notamermaid

Drumroll... Yes, jazzbeau. Die Loreley! Thank you for the link to this song by Liszt. I had not listened to this version before now. Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau is a legend. So let us start with the background to my last three posts. On the Rhine there is the so-called Rhine Gorge, arguably the most Romantic landscape along the river. A narrow passage with relatively high rocks along the banks and a meandering river make for a dramatic landscape. First bit: There were stories of a lady that was a sorceress. Second bit: The locals talked of a triple echo among the narrow hills with a particularly difficult passage at one rock. At the end of the 18th century Clemens Brentano, grandson of the writer Sophie von La Roche (the lady held the first ever (intellectual and literature) salon in the Middle Rhine valley), heard both things. He was born at his grandmother's place in Ehrenbreitstein opposite Koblenz. He apparently inherited her talent for writing and was interested in the legends on the Rhine. He created the Lore-Lay and published the ballad about the lady, set in Bacharach in the Rhine Gorge, in one of his early novels. He was part of a group of early Romanticism in Jena! He is known to have been to inns in the valley drinking wine but the story was written by the young man far away in another part of Germany. The idea of such a lady that cannot help but enchant everyone was picked up by Heinrich Heine. His female protagonist slightly morphed in his poem into a lady sitting on the rock enchanting the skippers with her singing and distracting them during the difficult passage around the rock. So the legend is actually not old but created by a writer and published in 1801, then turned into a poem which was in turn published in 1824. That's right - 200 years ago almost to the day. Heine writes "... a fairy-tale from very olden times..." but refers to a ballad that was merely 23 years old. To be continued... notamermaid

Some poems lend themselves perfectly to be set to music and this one was so popular that it has provided the lyrics to more than 40 songs. One version has very much stayed in the minds of people to this day. Thousands upon thousands of river cruise tourists and day trippers have been lured into singing along to the music when the loudspeaker or the cruise director encourages them to do so. I think you can guess what the lady in the poem is called. notamermaid

So, this guy wrote a ballad (literature not music) with the female protagonist being an enchantress. It was published as part of a novel. At that time in history other writers were happy to pick up the theme but altered it a bit. The lady changed, no longer with the magical powers as such but now she could sing. Says that famous poem... notamermaid

For a bit of fun - it would be easy to just say what the anniversary is - I make this a bit of a puzzle. It starts with a river, an echo, there is the number 555 involved, something we call in German a "Lay" features prominently; and a chap who had read a story and then went to an inn where he had some wine combined it all. We are not sure if there was a girl involved. The guy may just have been inspired without a female in the vicinity and, my, did, he have the mind for it... notamermaid

During the ASTA river cruise expo at Amsterdam https://www.travelweekly.com/Travel-News/Travel-Agent-Issues/ASTA-River-Cruise-Expo-bigger-than-ever the Riverside Debussy was christened on 13 March. She will be on her first voyage under the new name from 23 March. It is an itinerary from Brussels to Amsterdam. It being a German ship now, I have seen quite a bit of coverage in the German tourism media online. notamermaid

Thanks. Bolbec sounds like my kind of place. I have never actually been to the Seine river apart from Paris. Normandy I enjoyed a lot many years ago but it was just a stopover so I really need to go again. Been to Derwent valley and its mills, where it all began as they say. One of the places on my list to see is the old textiles industry around Krefeld. But I will get to that again in the context of the early industrial revolution on the Meuse and Rhine. Closer in topic to what people enjoy on a river cruise, the Romantic Rhine, is an anniversary that is coming up. So that may need to be written about first. notamermaid

It is the time of year for big announcements, with the ITB in Berlin, the CLIA conference and the ASTA River Cruise Expo having just finished. Uniworld seem to have made a comment on scrapping U by Uniworld, oddly, I mean, we talked about this months ago: https://travelweekly.co.uk/news/tour-operators/uniworld-scraps-millennial-focused-product In more exciting news we hear from them that a ship will come to the fleet, a new one, not a lease. The Victoria (2024) and the Elisabeth (2025) are former Crystal ships as we know, but 2026 will see the Emilie: https://travelweekly.co.uk/news/tourism/uniworld-confirms-name-of-new-european-river-ship notamermaid

