notamermaid

Perhaps that is why he has not been yet. The house is on the wrong list! You never know these days, all smartphone and laptop and that - not the order book folder but his holiday list. 😁 Well, I am in the middle of my holiday plans but I do not know yet if it will be on a major river. France? England? Germany? It is nice to see tourists enjoying themselves on my river. I admit to getting a tad envious occasionally. I am too busy to have a proper excursion boat trip, but perhaps later in the year I will find some time to hop on a boat and wave to the large ships... I did have a short ferry crossing on my river combined with a trip out - it was the large car ferry from Linz to Remagen-Kripp, which sailed so fast I could hardly take proper photos. Not speed as in speed boat but the route is more or less straight so the crossing only takes about four minutes (without loading and unloading). notamermaid

Yes, that may have helped. Reporting back to say that storms were heavy but not as bad as feared around where I am. No real hail damage but I phoned the authorities to report a fallen branch. All trees still standing near me. Got another leak in the roof and the roof gutter gave up trying to cope with all the water (again). The roofer has already had the house I am living in on his to-do list. notamermaid

There has been a curious accident on the Rhine. A barge hit the bridge at Karlsruhe-Maxau and caused a damage of half a million euros, according to this German report: https://www.swr.de/swraktuell/baden-wuerttemberg/karlsruhe/schiff-rheinbruecke-maxau-haengengeblieben-100.html It is unusual as most of the Rhine bridges have a lot of headroom and the water level is low. Normally a barge would have no problems sailing but this was a high load, look at the shape of it in the photo. Not sure what this is, it looks like a fancy girder for a bridge or building. The barge is freed, the bridge is cleared but unsafe for heavy truck loads over 44 tons (a precautionary measure). For repairs, meaning erecting scaffolding, river traffic may need to be temporarily halted. All captains will be notified of this in the NfB (online notifications for shipping) of course. Kaub gauge at 134cm. It has been raining in isolated showers, heavy thunderstorms approaching from Belgium and France. I had better close the windows. See ya. And take care. notamermaid

Forgot to mention: Pfelling gauge has gone up to 311cm. Difficult to say how things will develop but the Regen River is carrying a higher volume of water. This means that at least the level at Regensburg will rise, which may or may not result in a higher level at Pfelling. This will depend on the Danube before Regensburg and a few small tributaries along the way as well as the locks between Regensburg and Pfelling. notamermaid

Yes, the Komaron "substitute" port was also used last year at some point. A standard procedure when the water is low around the bend and at Budapest these days, it appears. notamermaid

Now, bless my whiskers, I have never heard of that Kaffeemaschine! Coffee maker on the dashboard, German engineering at its best. 👍 Been in an old beetle where some heating device was not working. Not my favourite car ride. Love the old bretzel design though, it refers to the back window shape. notamermaid

Soon after I posted earlier, the level at Pfelling started rising steadily and is running well above what the forecast had suggested earlier today for this evening. I have the sneaky feeling they have let more water get through the lock and dam system than what is standard. Just my guess. Anyway, the result: 301cm. Now that is a nice figure to end the day with. notamermaid

Thank you for your kind words. A good time to be on the river if you like hot weather and those splendid warm evenings with cocktails on the sundeck. 🍸 Have a great cruise. Normally water levels are okay on the Rhine then but, yes, they are a little on the low side now, could do with a bit of rain on more than one day. It may be a "violent" night with hail, hopefully nothing of the kind that struck the Neuwied Basin (that is the river stretch between Koblenz and Andernach) last Spring. They still do not have all roofs repaired and in March I still saw lots of blue safety covering on shattered street lights. The warning for hail is in place for much of the Southern half of Germany and some of the Middle, too - which includes my state Rhineland-Palatinate. notamermaid

