notamermaid

While the Moselle is doing okay and the Saar is down to almost normal, the clearing up is still happening along the Saar river and some roads are still closed. The Saar river is navigable at this level but due to the debris the authorities have unexpectedly decided to keep the river traffic ban in place until Friday. A sonar ship is evaluating the navigation channel: https://www.sr.de/sr/home/nachrichten/panorama/saar_weiter_fuer_schiffsverkehr_gesperrt_100.html notamermaid

Maxau gauge is back on flood mark I, as expected and likely to reach the flood vigilance status late tomorrow. Basel as I mentioned on Sunday is expecting a high volume of water and the forecast appears to have worsened a bit, i.e. there may be more water coming down the Rhine than had been thought. This will happen in the second half of Thursday. Likewise, the modelling for Maxau shows that rise on Friday. As the modelling can change significantly within a few hours I will leave it at that and report back tomorrow. I am not an alarmist but I do admit that I do not like the graph and reports. Newspapers like dramatic headlines but I kind of share that nervous sentiment at this point at least. notamermaid

On the gravestone we see a globe, a bridge, a river and mathematical symbols in a book. Maths and water is engineering and hydrology in this case, but what is that scroll with what looks like ribbons on it? It shows the Rhine and its meanders, but with the straight line dominating, meaning running above and cutting through the other ribbons. The gravestone is that of Johann Gottfried Tulla who straightened the Upper Rhine and as they say "tamed" it. The Upper Rhine valley had been an ever changing river with no one bed as we know it today, but a series of channels that changed in flooding and drought as well as wide meanders. In 1809 Tulla presented his plan to straighten the Rhine after having worked on the regulation of the Swiss river Linth. Here is the Wikipedia page in German with the photo I have cropped in the previous post: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johann_Gottfried_Tulla The English page is a little short: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johann_Gottfried_Tulla Shipping as we know it today was not possible in the far Upper Rhine valley until fairly late and modern barges only reached Basel in 1904 - it was a successful trial run. This is how the Swiss reported on 100 years of modern shipping in 2004: https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/banking-fintech/basel-s-shipping-industry-turns-100/68136 notamermaid

Ever wondered what the Rhine looked like at the time the Romantic movement brought the first proper tourists to the area? Okay, I should start from scratch. "Tourists" in that term have been around only since the 1770s and the Romantics flocked to the Middle Rhine valley - or lived there - from about 1790 and well into the 19th century, depending on whether you look at literature, paintings or music. I suppose one could argue that the heirs of that sentiment are still coming to the area... Well, with the hills and the castles that are still there (albeit a bit rebuilt and modernized for modern man who likes trains and roads) we can leave that area aside and have a look at the Lower Rhine valley - which I will skip as it has become industrial partly and has a more or less straight historic development - and the Upper Rhine valley. That is a part of the Rhine valley which may be almost unrecognizable to the early travellers of 1770. We will have a look at that in more detail. The years 1815 to 1850 have brought many changes to the Rhine valley geographically, economically and politically with the industrial revolution playing a huge part. But for the Upper Rhine valley one man can be said to have caused a revolution, not politically but for the Rhine river, a major slow but brutal change. I start at the end. Should you ever happen to walk past this gravestone in Paris you will after the next post know what the engravings are about (courtesy of a photographer, I will link to the page in the next post): notamermaid

And just to complete the picture, the Saar is down from a ridiculously high level to a more normal level: notamermaid

Just a brief mention - the river has much improved and looks to have quite a bit of room now for rain that may be coming next week. The gauges in France (Grand Est) are all on green so looking good there as well. This is the graph at Metz, much improved since that huge wave a good week ago: notamermaid

From what I can tell river cruises are running smoothly. Lots of ships about on the river and signalling on the tracker websites in all the standard ports. Again, details I cannot know but the river levels are okay as far as the authorities' regulations are concerned. I should mention that the river is divided into several sections which have their own specific levels at which the authorities issue a river traffic ban. M_II is that line on a graph, for the Rhine gauges. At Kaub this is clearly marked on the wall: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pegel_Kaub#/media/Datei:PegelKaubRhein.JPG When that level is reached the ban is in the Rhine Gorge but not at Andernach for example. That is already another section with a different gauge as marker. notamermaid

Hmm, improve from now, no I would not say so. The river is let us say undulating at a high level in the Upper Rhine valley. Just plain high without causing trouble - unless some one reports on changing ports or a problem at Basel for example. Those are details I can never know. The river is running comparatively high for May but it is not a big deal as such from what I can tell here. The Middle Rhine valley is high but fine. It is going to be cloudy with some rain during the week, hence the undulating graph(s) of the river level. The Moselle has much improved meaning we can expect continued high but favourable levels beyond the mouth of the Moselle with the Rhine at Koblenz. These two graphs together may help to illustrate what I mean. First, Maxau is staying high: Second, Andernach not far beyond Koblenz is not seeing that: It is difficult to say how much influence the Main and Moselle have day on day but it always eases the situation when the two large tributaries are at relatively normal levels. Before those two there is the Neckar river which can of course also flood. It reaches the Rhine at Mannheim which is downstream from Maxau gauge. That river is still running a little high but has gone down alright since last week. I think "vigilance" is indeed the right word for the Upper Rhine valley now. Basel is doing okay but forecast to rise. That gauge is a bit more difficult to interpret so I cannot put it into perspective, I just read that the authorities expect a higher volume of water in that stretch over the next week, i.e. the area will see rain in varying amounts. notamermaid