Völklinger Hütte iron works is on the Saar and these days quite a popular place. Have not been yet. I think I mentioned it briefly in the Moselle thread (where we also deal with the Saar as it is a tributary of the Moselle). For those who like steel and old stuff this is a magical place. You saw Gambsheim lock, that is correct. Earlier in the year the lock was closed for repairs, I did not know that there is still work going on. Apparently, the French authorities are investing a lot of money this year in a major overhaul and updating of Gambsheim lock. I have just checked the French waterways authorities' website. There are two chambers. The lock is actually quite young, only built in 1974. The gates are the original ones, so now after 50 years they need replacing. This is the area, the river is the border, the lock is in France. Construction of the lock and dam was a joined effort: Google maps has marked the view point of the fish passage. notamermaid

Where would we be without the canals? Canals in what is now Germany are quite old, I mean the old ones are disused but can still be traced in the landscape. The modern day canals that were built in the Renaissance era and Baroque times or later (we do not think in Georgian or Victorian terms in Germany) are already quite sophisticated. There have been advancements of course and updating and quite frankly much larger structures of dams and locks since then. There was already a canal connecting the Rhine and the Meuse in Roman times called the "Fossa Corbulonis". Master engineers designed it but it was of course built by ordinary men, in this case foot soldiers. Those early structures were strategic and also perfect for keeping soldiers busy when there was no fighting going on. As you rightly say, lots of man power. It may seem slow to us today to transport goods on water with a horse towing the boat but when you look at the roads in those days... It can still be a challenge today which I found out the other week. I went to the Westerwald hills and took a turn into a narrow valley. At first I thought the road was blocked to through-traffic but a sign just gave a slow speed and said that the ride would be bumpy (my words). It was. Our family car that can go down the motorways comfortably and take us to far away places needed to slow down to 10km in parts to keep the suspension fit for purpose. Imagine doing that with one or two horsepower. Where there were no suitable waterways the railways later opened up the hillier areas to faster trade. There are still narrow gauge railways all over the hills today, either in use, as tourist trains or disused (or in a few cases disappeared almost entirely from the landscape). notamermaid

I find the Cathedral really beautiful. Great lighting, I have so far only seen it in daylight. It is the flying buttresses that add to that effect. The people call the edifice "God's Lantern". Or "Lorraine's Gem". The yellow colour of the stone really shines in sunlight. The expanse of the glass is enormous, more than in many other more famous Gothic Cathedrals. In France no other cathedral has more stained glass. Metz is the most important port in France for grain. The harbour is really large and there is also a marina. You can take river trips around Metz but river cruises that go to Metz are still few. It is mostly the bike & boat tours. The city rarely sees river cruise ships over 70m length anchoring. notamermaid

I see. The regional website says its history is very much connected with wool and water: https://www.paysdevesdre.be/en/discover/pays-de-vesdre/verviers/ Verviers lies on the Vesdre river which flows into the Ourthe (which flows into the Meuse). I looked it up and Wikipedia says that the Vesdre has a high acidity due the bogs in mountains where its source is. It makes the water very suitable for the textile industry. One can see the development: good water that flows, weavers, mills, forests, mountains, iron ore, machines, larger river, steam, foundry, larger ships, steel, railway, bingo! Huge enterprise like Cockerill at Seraing/Liège thrives. Electricity obviously gave another boost. The John Cockerill Group still exists today. [Not to worry, we will get back to the Rhine very quickly, the Meuse and Rhine industries are connected in their history.] notamermaid

That makes sense. Belgium, i.e. the region Walloon is one of the original industrial revolution regions on the continent. It was an Englishman who went to what is now Belgium, the city of Liege that is, and founded one of the biggest and most successful early iron and steel works of the time. He was called William Cockerill (the elder). His two sons John and William continued the business. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Cockerill I have done a bit of research about the Cockerills as they did business in Berlin and along the Rhine as well. They started with textiles and the machines but are also connected to early railway construction and shipbuilding; that is how I came across them. In the early days you either got the expertise yourself by going to study the engineering, etc. where they were done, sometimes collecting information "illegally" or you got the workmen who knew their trade to move to your area and work for you. I suppose not too much has changed about that... The years 1790 to 1830 were exciting times in iron and steel - so many pioneers, so much innovation. I have sought out three places; two in Germany, one in Luxembourg; that have textile museums or something similar. It is one of my areas of interest. Unfortunately all are a bit far for day trips so need a bit of organizing. .A bit out of the way of standard river cruises but not too difficult for you to organize folks is a visit to Duisburg to the Museum der Deutschen Binnenschifffahrt. It deals with the German inland waterways and has lots of steel to marvel at. https://www.binnenschifffahrtsmuseum.de/ notamermaid