Kaub gauge at 127cm. The forecast has been slightly adjusted down, but there is still a chance that Thursday we will see 140cm on the graph. Whatever the figures will be tomorrow, Friday looks to be even better. So, time to relax. Onto something completely different. Saw in the news an event that is unique in Germany: street painting in 3D. That ended on Saturday. The international artists painted on the pavements in Neuwied, that is a town just North of Koblenz, with lasting colours meaning the paintings will stay for several weeks as 24/7 exhibition. They could well be still visible in September. Looks interesting. This is the website of the Dutch organizers: https://worldstreetpainting.nl/de/ Now, if only Neuwied had a river cruise dock it would be easier to get there... I have recently read in the papers that the town council wants to use a grant (from the Federal government?) and for that needs to compile a tourism strategy paper which they are working on. Sounds like the sort of thing that could take years. A bit slow if they want to have a piece of the fat cake that is river cruising. If you have tons of time then take a train from Koblenz, easy to do, but do not expect a tourism gem. I do recommend the beer garden on the embankment, though, and the palace is nice to look at (not open to the public). notamermaid

Pfelling gauge is at 279cm. A slight up in the forecast is suggested, a return to 290cm? Looks doubtful still, but there looks to be a reaction to the rain coming. I agree, sounds good. Have a great time in the Northeast of my country. For those new to the topic of the Danube and low water (in Germany): Vilshofen is considered the last port without the low water problems, looking upstream. A lock helps to keep the level up. From there you pass Pfelling gauge and sail on to Straubing, where we consider the low water problems to end, but it appears that Regensburg is sometimes the last port that those coming from the Canal sail to, avoiding sailing on to Straubing and turning. Not sure why, a lack of space at Straubing or logistics/supply/amenities? If you are interested in such details, perhaps your ship crew may be happy to answer such questions. notamermaid

Welcome to Cruisecritic. All in all, a bit on the low side in Germany, meaning in the possible range looking at long-term data, both Rhine and Danube have seen lower levels with less flooding than what one may consider expected. If you are new to river cruising or would like a few more tips may I recommend the pinned threads by our host jazzbeau to you? A great compilation of info. Have a great cruise. notamermaid

Pfelling gauge at 280cm, up from 278cm earlier. Still fluctuating at too low a level. Band of rain with thunderstorms forming, now running through Germany Northwest to Southeast, having reached Bavaria and moving through towards the Czech Republic. notamermaid

Thank you for saying hello. Early August - very warm days and a splendid time for evening cocktails on the sundeck watching the sun go down. Have a great cruise. notamermaid

Welcome to Cruisecritic. It is difficult to say but overall I would say third week of June to third week of July. Flooding rarely happens in this time frame and low water is normally not there yet. The low level we have at Kaub now is not problematic for river cruise ships. notamermaid

Kaub gauge at 126cm. Parts of the valley have already seen some rain during the night. After a further slow decline the reaction to rain comes into view in the tables and on Thursday should put the figures up to 140cm and possibly more. notamermaid

Pfelling gauge at 282cm. Mild heat warning for much of Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria. The Rhine valley has already seen a bit of rain during the night. Level forecast at Kelheim, that is where the Canal joins the Danube, now showing an uptick in levels. Not much but it is there. This may not be reflected at Pfelling later as we have two locks and and the Regen river (among other parametres/variables) also determining how things will go. Thunderstorms may happen during the night. notamermaid

That sounds a really nice itinerary that focusses on the Main River. You are in new York, so the weather we have will be similar to yours. You are right, no problem there. I cannot think of major things to take into consideration. You probably know that Christmas markets only really get going at the very end of November. Going in December is lovely, enjoying the lights and atmosphere will be "inevitable" as it gets dark early. No, you do not need to do lots of shopping. 🙂 Get the Christmas treats in Nuremberg, sample the famous sausages in Regensburg, try a Rauchbier in Bamberg (you may have get a story to tell at home, i.e. it is a bit "odd"). Basically enjoy food and drink with the rivers and canals as the backdrop. There is lots of history, the towns and cities vary in their style and age. Oh, I like Würzburger Hofbräu and highly recommend visiting the Residenz. Have heard got things about Bamberg. Frankfurt is our "Manhattan on the Main". Lots to see and do. One thing, it is nicer and more relaxing to fly into your destination the day before your cruise. It would be a pity to see little of your embarkation port. I will take the liberty of calling @steamboats our woman in Bavaria. Should you happen to be flying into Munich - she can tell you all about her city and the Isar River. 🙂 And she of course knows the Main, the Bavarian Main better than me. Have fun planning. notamermaid

