notamermaid

To be serious about the rafting. Of course Viking is not allowed to dock 5-deep. But 3-deep is a tiny possibility in a few ports. It is a fact that Viking tends to say they have the prime spots which is true for the most part but they use the prime spot with their own ships so do raft and you look not at the cabin of another company's ship but the cabin of another Viking ship. And in a city like Cologne Viking has too many ships to fit them all into the city centre docks occasionally, something that is more of an occurrence in low water. In Koblenz Viking docks almost always as two ships and sometimes - as a third is not allowed - uses the dock on the other side of the river. Problem solved (sort of). Other rivers have other scenarios. notamermaid

@pinotlover my sentiments - at least as regards Viking. I shall bit my tongue for fear of burning it. Which reminds me. I read a case of "feeling of grandeur" - or perhaps it is just an modern CEO's dream and celebratory speech? Scylla celebrated their 50th anniversary - a fantastic company with steady growth, no Guinness book of records stuff or big marketing words. Now their subsidiary/own company as a tour operator that is Viva Cruises has celebrated its fifth anniversary. Says CEO in this article: "... the leading river cruise tour operator in Europe ... we have the potential..." https://binnenschifffahrt-online.de/2023/11/featured/31575/viva-cruises/ Yes, right... Seriously beating Viking or the splendid CroisiEurope? notamermaid

It really is annoying for those who were scheduled to sail the Rhine Gorge today. Tomorrow looks a bit awkward as regards a morning sailing, but things could go okay. We will see. The problem: the tugboat was unsuccessful. A barge or tanker for relief is now the next option. A "Leichter", meaning here a ship that can have some of the Diesel pumped into its hull, the authorities will need. As of 1.10pm local time (a good hour ago) it was not clear if a ship that fits those requirements could be there in daylight. Update: https://www.swr.de/swraktuell/rheinland-pfalz/mainz/tanker-liegt-quer-im-rhein-bacharach-102.html Yes, the Rhine is fast anyway and the level is relatively high. notamermaid

According to news/police reports the river at Bacharach in the Rhine Gorge is currently blocked by a tanker. River traffic is suspended. The plan is to pull the ship back into the navigation channel. https://www.swr.de/swraktuell/rheinland-pfalz/mainz/tanker-liegt-quer-im-rhein-bacharach-102.html If I interpret the data correctly (weak signal) on marinetraffic. com a tugboat is at the scene. notamermaid

The situation at Maxau gauge this morning. Basel is expecting a high volume of water passing through from the 10th. While this is still a bit far into the forecast to know details, the level will most likely rise substantially. At Maxau gauge in the Upper Rhine valley we still have fairly high levels. 652cm means that the area is still marked as being on mild flooding status. A yellow dot on the map, rather than green. The level will most likely rise during the course of 10th. The rise will be substantial but the computer keeps changing its mind as to how high this will be. As we are getting closer to the 10th now, for the time being I can say that the 12th looks to be a decisive day. Hopefully for the good. Kaub gauge by the way remains on a relative high for this time of year, far above the mean. This is not good for things to come. But enough of that. Today is Nikolaus! On the patron saint's day children get chocolate, nuts and other nice things in their boots - they have to be clean for that of course, the boots I mean. I have read in past years that river cruise ships on the Rhine have picked up the tradition for the big children. Hope your crew has acted as Nikolaus for you with a tiny present this morning. notamermaid

Lovely photos. Anyone got any autumn ones for comparison for the OP? The Rhine Gorge sure is the most scenic part but other areas are also beautiful or at least interesting. Call me unusual, but I would love to see the Wesseling chemical works near Cologne lit up at night sailing past on a river cruise ship. notamermaid

"Peter the Great" of show business. My words. So iconic. Men like that are rare, these days even more than when I was young. I wonder if any of his films have been translated into English? notamermaid

Fresh produce in this day and age is not much reduced in choice in October but the seasons do show in supermarkets and in restaurants. You would not eat Döppekoche (Rhenish potato cake) in Summer and satsumas are not that readily available, in October cherry cake is not that easy to get but apple cake is plentiful again. As an example. As sharkster states, one can sit outside in October without feeling too uncomfortable and it can be sunny and pleasant. I agree with there being fewer crowds in October in touristy places, generally I can accept the crowds though in July, do not find them too bad. Perhaps Strasbourg suffers from summer crowds, I have not been there. You get fewer young people and families in October but bare in mind that most children get a week's holiday in October so there will be tourists - and day-trippers of course any time. That made me think of one aspect against October. I have read reports of people experiencing the first autumn mists sailing past the castle in the Rhine Gorge in the morning. They were disappointed with the visibility. A July sailing would be fine. However, if you can sail the Rhine Gorge in the afternoon an October sailing would more likely be as pleasant as in July - unless it is pouring down. And that it can be in July as well if you are unlucky. You could have a look at the direction of sailing and when the company puts the Rhine Gorge in the itinerary. notamermaid