Emmersdorf an der Donau is a small town and has a docking area for river cruise ships but do passengers actually explore the town? I have no idea. This is the page of the mooring at Emmerich: https://www.donaustationen.at/en/moorings/Emmersdorf-12/ It looks to be a pleasant place that has, from what I read, become popular with cyclists. So which company stops there? Amadeus Flusskreuzfahrten regularly does, at least two dates each month show Emmersdorf. For that I checked an online booking website. One of the ships is the Amadeus Sliver III so I looked for this ship on the Amadeus Flusskreuzfahrten website. The itinerary is Donau Rhapsody and Emmersdorf is marked on the map and appears in the list for day 2. It clearly says (translated) "At the river bank at Emmersdorf..." but goes on to say that you will visit Melk Abbey. https://www.amadeus-flusskreuzfahrten.de/kreuzfahrten/detail/2024/donau-rhapsody-8-tage.html Amadeus River Cruises shows the same map and the description for the day says Emmersdorf in the header, though not in the text. https://www.amadeus-rivercruises.com/river-cruises/detail/2024/danube-rhapsody-8-days.html Clearly, this is just a port alternative for Melk. But there is another company. Uniworld! On the "Delightful Danube" itinerary Budapest to Nuremberg, Emmersdorf is mentioned for day 5. Interestingly, this is not for Melk Abbey but visiting the town of Spitz: https://www.uniworld.com/us/river-cruise/central-europe/danube/delightful-danube/2024-budapest-to-nuremberg The reason Emmerich is convenient for Melk is the fact that a bridge over the Danube is close by. Spitz is on the same river bank as Emmersdorf. Have you been on a river cruise that docked in Emmersdorf and where did you go from there? notamermaid

Unfortunately I have not been in yet. I had read about the Gallo Roman baths: https://musee.eurometropolemetz.eu/fr/gallo-romaines.html I agree, Metz is a walkable city. For those who do not feel like doing lots of walking there is a small sightseeing train that leaves from the Cathedral square (not in winter): https://lepetittraindemetz.com/la-ville-de-metz-2/ notamermaid

Good. I was hoping a translation machine of sorts could help. Had not thought about that before. It need not even be a connection "in the mists of time", one may meet a great-great-cousin (or whatever the term is) and never know. Probably not my family, they are all from the Rhineland, Hesse or Franconia as far as I know. But I am not ruling out that a second son of an ancestor in the 18th century did venture further than the Rhine's border with the Netherlands. notamermaid

I had forgotten you would be there now. Enjoy. I really like Metz. Make sure you see the stained glass in the Cathedral. It is magnificent. And the train station with its Wilhelmian era architecture. Sierck-Les-Bains is not particulary picturesque but I really enjoyed visiting the castle ruins overlooking the town. For a really good castle in the hills visit Chateau Malbrouck: https://www.thionvilletourisme.co.uk/offers/malbrouck-castle-manderen-en-3332487/ Though it may be a bit early in the year. notamermaid

Yes, I think that may be the only book in English unfortunately. He worked at the Heidelberg Center for American Studies. This is his project there on emigrants I think: “John Jacob Astor,” in Thomas Adam and Will Kaufman, eds., Germany and the Americas: Culture, History and Politics (Santa Barbara: ABC Clio, 2005), 105–108. “Perry Friedman,” ibid., 389. “The German Society of the City of New York,” ibid., 430–31. This is a website that has compiled links. It was quite a large project on emigration that has run its course, so some info may be outdated. It is all in German, but a few links go to English language sites: https://www.auswanderung-rlp.de/das-projekt/weblinks.html One unusual aspect are the German-Irish farmers. Those are people who came from the Palatinate and did not get as far as the Americas. Part of those came with the large influx in the early 1700's: https://blogs.bl.uk/european/2015/09/the-poor-palatines.html notamermaid

