notamermaid

I do admit I feel fortunate to be able to go to a large river within driving distance and enjoy the landscape. As it gets dark so early now I can occasionally see the river cruise ships with the decoration lit up. Mind you, I miss seeing the realm of Canal archive, i.e. the British Isle, I mean miss everything from the litter bins at Rochester Castle to speed cameras. I know I will be all "moisture-eyed" when I finally can enjoy Wensleydale cheese with cranberries. Import is very difficult these days so I get little dairy and no meat (sausages) from England. At least the biscuits and the mince pies have arrived. 🙂 notamermaid

Yes, it is. Saw that briefly on the news feed at work. A lot of snow in Bavaria. Dry here with me. notamermaid

Weather in Bavaria: Water levels rising. Quite fast at Pfelling. @TLex Will look at this again with a bit more time. notamermaid

Maxau gauge has risen to 734cm. Peak expected for late tonight. Forecast says it will be around 740cm, so under the dreaded 750cm. Fingers crossed. notamermaid

No snow here today, but certainly in the South of Germany. notamermaid

Apologies, that is partly wrong. This should read: There is a warning for most of the Upper Rhine valley and a pre-alert for the section leading up to the Middle Rhine valley. On the map this looks like this (includes part of the High Rhine which I had hinted at): I will be at work tomorrow so cannot post and update before late afternoon. notamermaid

Nuremberg to Bamberg is the Main Danube Canal. That is lock controlled as well as the Main, i.e. further towards Würzburg. Water levels can be regulated to some extent. Right now I see no warnings about elevated levels in that area. But it could flood at some point this winter of course and then the low bridges may pose a problem. That is something I cannot comment on in detail. What happens on the Main is only partially connected to the situation on the Rhine and flooding on the Rhine does not mean flooding on the Main. Weather can be different and man-made structures play a role. If you feel like it send us a message during or after your cruise in this thread: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2968897-christmas-markets-river-cruises-2023-infos-and-tips/page/3/#comment-66519048 We would love to see Christmas market cruise photos... Have a great cruise. notamermaid

With rain sweeping over the area, a rise in the water levels is expected again. For now Passau is doing fine and actually has dropped since yesterday. Current figure is 552cm. That gives a nice buffer and as of now the level is not expected to rise so much that it may be critical for ships passing under the bridge. I dare say it looks quite good for the weekend. On the Rhine we have the situation that a fast rise is forecast in the Upper Rhine valley bringing the level close to a river traffic ban again. We will know more there by tomorrow. notamermaid

Right, Hauenstein in the High Rhine area is on flooding level I, there is an alert for the Aare river in Switzerland, a large tributary of the Rhine. Basel will see rising levels. There is a warning for the Upper Rhine valley and a pre-alert for the Middle Rhine valley. For river traffic this means of course extra vigilance and I am afraid the forecast at Maxau is giving us a higher probability for a river traffic ban now. Expected level at midnight is about 680cm. By tomorrow lunchtime it will likely be at 720cm already. A ban is issued at 750cm. notamermaid

No, I do not think so. Cannot think that anything would resemble it. But I am not familiar with regional traditions that much. Perhaps a Northern part of Germany may have something similar. Never knew that Bremen has got its own fruit Christmas cake that has been granted "protected designation of origin". It is called Bremer Klaben: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bremer_Klaben Germany is small compared to other countries of the world but is so varied. Geography, traditions, history. I mean, people from the East or North are almost foreign to me. And by the way, mince pies are completely unknown to most people. We do not have Christmas crackers either, but use a fun, smaller version at New Year's Eve sometimes. notamermaid

9th of November it was in 1989. I admit I could not remember the day, but I did remember the month and the year. We watched it unfold on telly, the Hungarian embassy and all that. I was a busy young person, but, my, I still took in those events... An emotional autumn for us folks, a year prior nobody would have believed this could ever happen. notamermaid