Hello kayakcove, As regards the temperatures I agree with JordanF. It is quite a difference between July and October and you will need to decide if you are comfortable with excursions in hot weather. As regards water levels October tends to be more of a problem than July but it is not a big difference really and I would not base the decision on that. Landscape: July is full bloom of course, late October sees autumn foliage that depending on the severity of storms may have reduced substantially in number. Daylight: a lot less in late October and daylight saving time ends on the last Sunday in October so you will be eating dinner in darkness then if not before. Fewer crowds than in July but I do not see this as a problem in general anyway on the Rhine. Food: if your company does seasonal food a lot or you want to eat at restaurants on land, consider the different seasons perhaps. But I would regard it as a minor consideration. Have fun planning. notamermaid

That is sportive. I do not think I could have handled that... Sorry to read about the upheavals to your plans. I suppose getting out of Munich is the trouble. Once you are close to the Main valley things get easier. Our snow has gone from anywhere below 200m altitude really, so we have much better conditions. Mind you, the ice was tricky this morning. The rain has turned my valley into a "grey matter", not sure where the colours have gone. I am getting a tad worried about the water levels. As we can see a bit further into the future with a huge computer on the Rhine, by that I mean better than for the Danube, I can say that problems may occur from around the 10th. For the Danube it is difficult to tell but if your conditions stay frozen than of course the snow will stay and not fill the rivers with rain. I hope the thaw will be slow. Take care. notamermaid

Yes, that sounds good. I had the opportunity to do so during my river cruise. We were docked in Wien Nussdorf, itself an old wine village. Fellow passengers travelled to a village by coach, but my cruise companion and me skipped that one, we were a bit tired and have experienced something similar before - you know, we live here on the Rhine with the nearest tavern in easy driving distance and we have been to Austria on land trips. It is great to see another aspect of Vienna apart from the city so a "Heurigen" evening is sure to be fun in that respect. notamermaid

These days we have winter tyres on. They help. Every autumn and spring the repair shops and dealers get busy. Good business, but of course you can do it yourself if you have the skill and tools. Could have it done by a friend but it is more convenient to have the car dealer store our summer tyres. I have just returned from higher ground, but also there the snow has gone. We now have wetting rain. Rising water levels of note are anticipated but not within 48 hours. Things at Maxau will get interesting - not in a good sense - from the 10th. notamermaid

That did not go as planned... In my post above there should have been a screenshot of a timestamp in the afternoon. I mistakenly copied the link to the photo page. Now you get a regularly updated photo of Deutsches Eck. Sorry. It snowed more during the evening but in the valley snow has turned to sleet and black ice in parts. Dangerous driving conditions. I had 1.5cm of snow on my dustbins before it got just that tiny bit too warm for the snow in that sheltered spot to stay. notamermaid

Yes, Otto Versand is doing okay, Quelle was insolvent but came back into business with the rights to the name going to another big player. Too complicated to do into details, but Quelle still exists, just not how it used to. There are no shops or pick up places. I do not think any catalogues of note are produced, mind you I did have one from Otto a while ago. But a small one. For British folk there is an easy comparison - think of Argos. Pilsner Urquell - yes, that's it. I think it is distributed around here in the Rhineland with me as well. But there is plenty of beer to choose from locally along the Danube. Although, some Austrian white wine should not be ignored in my opinion. River levels are okay. notamermaid

The next clouds are sweeping over the Rhine valley and this time they are bringing snow! ❄️ It is not enough to make a snowman but Deutsches Eck has got a white dusting: Or you can enjoy the feed of the Rüdesheim webcam: https://www.feratel.com/webcams/deutschland/ruedesheim-am-rhein.html notamermaid

Passau gauge at 569cm. Cannot see any flooding of note indicated in the gauge colour map of Bavaria. Looking pleasant, at least tomorrow. Rain clouds are approaching from the West, that is Belgium and the Netherlands, bringing first snow to the Rhineland and then snow and rain, also in Bavaria. notamermaid

