notamermaid

Happened with us, just one person though. Perhaps not so surprising. As I said, we have all lived quite close, for a hundred odd years in the wider Rhineland, all of us. And at least on my father's side for a lot longer. More so for you than for us here, but as the Vikings raided along the Rhine, who knows, one of those strapping men may have caught the eye of a Rhenish maiden that was an ancestor of mine. I won't rule it out. I am a bit surprised by how much the test differentiated for @Rebel54. I thought that if I did such a test it would probably reveal boring 100% Germanic. Perhaps it would be more accurate and varied after all. I have step relatives on both my mother's and father's side. Oddly enough, one got in touch yesterday after not having had any contact for at least four years. Got a bit further with the research for the American family. Looks promising for giving them some good news in the coming weeks. If so, I will then pass it on to a couple of more qualified people to continue. notamermaid

A nice small town indeed. A Neckar river cruise together with the Rhine would be a good trip, too. I think AmaWaterways have teamed up with a company to offer a "genealogy river cruise" this year. But I think if I felt comfortable touring independently a land trip could be more in-depth. Fascinating stuff, finding out about one's family. I went to the area of Würzburg three years ago partly to see where my ancestor was from. Turns out he was not born in the village that I visited, it is his last place of residence in Franconia but he only lived there briefly. But his name appears elsewhere in the area and stems from not far away. So still Würzburg-Franconian. I think all my family hail from within the German realm, but before 1700 who knows... notamermaid

A phone call has revealed that the landing stage that was damaged is the out of town one. A very friendly tourism assistant told me that the modern big one at the town centre embankment is fine. Apparently there is also a very nice park at the river and a Roman fort near by. Sounds inviting to me. The town being accessible with a river cruise ship means it is eligible for inclusion in my series of lesser known ports. So I will write a little about Monheim some time. This is the thread I mean: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2516698-rhine-beyond-the-standard-ports/ notamermaid

I have not been and never heard the name before. I have been to Stuttgart which is not too far from there. That is quite a thing to find out. It kind of changes your whole being. Kusterdingen appears to have an interesting church - the one in your photograph. Turns out the roof is green tiles. That is quite unusual. Kusterdingen is an hour and fifteen minutes by car from Lampoldshausen, where @jpalbny's ancestor is from. Checked the name in the Neckar thread where we had talked about it. By the way, I am currently helping with a genealogy inquiry that was passed on to me through work. An American family planning a trip to the Rhineland to check out an ancestral home. I do that sort of thing occasionally, but only very limited research as I am an amateur. notamermaid

Let us start the tips in this thread this year with a snow scene, the magnificent Neuschwanstein Castle in white surrounded by white rocks: https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2023/jan/26/bavaria-walking-holiday-hiking-germany-south It is my preferred season for photos of the Schloss. A quieter time I expect, too. One of the most visited sights in Germany it can get a bit busy... Now, the castle is quite a distance from the Danube but offered as an excursion pre- or post-cruise with some river cruise lines. Is it worth the detour or add-on? In my opinion, yes! Far from being old, the building is still a masterpiece of one man's dream castle and the mountains are nice to look at, too. notamermaid

That put a big smile on my face. I do not have much wildlife around here. The other day I say a bluetit on the tree right in front of my house. Nice specimen. But as so often happens I could not take photo before it flew off. It is relatively mild so they are quite agile and even sing. Hopefully the small bird of prey from last year will be back in Spring to breed in my neighbourhood. The wild boar are a hazard in autumn but fortunately I did not hear of any accidents last year. I have been to the Koblenz tourism fair. Some nice chats and lots of paper, meaning brochures to look at. Talked to the lady at the Anton Götten/CroisiEurope stand briefly as well. Germersheim had a stand so I asked about river cruises. As I feared, the companies that dock there still mostly go by coach to Heidelberg, etc. and few guests actually explore the town. I think I will go there this year as it is small and has some 19th century fortifications left. Fun fact: the fortress is not Prussian but Bavarian as the Palatine was Bavarian territory. notamermaid

Well, the month started with unpleasant excitement unfortunately at Monheim, a town between Cologne and Düsseldorf. A barge hit the newly installed landing stage for excursion boats. It is bent and not usuable right now but fortunately at least did not drift off: https://www.monheim.de/stadtleben-aktuelles/news/nachrichten/baumberger-steiger-nach-kollision-mit-einem-schiff-schwer-beschaedigt-12051 I must admit that I have never been to Monheim. Big question is: have they got a docking area for river cruise ships? I will explore that and see what else I can find out about the place. notamermaid