There will be a higher volume of water coming from the High Rhine so Basel has got a mild flood warning. This water will make the Upper Rhine valley levels rise in due course. I had mentioned the predicted rise at Maxau in my post yesterday. Right now Maxau is below the official flooding threshold but we have an early alert, which here means the flooding level will be reached most likely by tomorrow evening. The 750cm (river traffic ban) is still a tiny, tiny risk late on Saturday into Sunday. Back to a photo I had posted before: In this photo the fire brigade is closing a gate in the flood protection wall at Neuwied. The gentleman on the right is standing at the bronze scale which shows the height of the Rhine and when the flooding occurred in/at the town. There are several markings and when you stand there it is quite fascinating to follow the dates up and up with your eyes. Did this on a guided tour. The highest marking is on 23 December 1993. I found the corresponding scale at the other gate: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cb/Pegel_1.JPG Imagine the man in the photo standing there with his head at the second marking. The two upmost ones are close together. The difference is: in 1926 the town did not have the wall and was flooded, in 1993 it had the wall and was dry. By the way, some time last week I saw on marinetraffic.com a blue dot at Neuwied which means a river cruise ship or excursion boat was docked there. It turned out to be the Viking Gefjon docking there for the night. That is odd as the town does not have a river cruise ship dock (yet). It was actually at the industrial harbour there it seems. I did not know that this was possible. notamermaid

I have had a look around the internet for videos of Christmas market cruises. There are some that look interesting. I mean a short video really gives you a good idea what to expect. I had wondered - after the posts about biscuit baking on the ship - what else may be offered but could not really find much out. Offering this on a German river cruise would be like carrying coals to Newcastle of course. But I am sure it is fun to do for those that bake different things at home (or nothing at all). In the end I actually watched all of the videos of one couple on an Emerald river cruise. They try so many glühweins and food stuffs... What I like about the Emerald cruise they did in 2022 is that it went to Cochem on the Moselle as well as doing the standard Rhine itinerary. For details of how that was done you would need to look up the itinerary on the Emerald website. I will post the first video so you can see if you find this interesting. I found it quite good as they also show what happens when you dock next to another ship - the infamous rafting. Here goes at 3:48: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zKGSfKylJ18 notamermaid

I went to East Berlin from West Berlin for a day trip (while visiting Berlin for a few days) and went through the customs with the border control and the money exchange. We were all German so they treated as with that little bit of disdain they liked to display at those booths. One female member of our group had an Italian passport - she was swiftly ushered through without that procedure... I will never forget that day. Went through the ghost station, the most famous one, once. They were strange days - and times. With all the security for border checks necessary, including the back offices we never see as passengers I guess it is too complicated to have the controls at Amsterdam. Still, if it was absolutely needed I am sure it would be done. I suspect economical reasons play a part even if running an empty train is hard to fathom for anyone with common sense, i.e. us travellers. Christmas lights are on everywhere, have actually seen the first two ships on the river where I could make out the Christmas tree in the lounge or reception area. Ooooh, it looks so nice. Wish I could be on a ship. notamermaid

Talking of Passau. The level has risen but is doing fine, 574cm. notamermaid

That sounds really good. I remember seeing a year ago or two that Viking offers Weltenburg Abbey. Just judging from the photos I would say that the Abbey is a nicer excursion than what Walhalla can offer. The Donau Gorge - that is the Donaudurchbruch - is a splendid rock formation. Think of the Rhine Gorge but narrower and deserted with a different stone: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danube_Gorge_(Weltenburg) The Danube is not navigable or rather not allowed for proper motorized river traffic in that area. Only a few excursion boats are allowed in the narrows. notamermaid

Welcome to Cruisecritic. It sounds as if you had a good plan B set up for you by Viking. Lindau is a suburb before Passau proper so avoids that bridge: I hope you had a great time despite the changes. Unfortunately the fact that most ships have the high hull construction with four decks the situation at Passau affects most ships. When the river rises even higher all river cruise traffic is stopped. notamermaid