Advent, Advent, ein Lichtlein brennt. Erst eins. 🕯️ Lighting the first candle on the virtual Advent wreath. Is it time already again?! Somehow this year has gone so fast. Apart from the absolute essentials I have been avoiding the news, the bad world. Dealing with transition in management, the corporate identity and sameness of design in Germany and governmental and other policies have been enough to keep me away from most of media for the most part, there is only so much this dainty woman with old rebel soul can take... But not too worry, a smile of a happy customer at work - just like yesterday - or a problem solved gets me quickly back on track. So, although I have only been to two mediocre Christmas markets away from the tourist centres, life is good. I mean, seeing a river cruise ship in Christmas lights? Enough to keep you sane for hours. "A problem solved" - that reminds me. I do local history research, sometimes directly about the river and the landscape. You can go without progress for weeks on such tiny details, but this week I phoned an engineer and things fell into place... I struck gold. We exchanged facts and then he said "I have got this book"... So he opened the relevant pages and told me exactly what I wanted to know from a book over 100 years old. He even sent me several pdf-files. And then I also heard that in a couple of months I will be able to access a private archive currently closed. So after a bleak November December started on a happy note and I can already look forward to something in 2024. Hope you have had a good start to Advent. Have a good week. notamermaid

@iticlaudia Have a good trip. I much enjoyed the café at the Stephansdom. Glad to see it is still there in all its opulence: https://greindl-passau.de/pages/cafe-stephans-dom Wonder if it is still as good. Anyway, boots are a good idea for all that walking and shopping. Hope you find some nice presents. notamermaid

Some people really do need to go over the top with this decorating, etc., don't they? Still I love decorating for the season. I have so far just managed to put up my Advent wreath and one set of lights in the hallway... We have official Christmas trees here also of course. In Berlin all federal states have officials working there, so that building of Rhineland-Palatinate in Berlin is adorned now with a 15m high Christmas tree. The curious thing is: the news reported that it came from a front garden in a village in the Wied valley which is in the Westerwald hills. The place is called Waldbreitbach and famous locally as a Christmas village due to the efforts of one family. Lovely place in winter and pleasant all year round. I do wonder though how that tree came to be chosen for Berlin. I mean, does some guy who has got a tree that has grown to big for the garden know some other guy who knows an official - no clue. You could get to Waldbreitbach from a river cruise ship docked in Koblenz or Andernach but it would be a struggle if you have limited time. notamermaid

Perfect then! 😁 🍻 Pilsen (German spelling), the home of Pils beer. Hope you got to sample some. If not, German beers on the ship hopefully. Prost! Could this be the ultimate bauble for you? (German online shop, just in case you need to know for/against cookies): https://www.otto.de/p/inge-glas-christbaumschmuck-inge-glas-weihnachts-haenger-bierkrug-auf-der-wiesn-1-tlg-CS0425046/#variationId=S0L5O0VR5S56 Edit: got distracted from my duties there for a second - Passau gauge at 577cm. All good still. notamermaid

The forecast was spot on. The level at Maxau peaked at 740cm late last night. Now back down to 718cm. The level will remain high but fine. The rainy weather has gone, a dry crisp day today. Some sunshine. Around zero Celsius with me. Hills colder, sheltered towns and other areas of the valley potentially warmer. notamermaid

Looking good. I think Maxau gauge stay below 750cm. It is 739cm now. notamermaid

Oh my, that is worse than what I read looking at the news briefly. Have been busy with work today. Here in my part of the Rhine valley not a drop of rain or a single snowflake. It passed us all by. Take care, notamermaid

My pleasure. Thank you so much for following along. Pleased to read you are finally on your adventure. What a long wait! Snow in Prague. Can I be a bit envious, please? 😁 I have seen the rise at Pfelling gauge in the past 24 hours. Quite high, but this has not translated into the same rise at Passau (yet). Passau gauge is at 563cm. Looks alright. The Isar and the Lech (two large tributaries) are not very high and the Upper Danube - here Donauwörth to Kelheim - is still okay. We have no forecast looking into next week yet. The forecast suggests levels below 600cm going into tomorrow, so it could stay below 630cm during the day. Fingers crossed. By the way: Munich airport is struggling with the snow, so is Deutsche Bahn, and a football match had to be cancelled. It was a bit too much of what we call the "Weiße Pracht", the white splendour. notamermaid

A lot of snow is actually more preferable to a lot of rain. As long as it does not melt. Snow that falls into the river is just like rain of course and makes the level rise there and then. In these temperatures we get snow but also rain as some areas are warmer than others. See the mix of rain and snow symbols in my post above. Other than that, driving is more difficult in the icy conditions which may affect your excursions and walking on cobblestones can be worse. Hope the ship will be ready for you. notamermaid