A bit more on the docking at Koblenz on the Moselle. There is another area where river cruise ships can anchor, it is at Rauental. From what I recall seeing this is not exactly what I regard as a prime location or even just an attractive area of the city. But it has been a long time since I was in the vicinity. On marinetraffic.com it looks like this: The MS Elegant Lady is there tonight. On the right in the photo you can see the lock and dam. I have seen river cruise ships dock there on occasion in the past, but I have no idea why they do not dock close to the standard area at Balduinbrücke. On the left bank of the Moselle is the marina, quite a nice spot, with a small restaurant and hotel. On the right is the home of the Koblenzer Ruderclub Rhenania, i.e. close to where the MS Elegant Lady is docked. I think I should consider this spot for a cup of coffee next time I am in the vicinity... notamermaid

A bit of speculation around the hull BN 213, intriguing. It has arrived in Werkendam in the Netherlands apparently, for outfitting. That is where the Concordia Damen shipyard is. The info I found on the website says that this will be a hybrid propulsion ship and 135m long, with especially low draft. The shipyard built the Arosa Sena with her innovative propulsion. The Arosa Sena is the largest river cruise ship on the Rhine. notamermaid

Here she is: https://www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais/details/ships/shipid:330328/mmsi:269057333/imo:0/vessel:KATHARINA_VON_BORA As I write she is in Hennigsdorf/Heiligensee whereabouts. That looks to be the Eastern itinerary away from Berlin. Here destination is given as Barth in the Bodden landscape near Stralsund. Never knew that you could sail around there. Not sure that the Katharina von Bora will sail right to that port inland, but there are excursion boats around there. I found this beauty which looks a little out of place in Germany, somewhat American, the River Star, sailing from Zingst to Zingst today: https://reederei-poschke.de/schiffe/river-star She was built in Poland(!) in 2003. I love that paddle wheel. @RDVIK2016 thank you for the photos. The Spree in Berlin does have a lot of excursion boat traffic and its waters reach the Elbe via the Havel of course. I am not sure that the Spree has the ability to take river cruise ships for much of its course but a lot of its water splashes around the ships that dock at Spandau when in Berlin. That is close to the mouth of the Spree with the Havel. Incidentally, both the Frederic Chopin and the Johannes Brahms are in greater Berlin right now and sailing as I write. notamermaid

The Bavarian Forest is a beautiful region with some high mountains. I went to Cham many years ago. It is a pity that it is not visited really from river cruise ships. I guess people do travel via that road on the way to Prague occasionally, not sure. It is not spectacular but a really nice contrast to the valley. It is just under an hour away from Regensburg. notamermaid

As expected, Maxau gauge has gone to flood vigilance but it is not a big deal. It is already past the peak.Next week will see continued high levels with the gauge going in and out of the threshold for flood vigilance. Kaub gauge will stay high but most likely do not go over 400cm. All good. Interesting sight today on the Rhine - I have read. I did not see it myself. Another hull transport of a river cruise ship is happening. You may be able to spot the double barge Johanna pulling the BN 213 hull alongside between Düsseldorf and Duisburg tonight. I do not know which river cruise ship the hull will become. notamermaid

Interesting sightseeing boats and water sports about. On the Rhine we have the typical excursion boats. Talking of boats and ships. On Lake Constance you still get the great old steam ships and one that was deliberately sunk a group of enthusiasts is trying to raise from the lake bed. That body of water is DEEP... The ship is called the "Säntis". Basically, the Lake is one giant dumping ground/graveyard for ships and boats of many shapes and sizes. https://www.iamexpat.ch/lifestyle/lifestyle-news/130-year-old-swiss-steamship-be-raised-bottom-lake-constance notamermaid

Exciting! Have a great time on the river. This is a bridge which should not cause any water level problems, it is at Esztergom. I think not many river cruises with the North-American lines stop at Esztergom. My German cruise stopped there and I remember it well, an enjoyable morning: notamermaid

Quick update on the river in Germany. Pfelling gauge is fairly high, but the river can take it. Passau gauge is forecast to stay below 600cm today and tomorrow. notamermaid

