interesting to learn which ones they have chosen. The WT Sonata mentioned in the article, when it started sailing for TUI, was a new-built, a so-called twincruiser, a design that is a kind of pushboat in that the driving vessel is separate from the passenger vessel, both parts together have a standard length of 135m, the longest allowed on the rivers she operates on. notamermaid

The ITB (Internationale Tourismusbörse Berlin) is behind us and one of the topics that has left me contemplating is "overtourism". Even if you are new to the subject the idea is easy to grasp: there are places in the world that are so heavily visited by tourists that the negative side effects are straining the place and the people who live there. On the "negative bucket list" this year is - among others like Venice with 22 million visitors a year :eek: - also a popular river cruise destination: Amsterdam! Those are the places people should not go to this year to give them a rest. Here is an introduction to the topic: http://www.dw.com/en/overtourism-where-will-it-take-us/a-42863355 And this is the situation in Amsterdam: http://www.dw.com/en/overtourism-swamps-amsterdam/a-41746155 Now, river cruising is still a niche product which becomes apparent in the fact that the ITB had no separate section for it but listed the articles and events under cruising on its website. Yet with small places like Rüdesheim on the Rhine having a relatively high number of tourists, overtourism is something that could affect us river cruisers more than we like. I do not mean to be a spoilsport but living on a river and working in the industry has made me sensitive to the subject. Your thought and comments are very much welcome. notamermaid

As the UK-based company moved onto the North American market last year I think it is time that past and future cruisers and all those interested in the company as such were given a "venue" to discuss and share info. You may also post as a present cruiser from a ship, of course. :) Just a few basics. Riviera Travel has been around for some years, offers also land trips and is expanding with its river cruise section. Their latest ships have all been given names of famous novelists and poets of the United Kingdom and this is the latest offering for river cruisers. The Robert Burns, soon to be christened: http://www.travelweekly.com/River-Cruising/Omega-World-Travel-CEO-named-godmother-river-cruise-ship notamermaid P.S.: the photo or rendering of the Robert Burns was taken in front of the Lorelei rock on the Rhine

Beyond the standard ports... part 1 I would like to start with a port that some of you have stopped at, some have been to on an excursion and the city is well known: D?sseldorf, the capital of the "Land" of North-Rhine-Westfalia . However, being relatively close to the more alluring Cologne it is not a typical stop for river cruise lines. Comparing it to Cologne one can say that it is younger, somewhat less historically interesting in an all-encompassing sense due to the lack of Roman antiquities, more stylish and vibrant in a fashion sense and with a leaning towards modern art. The harbour area has been refurbished with modern architects having been "let loose" with ideas. ;) D?sseldorf is said to have the "longest bar" in Germany in the old town. The district of Benrath with its baroque palace has an unusal claim to fame: it is a dividing line between German dialects - very important for linguists - called the "Benrather Linie". Here is a short video to give you an idea of what to expect: http://www.dw.com/en/a-checklist-for-d%C3%BCsseldorf/a-36475922 notamermaid

Hello everone, I would like to start this thread on the Moselle, a tributary to the Rhine and a beautiful river to cruise along. Some of you already have, so I would like to invite you all to share your experiences and any tips you might have for future cruisers. I will try to add some facts and trivia and tips of my own. The Moselle has its source in the Vosges mountains in France, forms the border between Luxembourg and Germany and then flows through Germany, meeting the Rhine in Koblenz at the famous Deutsches Eck. In folklore the Rhine is often referred to and depicted as "Father Rhine" and the Moselle as "Mother Moselle". The Moselle is often called "lovely" or "gentle" as opposed to the "wilder and stronger" Rhine. Most cruisers go as far upstream as Trier, for example on the Viking Cities of Light itinerary; there are some companies that turn, i.e. let the passengers disembark, at Remich, a small town further upstream. It is possible to go further into France and barges do so on a regular basis serving the industrial areas of Lorraine, the region in France bordering on Luxembourg and Germany. The Moselle meanders a lot and that explains some of its appeal in my opinion. The towns are not as industrial and large as on the Rhine, making the cruising less spectacular but giving plenty of "small town charm" to travellers' experiences. Trier, of course, is the exception being a large university town and the oldest town in Germany. In the hills overlooking Trier there was a Celtic settlement and the Romans founded the town giving it the name that evolved into present-day Trier. notamermaid

Here is a cruise critic article on the popularity of river cruising among UK travellers: http://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=6885 A recent study published by IG River Cruise shows that in 2015, for the first time, North-American travellers outnumbered German travellers on European river cruises. The German news agency dpa issued an article. But more on that later. notamermaid

I have not found the river Meuse featured yet under the river cruise basics sticky, so, as Avalon will be sailing on the river from this season I have decided to write a little about this river in Western Europe. Hostjazzbeau, might the cruisecritic editors have some time during the season to write a little for all cruisers? The Meuse has a wikipedia site in English. Here goes: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meuse You might be surprised to learn that it is 925 km long, making it a major river in Europe. The Meuse is navigable for small boats, but a section has been altered so that it can be used for industrial river transport. Companies line the river especially around Lüttich, i.e. Liege. Other areas are more picturesque, the town Namur is famous for its scenic setting. The Meuse has - as you can probably imagine - played a major role in the two World Wars. The river played a prominent part in the Third Reich expansion plans. The Ardennes mountain region that the Meuse flows through is most known for its role in the Battle of the Bulge. The Meuse joins the Rhine (Waal) to form the river delta around Rotterdam. It would be interesting to find out how much river cruisers like the new itinerary. notamermaid