It certainly is cool here. Frankfurt has been just that tiny bit colder than the Middle Rhine valley. Night frosts are all around. Days tend to be warmer than zero still. As I have mentioned before, January tends to be colder here than December. The short interlude of proper snow at the beginning of December last year was fun. Will see how it goes this year. I have mentioned KD a few times recently and the MS Goethe, which is now in the winter harbour in the same basin as the Viking ships. So here is some info with a photo of the ship that has recently returned to Mannheim after having been checked through at Cologne, the former MS Mainz, now the museum ship Mannnheim: http://www.paddlesteamers.info/RheinHistory.htm A short older video of the ship at her mooring: notamermaid

This one cost him at auction 20,600 euros. The repairs - who knows. But I am confident the gentleman has the mindset - living at the river - and the skills - construction industry - to make them go well. It is reported that for him it is "a dream come true". Being local he may well have sailed on the boat on an excursion. Which I did, by the way, quite a few years ago. notamermaid

As predicted the level at Maxau has risen. It is now at 656cm. Looking at that on a graph this is only a small hump. After the down direction the level may still stay on flood mark I. That will be tomorrow. Then, the real rise is anticipated to happen which will take the level over 700cm. A river ban is not likely, but is at the upper end of the probability, so a tiny, tiny risk. A quick update and conclusion on the "drama with soap opera" featuring the excursion boat Carmen Sylva. It was not clear why she had sunk so there was an official investigation. Conclusion: no wrong-doing, just unfortunate circumstances. The ship was attached to a pontoon. That pontoon had a leak due to corrosion, filled with water gradually and pulled the ship with it. She has been taken to a shipyard in the meantime and the new owner will turn it into his private "home on water", in addition to a house I guess. He is a local business man in the construction industry. notamermaid

There is an annual meeting of an Austrian organization whose interest lies in the promotion of tourism on and along the Danube river. The conference has just taken place, with a so-called post tour tomorrow: https://www.donau-oesterreich.at/en/danube-cruise/danube-navigation-tourism-conference/danube-navigation-and-tourism-conference-programm Some more news in English may be published, but here is a good report in German: https://www.tips.at/nachrichten/linz/wirtschaft-politik/627365-linz-soll-hotspot-fuer-donaukreuzfahrt-werden A few notes from the text. Linz is supposed to become a centre for river cruise tourism. One important measure: from Spring 2024 on ten landing stages will be equipped with electricity from on land. The first ones will be in Linz and Engelhartszell. To find out how valuable you are as a river cruise tourist your activities in Linz directly and indirectly are calculated in money. That figure is an average of 23 euros per passenger per day. notamermaid

A pity about the coach but it is in the end working out okay for you. Have a great time in Regensburg. notamermaid

Another quick look at the river in Germany reveals no major rises of concern. The levels will go up but from what I can see upstream from Pfelling it does not look major. The forecast and further prediction for Passau suggests a rise that will stay below 600cm. It is now at 551cm. notamermaid

Perhaps you would like to have a look around here? notamermaid

Weekend before last I went to the first Advent basar charity thing - We call it an "Adventsbasar". This was in a community centre of a church and apart from it making money for the organisation was also in aid of their mission. I think one in Brazil. So there were waffles, cake, soup, second hand goods, hand-made stuff like small toys, woollen socks and Christmas cards. I got nice cake and - the first biscuits for this year. All good ingredients, no industrial stuff. Apart from a certain type of gingerbread, I tend to get all biscuits locally and not in supermarkets. These were Spritzgebäck: Simple and good. Next lot I will get from a local baker as he makes them with the ends dipped in chocolate. I was wondering if you could find such small events on a river cruise. I think it will be difficult. Mostly they are only on one day and at weekends when people have time off work. If you see a poster in a town that says "Adventsbasar zugunsten von" and followed by a word like "Verein" or "e.V." you are on the right track. Or "Weihnachtsbasar". But sometimes large Christmas markets have stalls that have raffles or home-made goods sold in aid of a local charity or by the local parish. By the way, Sprizgebäck biscuits are easy to make and enormous fun - at least, I enjoyed putting them through the huge meat grinder to which my grandmother attached the small tin plates that created the shapes. But you may enjoy it too, there is a child hiding somewhere in all of us. notamermaid