There is a weather warning in place for much of the Upper Rhine valley and the hills to the East, like the Breisgau and the Swabian Alb. As I write, it is not raining in Basel. Here is the webcam showing one of the bridges: https://www.feratel.com/webcams/schweiz/basel.html Current temperature is 15.8 Celsius. A bit cool for a May afternoon. It is only just a little warmer where I am, around 18 Celsius. In the webcam of Bingen I think I can see the new "The Gentleman" docked at Rüdesheim on 21 May. Hmm, I still like the design. notamermaid

The weather continues to be rainy, more scattered strong showers are sweeping over the Vosges mountains and Germany, so that the river will stay fairly high. Maxau gauge forecast suggests a return to official flood vigilance later today. This means on the other hand, the plus side, that Kaub gauge will stay high, that is over 300cm, into the first week of June most likely. So the river is far away from creating low water issues. As regards the buoy at Rüdesheim. You can see the missing green one at about the Boosenburg on this webcam: https://heimatzeithotels.panomax.com/ In the archive on Tuesday, 21.05. at 14:00 the buoy is still there, at 14:10 it is gone. notamermaid

Flooding is a challenge and when river cruising is not suspended, navigation as such is still okay, there is the problem with the headroom under bridges. On the Moselle there are a few bridges as candidates for problems. In Cochem we have seen that one bridge is fairly high but the challenge are its arche in the strong current. At Koblenz there is a bigger issue. Here is an article with photo of ship and arch: https://www.blick-aktuell.de/Berichte/Hochwasser-Treibgut-stellt-Schifffahrt-vor-Herausforderungen-591588.html Admittedly, the ship does not need to sail that arch, as it is the docking area. That bridge has been altered so that ships can pass under it. The article talks of the challenge of debris coming down the river and getting caught in the anchor chains and potentially damaging the hull. The solution was docking on the Rhine instead. I commented on that river being busier than usual at Koblenz and that is at least part of the explanation. In this photo (text says that the flooding has reached Koblenz) we see the ship from a different angle and, my, is the Moselle dirty and fast! https://www.blick-aktuell.de/Berichte/Mosel-Hochwasser-erreicht-Koblenz-591586.html Ships that were due to sail the Moselle obviously had to wait at Koblenz or re-route while the river was impassable. Let us have a look at the flooding and the situation at the bridges in this video: The camera travels from the Staustufe (lock and dam) downstream towards the mouth. First comes the Europabrücke, a modern road bridge - no problem. But at the bridge is the approach to the embankment called Peter-Altmeier-Ufer. That is where the river cruise ships dock further on. That road stretch is flooded. At 1:40 you can see all three bridges. The second is the railway bridge where on the left the arches are a challenge for the ships. It is the approach to the lock. The third bridge is the Balduinbrücke. You recognize the photo shot through the arches onto the Arosa river cruise ship I posted with the article. On the left the Balduinbrücke had its arches removed. I find it fascinating how the drone has captured so well the difference in colour of the two rivers. They almost always differ in colour but with the Moselle flooding the difference is more dramatic. And if you wanted to go on an excursion from Koblenz to Winningen for a wine tasting that would have proved a challenge. The roads where flooded. notamermaid

Thank you, you beat me to it. Much of the water is as you say coming from Bohemia; I read that the Berounka river is high (Bohemian Forest) so that water will be in Prague soon and feed the Vltava and Elbe nicely. I belatedly read on schiffe-und-kreuzfahrten.de that the cruise on the Elbe of the Katharina von Bora (nicko cruises) from 20th to 27th April was cancelled due to low water. The ship is considerably smaller than the two Viking ships but apparently is stated as having the bigger draft. notamermaid

Best to check the opening times of markets as 24 November can be a bit early, especially in traditional regions where Sunday of the Dead is observed as a quiet religious day. notamermaid

This looks like the best solution for you two. Just two more things to be aware of. Christmas markets can be very crowded. Advent is cold with sometimes icy conditions which make walking on European pavements in historic cities a challenge. One tip: large hotels may be able to assist you with finding out about scooters, I have read of cities being able to help you with that sort of thing at tourist information centres. Some cities also have small tourist road trains to take you around. I hope you find a great area to stay in and have a magical time at the markets. notamermaid

The website did not work yesterday, now it is back. Hey, presto, the Heidelberg is no longer listed. In the Danube thread we have had more conversation - the MS Heidelberg appears to have been sold to the Chinese. A comprehensive report from Hungary: https://hungarytoday.hu/fatal-collision-between-speedboat-and-hotel-boat-on-the-danube/ German news says that another body has been recovered. notamermaid

Thank you, that is an area into which I did not look, geographically. The timeline is correct, the ship was deleted from the Swiss register in March and this gentleman who had worked on repairs posted farewell photos on facebook on 28 March: https://www.hugo-dircks.de/home.html The MS Heidelberg was sold to the Chinese, he says. notamermaid

The river levels have fallen really well, Trier gauge is at 496cm. The Saar river is right down to good levels, that is below flood vigilance, albeit still above the mean. This was the scenario on the Saar at Fremersdorf: Good to see the ships sailing on the Moselle River, quite busy on the ship tracker websites today. notamermaid