notamermaid

Kaub at 88cm. notamermaid

@mkerner I think I need to clarify my post. I was specifically referring to the Rhine, but the basics apply to the Danube as well. On the German Danube we can get low levels a bit longer in the year than on the Rhine but as the general direction of rain is from the West and sweeping over Germany - normally including both the Rhine and Danube basins then - November into December sees the rivers leave the low levels. The Danube always, with minimal exception, has more problems with low water than the Rhine. So, in an unfortunate scenario one could start in Budapest and get just past Nuremberg with a ship swap, the rain sets in and the Main and Rhine rise well making the rest of the journey very pleasant. To be honest, I have no gut feeling as to how October will progress and what November will bring this year but overall November is a better month than October statistically. notamermaid

We saw that nice jump yesterday but it has not been followed up by much more (yet) - Pfelling gauge at 255cm. notamermaid

Thanks for the feedback people. I love being at home around Christmas. Have been away but always with dear people - a home from home. Perhaps unusually, being away from home on New Years Eve appeals to me even less. Gotta go, time to check on river levels. notamermaid

Busy weekend at work with feedback phone call to boss this morning. Good to see people enjoying themselves albeit with a tiny bit of trepidation as regards health. A worry that I thankfully do not (feel the need to) share. Lack of time means only day trips for me till December. Was thinking I should do another thread on Christmas market cruises this year, people had fun with that last year. notamermaid

Kaub at 86cm. Holding up. 88cm expected for tomorrow, 82cm for Thursday. Just that tiny bit better than was modelled yesterday. At the moment it looks more like the lowest will be 70cm rather 65cm. That would be good. Tons of ships sailing as always, now with the landscape changing to autumn fast. If I can schedule a short trip to the river I will post a photo. Meanwhile, do feel free to share yours. 🙂 notamermaid

Not typically no. By then, the weather is cool and rain tends to have set in in normal amounts again with the level low to satisfactory for commercial traffic, i.e. normally not a problem for river cruise ships. Flooding can happen but is not common. notamermaid

Snapshot of weather: This says water for the Elbe basin, but also water for Austria (and every country downstream along the Danube after that). Not much for Pfelling in this photo, but as the clouds shifted in the standard direction there will have been more for the Upper Danube during the afternoon. Interestingly, we have not had any rain where I am and from what I can gather there has been little in the Rhine basin overall (here: France and Germany) as the clouds formed further downstream from the Middle Rhine valley. We will see how that plays out in rising (or not) figures on the gauges. For now, after the low of 241cm this morning, Pfelling has risen. The gauge says 252cm. notamermaid

Pfelling gauge at 242cm. Komarom: notamermaid

Kaub gauge at 89cm. 84cm expected tomorrow. notamermaid

My pleasure. Kaub gauge at 92cm, not looking too good for next week which I have already hinted at. Figures below 80cm are expected, range 65cm to 80cm. Lowest currently anticipated 14/15 October. notamermaid

Pfelling gauge at 255cm. notamermaid

Should you happen to find yourself in Winningen or nearby on the 15th you can go and see the "Genussmarkt". A first for Winningen ,this type of event focusses on regional food and drink. Eat or buy anything from honey and lavender to jam and meat products (sorry, no English info): https://winningen.de/winninger-genussmarkt/ If you have a few hours to spare in Koblenz you can make your way to Winningen by train or take a taxi (15min) but remember that this is a small village so do not expect a grand affair. notamermaid

To add the statistics: notamermaid

Engelhartszell fortunately has been used for some years now as an alternative port to Passau. It is a small place but should work fine. notamermaid

Sorry to hear that. Hope you get better quickly. The nights are markedly cooler now but it makes for nice autumn mists and pleasant sunny days. Pfelling gauge at 253cm. notamermaid

Kaub gauge at 100cm. Saturday to Sunday night 90cm. Lowest level will most likely be on 13 October. Excursion boats are now in the low season. The paddle wheeler "Goethe" as has been reported to me sailed the Lower Middle Rhine valley yesterday morning to the winter harbour at Cologne. notamermaid

Okay, that was fun. Had a good day of food, drink and laughter and loud music from Oktoberfest anthems and schlager to Sixties classics. A small affair with shop bought food and homemade fares. I think I drank the wrong beer - needed a day to recover. No seriously, it was not too much beer. notamermaid

River cruise ships may be able to ride on this wave which is keeping the level at Dresden up - which after a short time over 100cm is now at 99cm. September did not look good: From a (just) satisfactory level it went down and apart from a small peak stayed at levels that were too low. Half the month we see the level close to the statistical mean low water level. notamermaid

Not ideal I admit, it is just the money aspect that makes it bearable I would say. The Serways on that motorway stretch has a North and a South building. This is North, which does not have a McDonald's but a bistro restaurant. All the facilities are mentioned here: https://www.serways.de/standorte/bayerischer-wald-nord/ Certainly more European/German... This one is actually at Bogen near Pfelling so a bit too close to Passau for a stop perhaps. Still, if one "meanders" on the coach through the Bavarian Forest for a bit this could work out nicely. notamermaid

I will be busy in the next few days so not sure how much I will post. Situation tonight is as follows. Pfelling gauge at 259cm. The trend is for minimally higher levels, probably not exceeding 270cm. Sunny weather over the weekend. No rain forecast at Regensburg. Screenshot from German website: See here https://www.br.de/wetter/action/5_tage_prognose.do?regio=Oberpfalz&plz=10776 I do not know how often this is updated. notamermaid

McDonald's??? One can certainly do better than that but I get it about the money. There are more regionally-operated facilities near motorways (often tricky as regards time and number of ladies toilets) or one can go to the "Serways" places. These have coffee, a McDonalds or a Burger King and a kiosk or small restaurant, etc. The Serways facilities usually operate like this: a company - mostly this one https://www.sanifair.com/guestarea - operates the toilets and the voucher you redeem at the shop/restaurant according to the operating partners' conditions. You get clean toilets and there are several cubicles which reduces waiting time. Drawback is that one can linger in the shop to choose an item or wait for the coffee that will get you the (part) money from your voucher back. You do not need to redeem the voucher, that means the toilet is not cheap but I find the price reasonable for what they provide. This is what Google gives you when you put in the German word Raststätten: Not much really. There are websites that specifically give you ideas off the beaten track but I have not looked at those for ages. I have done that in Britain and found a few great places between 1 and 5 miles off the motorway. If I may be so bold - I have copied this from @reeves35 's review: "The afternoon was spent travelling the 200km to Passau by coach going around the low water near Regensberg. There was a stop at the Seidl chocolate factory for a coffee and toilet break about halfway." If that means the toilet break was right at the chocolate factory give me that place over Serways any day. notamermaid

Kaub at 106cm. Minimal adjustment to forecast. Saturday to Sunday night 94cm. Slow decline to potentially 91cm on Sunday evening. Continued decline till 12/13 October. notamermaid

For the Grand European it is this, like island lady did: Or the shorter version Vilshofen to Regensburg. Budapest to Regensburg may mean you disembark in Passau or Vilshofen and doing a day trip to Regensburg or arrange the flights or arrange transport to Prague. These are details that I cannot know and that will be decided by your river cruise line when you get close to Passau. notamermaid

No. Pfelling gauge down to 262cm after a small wave. notamermaid