Kaub gauge at 131cm. A slow decline and overall little worsening of the situation along the river and its tributaries since Saturday. Thunderstorms are forecast for tomorrow and the day after. It looks as if, after two hot (for us) and humid days, we can look forward to a cooler day. Reaction of the river in the Rhine Gorge expected on Friday - a rising level at Kaub. notamermaid

Pfelling gauge at 282cm. Forecast looks more or less stable for today but the trend is definitely for a further slow decline (36 hours). Weather forecast for Bavaria says localized thunderstorms starting during the night, but tomorrow will be a hot and humid day followed by, again, localized thunderstorms. Wednesday all in all a bit cloudier with potentially a bit more rain. Very difficult to tell if that will be really helpful for the river's levels to go up. notamermaid

Not much time for long television sessions. Busy working, cooking, etc. over the weekend. Boss has already phoned me at home with a query this morning... But all good. Team meeting this week. Lots of events in Summer of course, so will help out a bit. @Host Jazzbeau great news! notamermaid

Pfelling gauge shows 287cm. notamermaid

On my river cruise there was football match one evening, one of the teams was the Danish national one, cannot remember the other country. The crew set the TV in the smaller lounge area to a channel that showed the match. The few Danish people on board were happy and were busy cheering and drinking beer. The Ashes - serious business. Good idea. Grin. Or Canal archive, assuming they will be the minority, may need to keep a low profile depending on how things go with the scores... Although, I am convinced the Australians are very happy and accommodating folk. Have a great cruise, @Canal archive. notamermaid

Priority while sailing - not sure if that could apply to the Rhine, I have never heard of that before. There is the notion that commercial ships have priority at locks, but I have not seen that confirmed in writing. The standard is first come, first serve. Priority is given to boats operated by the authorities, like police launches, etc. Further priority can be given to other ships, they then carry a red triangular flag. The rule book called "Binnenschiffahrtsstrassenordnung" says: "§ 6.29 Reihenfolge der Schleusungen Es wird, soweit nachstehend nichts anderes bestimmt ist, in der Reihenfolge des Eintreffens vor der Schleuse, bei mehreren Schleusen vor der gewählten oder durch Richtungsweiser nach § 6.28a zugewiesenen Schleuse geschleust. ..." The exceptions then follow in the text. Perhaps someone can talk to captain or crew members on their upcoming cruise to find out a little about the topic. 2018 was a bad year. Avalon appears to do well, definitely better than Viking, we have established that. Amawaterways on the Rhine did better than Viking last year but in my opinion slightly failed to live up to the promise of the "hull construction less draft still sail at figure x centimetres when others stop" advertising. But then all 135m ships gave up in the Rhine Gorge for a couple of days last year. I am not worried about water levels on the Rhine (which the article was about), at least not yet. The Danube is a different matter and while I am a little surprised it went so quickly down three days ago, I kind of expected low levels in this absence of rain. Thought we may just manage to avoid the figure 290m at Pfelling. Right now it is 286cm. Remember, folks, Avalon Waterways has 110m ships still while Viking only sails with 135m ships on the Danube, Canal, Main, Moselle and Rhine. It could help with one's decision for or against a company/ship on the Danube or on the Rhine. notamermaid

That is nice. Perhaps I can get a glimpse of it later in the news or tomorrow. I am busy with work, so not much time beyond cooking and doing the washing up... and the water levels. Bumped into some French people today and tried out my language skills - good job one of them spoke German really well, much faster conversation that way. 😉 It is quite warm here but still bearable. notamermaid

Quick look at Kaub: 140cm. Still good. Barges and tankers running normally (a bit higher in the water though as load is reduced). Been to the embankment briefly. Forecast level 138cm to 136cm tomorrow. Continued slow decline Monday and Tuesday. I still ignore headlines that tell me of "river too low for shipping" "Rhine drying up" "Drought on the Rhine". Gauges colours still on green on the Rhine (excerpt of map): Moselle, Main and Lahn (East of Koblenz that one) show statistical lows in orange now but that has very little to no impact on shipping on those rivers). Starting Tuesday and then Wednesday into Thursday forecast is still for some rain and reaction of the river to that. notamermaid