notamermaid

Pfelling gauge remains stable at 312cm. Trend is for stable to minimal fall. Warm to very warm in Bavaria. Scattered showers only, Thursday to Saturday. notamermaid

Kaub gauge is at 151cm. notamermaid

Welcome to CC and the wonderful world of river cruising. We - the community - always recommend the pinned threads on this board for great info on the topic in general and you can also have a look at specific cruise line articles, comparisons, etc. To low water. August and September normally always has low water, but what does low water mean? For the Rhine low water means 150cm at Kaub for commercial shipping, then other markers follow as the low water increases, i.e. figures go further down. For a modern river cruise ship of 135m length the tricky figures are from 90cm downwards but that does not mean a ship cannot sail. This is an individual decision based on the individual ship and its captain. For August and September we do not have a low water of the kind you do not want to see for river cruising, i.e. it is not a given. Last year August was bad, September was okay to fine. Your fellow Australian has already explained things very well. 🙂 We have had a bit of low water every year since then but not for long. Last year August was a tricky month as I indicated above. 2018, you are correct, was the year for "coach tours" and downright cancellations. If anyone tells you of their awful experience with low water ask which year they went in. If they say 2018, take the info in, and think to yourself that this is not the standard by any means. Coming from so far to Europe you may want to be assured a bit more, as a rule August is better than September but last year was the other way round... Have fun planning. notamermaid

Could you look at A-Rosa or Viva Cruises, both German but very much eyeing the international market now? Booking from the US is possible but Australia I have no idea. notamermaid

Pfelling gauge stands at 311cm. It is Monday so we have a prediction issued. The forecast is for stable to minimally falling levels today, but the further prediction shows a trend towards down with levels under 300cm possible (the margin of error includes levels above that). notamermaid

The level at Pfelling has fallen faster than predicted. It now stands at 313cm. notamermaid

Thank you for pointing that out. I reckon I misread the website. Yesterday I received the preview catalogue of CroisiEurope for 2024. Not much detail in that one of course, but it advertises the cruises on the Elbe and shows that most unusual of itineraries on the river again (with a very long stretch on the Vltava), showcasing the castles of Bohemia. So this has turned out to be popular enough for the company to offer it next year as well. Hmm, website gives some special offers for this year. I think this is the European website: https://www.croisieurope.travel/en/cruise/prague-dresden-castles-bohemia-spectacular-cruise-elbe-vltava-rivers-classic notamermaid

Quick look at Pfelling gauge. Stable, with minimal rise. 341cm is good. Hot temperatures with little to no rain in Bavaria. Slowly falling levels predicted. notamermaid

@Canal archive Thought of you when I saw today's Google UK thing (what do they call that?). Celebrates scones. The German Google is barren. Pity. Should have thought of something. Scones do not exist in Germany so they cannot really do that. With a bit of time on my hands later this year I will head to the hills of the Westerwald and have a "cream tea experience". England holiday? Not sure yet. Looking very tentative. notamermaid

The beetles are a really bad problem. I visited Montserrat Monastery in Spain I think the year after the terrible forest fire. Barren and austere. An amazing holiday without any lounging around on the beach. Imagine going to the Costa Brava and not doing that. Well, it was a cultural trip. What a lovely experience. Did you see Quedlinburg itself? I do not recall what you said in the Elbe thread. notamermaid

Now there is an idea. That has given me happy thoughts - a canal, a chauffeur, good food and a stop at the local pub at the embankment. Better than mindfulness or other such calming techniques. notamermaid

Apparently, the Canadian Government has asked for international aid and from the EU fire fighters are to fly over to help. The US has already sent 3,000 over according to German reports. Amazing guys (and some girls). notamermaid

The forests are burning at Jüterbog in Brandenburg. It had got a bit better, has been raging for 10 days on an area of 600 hectares. It had got under control making the authorities a little optimistic but today wind apparently has reignited some ambers. Problem is that the area had been used by the military and contains remnants of ammunition. But they say there is no danger to housing in the area, it is far enough away from built-up areas. notamermaid

Using a canal system to supply water to areas for the purpose of managing low levels in a river system is what part of the Canal is also used for. Some water that was in the Danube system now gets diverted to the Main and therefore the Rhine system. It helps navigation on the Main. The Rhine-Main-Danube-Canal is impressive but is only the third longest canal in Germany. We have so many waterways. Many of the Northern ones are unexplored territory among foreign river cruisers. Worth checking out for something completely different. Just do not expect anything like the Rhine Gorge or the Iron Gates... It is a pity that almost all English rivers and canals are self-drive, I prefer to be chauffered. notamermaid

