notamermaid

Maxau gauge at 731cm. Expected to rise to about 750cm tonight. notamermaid

A rarity these days. Can you recall what places on the Rhine were mentioned? Few sections see proper ice in modern times. notamermaid

Those are important point. If you want to see snow when visiting the Christmas markets, it is best to go to the Upper Rhine valley or the Danube in Bavaria. Our Decembers in the West of Europe in low altitudes are more often than not slightly too warm for the snow that may be falling to settle. There is no guaranteed snow below an altitude of 1000m. Good chance of it over 400m. The Rhine valley tends to be a little bit too warm and the Netherlands are a bit, you know, low. Roz, again thank you for taking us along. I intent to link to your trip in the Christmas markets thread, I hope you do not mind. notamermaid

Too much rain is now making the Elbe rise as well. Dresden gauge is at 301cm. It may well rise over to 500cm on Christmas Eve. That is flooding level 2. notamermaid

Passau gauge at 652cm and forecast to rise to 700cm tomorrow. notamermaid

Thank you. It seems more rain than usual but it is also too warm so we have just had less snow, more rain. Have no statistics ready. Water tables will certainly be better. Our reservoir is Lake Constance and that is quite full. notamermaid

Hauenstein is on official flooding status. Basel has risen a lot today. The rise at Maxau gauge has just started. It is now at 701cm. notamermaid

Unhappy news from Cologne. There has been a fire on the river cruise ship "Rheinprinzessin". Four crew members and one passenger have been taken to hospital as they have inhaled the smoke. The ship has been evacuated and the passengers are staying in hotels. 130 passengers were on the ship and several more walking in town. The ship sails for Phoenix Reisen. https://www1.wdr.de/nachrichten/rheinland/brand-auf-dem-rhein-koeln-100.html notamermaid

Maxau gauge - 750cm and river cruising ban again higher in the probability. A cliffhanger. notamermaid

Storm and rain here, with the river estuaries filling, the water being pushed up the rivers. A dangerous situation. Rivers inland okay but not pleasant weather at all around here. Quick look (I will be busy tomorrow) at the graph reveals that at Maxau gauge the forecast sees the situation as not being as bad as feared. A river cruise ban is still a possibility, just not likely. notamermaid

Ah yes, the imports in the US that have stayed the same. Had forgotten about those. There is of course New Brunswick in Canada but that is an altered word. I know mostly of altered words or new names, like Bethlehem founded by the Moravians from Germany. It is very stormy here now with quite a bit of rain, some small hail mixed in. Glad that I am inside my home and do not have to travel. notamermaid

I work partly in marketing. Viking really does it well, I am quite impressed by the business/marketing. I just do not agree with it. Not my thing/style. There is no doubt that Viking tells the truth, but you can say much and omit so much when you get the words right. Perhaps my favourite of Viking is "prime location". That is correct, they just may not say that in Rüdesheim for example the prime location is further out than other companies' docking locations. Looking at Ehrenbreitstein Fortress in Koblenz is a prime location but you may be rafted on the inside of another Viking ship and not see the Fortress from your cabin window. And the prime location is not the dock 200 metres away? I would say it is. And on the Moselle at the Old Castle and the Balduin Bridge is not a prime location? As regards view and access to the old town I regard it as prime. There are many details that we have discussed here on CC that hopefully will not cause any disappointment with the OP of this current discussion or their friends. Such occurrences can happen with other companies, it is just that I find Viking is not perfect at handling them and while no others are perfect I see the tendency of others being more customer-friendly. notamermaid

Still my favourite fun geography trip I have not got round to doing yet: driving from Boston to New York in a car in 20 minutes. Both are small places in Lincolnshire, England. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York,_Lincolnshire In Germany we do not share many geography names with the Anglophone countries but one I know well (no pun intended with the word). I have been to both Welling in the Eifel region of Rhineland-Palatinate and the Welling in Southeast London. notamermaid

Passau gauge is at 581cm. We will likely see a figure over 600cm by early tomorrow morning. A rise to 700cm is very much possible on the 23rd. Not fun what is happening in the British Isles and we are not looking forward to getting that weather here... The flood warning map as of this lunchtime: notamermaid

There are storm warnings all over Germany. The East and Northeast of Nuremberg will likely see heavy rain. Passau gauge is likely to rise over 600cm again on the 22nd. notamermaid