I just throw in a brief report on water levels. Maxau gauge up and down at pleasant levels over the mean. Kaub gauge stable above 200cm for the next week or so. All good. Temperatures are pleasant, single or double digits during the afternoon, intermittent rain. Trees are blooming more and more, fruit trees have started.White blossoms are slowly filling gardens and parks. And if you like Japanese cherry blossoms then bookmark this website and check in over the next two weeks to see the spectacle in Bonn virtually: http://www.kirschbluete-bonn.de/blog-3/ notamermaid

Interesting. I have looked at some English language youtube videos on German river cruise lines recently. Nicko does a very good job on the German market, but overall I would say that Viva Cruises will be a better fit for most North Americans. I agree. Not sure what the ratio is but Viva Cruises will in all likelihood still have a large proportion of Germans and also some Europeans on board. As far as I know Viva Cruises is bi-lingual rather than dedicating some itinerary dates to the international market. Until a few years ago I had no idea just how many Americans have either direct German ancestors or marry into that ancestry. You know, you may trace your family and everyone is Irish/English/French/Polish or whatever and then you meet the love of your life whose grandparents came from a tiny village in the Palatinate (which is the second half in the state name Rhineland-Palatinate). There are dedicated local amateur historians in the Rhineland and elsewhere, some have gone to great lengths writing brochures or entire books on the topic. Alexander Emmerich is a professional historian renowned for his books on North America and especially the Germans emigrating to the US. He wrote a biography on John Jacob Astor. notamermaid

For those stopping in Koblenz. Most river cruise ships dock on the Moselle in Koblenz, rather than on the Rhine. This is Deutsches Eck: https://www.visit-koblenz.de/en/sights/deutsches-eck You are looking up the Moselle in this photo. For a view of your river cruise ship and the skyline of Koblenz head onto Balduin bridge: https://www.koblenz-touristik.de/geschaeftsfelder/hafen You can see this at the right side of the photo. The Balduin bridge is old, unfortunately it lost nearly one half of its old pillars to make passage for ships onto the Moselle easier. It is also the approach to the first lock (or last one, looking downstream) on the Moselle. Here is an aerial photo: notamermaid

Cochem and Bernkastel-Kues are the right places for you then, and Trier will blow you away. https://www.zentrum-der-antike.de/en/home/ Boppard has Roman history (a fort) as well and there is an exhibition in the local museum (have not seen that one). notamermaid

Thank you for the praise. Trying my best. There are still a few things about the Moselle I want to find out and cannot seem to get the answers to. I may make a couple of slightly annoying, nosy phone calls at the federal authorities some time, keeping employees from doing proper work. I have had a closer look at your itinerary. Some great options in there. I would be spoilt for choice in Boppard! The Oberlahnstein brewery I have been to, nice place, but the other excursions sound great, too. Eberbach Abbey near Rüdesheim is great. To stay in Trier or go to Luxembourg? Difficult choice. Bernkastel-Kues is pleasant, albeit a bit touristy. I intend to go there this spring again to see the birthplace of Nicholas of Cusa, i.e. an old building on the banks of the river at Kues. notamermaid

Yes. The Main and Moselle river differ in that respect. On the Main the bridges are often lower than on the Moselle. From what I have understood, the frequency of the bridges on the Main means that it is easier for the crew to keep the sun deck closed for long periods. Policy on that will differ from cruise line to cruise line and also depend a bit on the ship structure. But more on that is in the Main thread. On the Moselle the bridges give the ships more headroom so in standard conditions the Moselle is fine whereas on the Main it is very often the case to have too little headroom so that the sun deck is a safety issue. Both rivers are kept at a certain level for shipping and that is achieved of course by the many locks. In that both rivers are the same on all river cruising itineraries. So on both rivers low water is not an issue - both mouths of them aside, as those short stretches are affected by the level of the Rhine. Call it fine 99 percent of the time. This I think is a very likely scenario. notamermaid

Welcome to Cruisecritic. A great time to be on the river with Spring fully there and the weather normally stable and pleasant. Have a great cruise. notamermaid

Thanks. Actually, I was just referring to the beer, did not see the u Umlaut thing as my brain tells my finger to go straight to that key on my German keyboard. The Scenic cruise options look nice, the new Douro ones perhaps being the most attractive for those that are looking for something different and active. Melk Abbey was stunning already, with its spiral staircase a gem, would love to see Gottweig Abbey. notamermaid