So, the two rivers. The Emperor Charlemagne planned to connect the Rhine and the Danube water systems in the 8th century. Sounds quite a task, but arguably the Romans managed to solve bigger problems like supplying a city with fresh water and install a sewage system. However, it is a different challenge to connect two rivers via a mountain that flow in opposing directions, especially for shipping. That project was the Fossa Carolina. The way this was meant to happen you can read online. Times changed and the great undertaking was only picked up again in the late Medieval period. Fast forward more centuries (and ignoring the Ludwig Canal and further efforts for this post) and modern shipping puts the idea literally on the map on a huge scale. This is the modern Rhine-Main-Danube-Canal. A canal needs water, first to fill it and then a constant supply. Either you can have a canal near a water supply or you use a river turned canal or a mix. The engineering is fascinating in that like Charlemagne's project, the modern canal uses the Altmühl river again. But it also uses the Regnitz river. Both rivers are not just used for the water supply they are partly the Canal, meaning stretches of them are canalized to the standard of modern shipping requirements. The Altmühl and the Regnitz are the two additional rivers (that are hardly ever mentioned) you sail on from Amsterdam to Budapest and the solution to my quiz question. You can look this up here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhine–Main–Danube_Canal and more info in German for the statistics and history fans is on this website: https://www.schifffahrtsverein.de/daten-und-fakten/ And remember, you are sailing "on top of the mountain" as far as commercial shipping is concerned. The summit elevation in the Canal is 406m above sea level, the highest spot on earth you can reach by a ship from sea according to English Wikipedia. The German Wikipedia says only of Europe. Which is pretty impressive already I would say. notamermaid

Reports on international shipping and business websites are coming in for "low water" or "levels having fallen to a low for the first time this year", etc. Following on from my post #243 I can say that, yes, shipping may be affected now but it is fine for river cruise ships. Kaub gauge level is falling, the figure now is 169cm. We have had some rain so the trend has been slowed down today. Next week will still see levels of 150cm and also likely below that. The margin of error shows that levels of below 120cm are unlikely. notamermaid

Yesterday was Corpus Christi - Fronleichnam. Always thought it is a weird name for a day, who puts "corpse" in such titles, although fitting? Anyway, tourists are out and about a bit more, meaning the type of tourist shifts a little as the German "long-weekenders" are having a great time. Again, the Thursday being a public holiday, people take the Friday off and have four full days of fun. I sometimes wonder how we keep the economy going.😉 I am also a bit more busy for that reason - the tourists - and not looking forward to this heatwave that has just started and will get us over 30 Celsius for the first time this year. Fan is now operating in my office space. Hope the computer appreciates it as much as me, he (German grammar dictates it is male and this girl thinks it must be true) has not said so yet... Rivers are loosing water a bit more than was shown three days ago, but does not look worrying yet. Have a good weekend. notamermaid

Thank you for your review, good to read you had a very nice time overall. I also appreciate the comparisons to Viking. Interesting details. notamermaid

Great. Whether it is the Danube or the Rhine, for a first river cruise you cannot go wrong with either. I am sure it will be splendid. Lovely autumn colours in the second half of October and often still very pleasant daytime temperatures for much of October. Have a great cruise. notamermaid

It is not what I am looking for either. Thank you for joining in. Next clue, connected to Emperor Charlemagne: Fossa Carolina. notamermaid

Thank you for trying. Good choices, but I am afraid it is the wrong answer as regards sailing, but I give you that you can dock on the Moselle and possibly the Inn at Passau, so you are in some ways right, i.e. it is the waters of two other rivers. I am looking for real sailing for longer than a hundred metres. A wide clue: Emperor Charlemagne. notamermaid

Okay, after all these ships, old and modern, let us throw in a few Roman remains. This piece of news comes from Switzerland: https://www.livescience.com/archaeology/romans/1700-year-old-roman-watchtower-ruins-discovered-in-switzerland Much of the Rhine eventually became the border of the Roman Empire or was near it. Of course, the boundaries and borders shifted over the centuries. But quite a few geographical features and borders either remain to this day or have had such a lasting impact that they are still clear or easily explained by getting an understanding of the few centuries of Roman influence or occupation. I myself, having been born within the Roman Empire borders, regard, with a twinkle in my eye, the people coming down from the far hills into my area as "wild Germans". notamermaid

Thank you for investigating. As you say, it can sail on the Rhine (and many other waterways) but this amphibious class seems not to have been on rivers beyond their mouths and was mostly patrolling along the coast and operating in the Baltic Sea. As the Wikipedia page says, a training exercise took at least one boat up to Strasbourg but it is not clear if it was the "Lachs". This current journey is the last one for "Lachs", she is saying goodbye and according to a promotion website of the Germany navy "will bring the German Navy to you ((on the river))". It is an information and recruiting tour: Düsseldorf 10 June, Bonn 12 June, Cologne 14/15 June. notamermaid

Thank you for saying hello and your kind words.. Usually still a good time before we get low water, low for river cruise ships that is, and less risk than on the Danube where around Pfelling low water tends to set in earlier in the year than on the Rhine. And the evenings will be welcomingly warm after potentially hot days of exploring places. Have a great cruise. notamermaid

Pleasant surprise! The Amadeus Elegant is back on the river proper and sailing towards Cologne. notamermaid