We have storm warnings all over Germany. Heavy rain in parts. Flooding will return. The newspapers are writing about it. It is not yet clear how much it will be, but Hauenstein will probably rise significantly. Basel may follow. Maxau gauge is expected to rise in due course. It is now at 703cm. It was clear that the level would stay high after the river traffic ban was lifted. The rain over the next three days is not good. notamermaid

The early payment and the, in many cases related to here on cruisecritic, policy of getting a voucher rather than money back (refund) is what makes me never to want to travel with Viking. Added to that, the idea that they will bus me through Europe when there is flooding or low water is a turnoff. A tough decision. I will never need to make it as such early full payment is not an issue in Germany, it just does not happen. It will be a gamble if you go for cancelling. Yes, it may well sell out as the marketing of Viking works perfectly. Brutally speaking, are you willing to go along with the decision of your friends, could you sway them to another line if you wanted to? How important is it for you to gamble for a better deal and then potentially loose the cabin? How important is it for you to go?`Why are they willing to part with money so early, what is their reasoning? I hope another past cruisers who has cancelled and rebooked comments here and that you find the solution that is right for you. notamermaid

We have storm warnings for the whole of Germany, especially around the coasts, heavy rain, and over Christmas flooding may return to the Rhine valley. White Christmas? Naah, wet Christmas. Not fun. Many folks are ill, including some of my team at work, or cranky. I got so annoyed with a woman at a food stall today about her treatment of me and her attitude towards the food she was preparing for me, I complained heavily, yes I can shout when I want to (and nearly did). I am stressed too and not in the best of mood but try to be civil at all times. Not sure why that is but the male species seem to keep their nerve before Christmas better. Seriously. notamermaid

Passau gauge has dropped to 587cm. But the trend is for up... notamermaid

Certainly not low. Levels in the Netherlands are elevated, but on the way down. But this is something I cannot comment on further, not being familiar with the Waal, canals and the bridges situation. The High Rhine and the Upper Rhine valley are still high, so a slight concern is for that region. With the Maxau area having only been accessible since Monday logistics may still not be easy and hopefully all river cruise ships can be ready and in position, or companies have a satisfactory Plan B for passengers. No change to the forecast at Maxau gauge which is not favourable for the 23rd but we need to wait another day to get a clearer picture. notamermaid

It has started raining again and the forecast says that the next few days will be unsettled, mild and stormy. Water levels in the Upper Rhine valley will fall for the next 36 hours but then we will likely already see the effect of the rain - which has little chance in these temperatures to come down much as snow - and the levels rise. At Maxau, seeing that the level is still high, this could be problematic. We will know more on Friday. Switzerland is still reporting high levels in parts and expects a rise for example for Lake Geneva and others. notamermaid

A little note for next year. From another thread we have learnt that Cochem Christmas market closed earlier than most, on 17th December. That is unusual and caused disappointment on a Viking river cruise. Do check if you are interested in particular ports to see what they offer next year before booking a river cruise if you can. Most dates are published early in the year, meaning that by March you will be able to see most of the dates being fixed and published, if not before. Some places are just a bit too small and cannot sustain a four to five week long market. Some are even just on weekends. notamermaid

A pity that is not good enough for your ship yet. Have a good time in Regensburg and a pleasant flight home. notamermaid

This is mild... It is obviously not good but people are used to this. Usually things are laid back, everybody knows what to do where at what reading on the respective gauge. Here is another fun learning video for you. This one is from Oestrich-Winkel which is near Rüdesheim. The gentleman from the fire brigade explains the procedures, you know, we are prepared, no big deal... The couple especially came to the embankment to enjoy walking along the blocked off main road. And at the end - the water was likely going to rise till the following day - it says they plan to come back the next day and as they say "einen Schoppen trinken", that means drinking a glass of wine. https://www.hessenschau.de/tv-sendung/hochwasser-in-hessen--pegelstaende-am-rhein-steigen,video-191268.html Note that this was on the 15th, so the water has receded by now. notamermaid

Nuremberg is famous for its Lebkuchen but also for the angel that is the symbol of the Christkindlmarkt. There is the tradition in Germany of the Rauschgoldengel which originates in Nuremberg. I happened to stumble upon this explanation for it: https://germangirlinamerica.com/what-is-a-rauschgoldengel/ notamermaid