My pleasure. Thank you for saying hello. I am intrigued by the - I think - new river cruise of 17(!) days from Berlin to Strasbourg. Quite unusual on the international market. A Grand European journey of a different kind. I admit that it is "only" three countries but what great sights nevertheless: https://www.croisieuroperivercruises.com/cruise/berlin-strasbourg-classic#cruise notamermaid

Another Viking ship for the Seine, not until 2025, but the company seems to want to announce early that there is a contract for building a fifth ship for the Seine. So the four 125m ones will get another sister: https://travelweekly.co.uk/news/tourism/viking-adds-fifth-ship-to-paris-fleet It says "Exclusive docking location at Port de Grenelle". Err? I think they must mean that they have a landing stage that is Viking's own. Do not be fooled by the wording, there are other ships docking at Port de Grenelle: The two blue dots close together are CroisiEurope's MS Boticelli and MS Renoir. notamermaid

Let us see what river levels were like for those very few cruises that ran over New Year and at the end of the past month. Here is the graph at Kaub for January : The month started well above the mean and after a decline the graph shows the peak following substantial rain at the middle of January. After a relatively sharp drop the level is in slow decline still and the month finished with a level that is considered slightly low for barge traffic, meaning potentially reducing cargo. But the forecast shows another return to levels closer to the mean. notamermaid

What was January at Pfelling like? Here is the gauge: The month started at a level well above the mean and then went down. The middle of January saw much rain and a small peak is visible in the graph but the level did not return to the previous high. Although it has been raining (and snowing) since then it has not been substantial enough to keep the level up. The temperatures are too cold for much snow melt - and frost is what we want to see in January. A standard month overall I would say. But a bit more precipitation in the higher regions of Bavaria would be good now. notamermaid

My pleasure. Have a fantastic time on the river. Coming up: a first look at the water levels, meaning January 2023. notamermaid

Beef yes, that is standard, lamb not so much. Lamb as meat is not eaten that often by many people (but I do regularly), so sausages are not eaten that often either but for shopping should be available in specialist butchers or on a sheep farm. Note that lamb is more expensive than pork and much of beef. Supermarkets tend to have just a few cuts from Irish or New Zealand animals. Best place indeed is an eatery/butchers connected with Muslim communities if you are in a big town. You can get horse by the way, though not exactly standard either. Talking of lamb, here is one place I have been to during a harvest festival, a sheep farm. They have recipes with lamb online (German only) and sell lamb sausages in the shop. This is not far from Koblenz: https://www.hof-meerheck.de/rezeptideen/ Not wanting to go too deep into this but perhaps you are interested in the out of town farms. Here is a big map: https://www.mein-bauernhof.de/kategorie/fleisch/lamm/ I was just thinking, perhaps it is possible to have lamb sausages bought in by the crew for the German barbecue dinners on board river cruise ships. If they know well in advance I am sure they are happy to offer that. notamermaid

Very interesting. I was wondering why it is specifically pork and shellfish. German words: kein Schweinefleisch (no pork), kein Schweinedarm (no pork intestine (or casing)), etc. notamermaid

The first cruises on the Elbe start in March but let us have a look anyway at how the river has been doing in January. The gauge at Dresden: The month started with a level well above the mean. The middle of the month brought a lot of rain over the whole of Germany with the (small) peak on the Elbe visible here on the graph just like on the Rhine and Danube. After briefly dropping below the mean water mark, the line MW in the graph, the level is now going up again. In short: a typical month with cool and wet conditions as expected in many years in Germany. Nothing out of the ordinary. notamermaid

Glad to read you enjoyed it and thanks for saying hello. 70 days - certainly not long too go til then, time for mild excitement already . It is quiet here and the river is calm with little of note to report. In January there was an odd accident of a barge breaking in two while being loaded in Kehl. A few days ago we had a short scare as a tanker loaded with Diesel ran aground at Spay in the Rhine Gorge. Water got into the hull but no Diesel leaked into the Rhine. Hopefully February brings no excitement of that kind and sticks to Carnival excitement. notamermaid

Ah, yes, forgot, you can always stipulate what your dietary requirements are when booking. I asked at my local butchers yesterday about beef sausages and their casing. She said it depends, on beef the casing is lamb but this will depend on their supplier. It could be pork. Halal signs are on doors of those Döner places very often. A good thing to look out for. notamermaid

Cannot judge for Amsterdam, but as background info I can tell you that the plans are made well in advance. I am not surprised Amsterdam has issued this plan. Koblenz has one for much of this year already: https://www.koblenz-touristik.de/_Resources/Persistent/1/2/4/4/124427b74d6c7db2d3fb77f00dcf70a5b3b39c82/Belegungsplan 16.01.2023.pdf Rüdesheim has a plan up until the end of March. There are always last minute changes that do not make it into the published plans and Rüdesheim used to have an online file that actually marked changes, i.e. a ship moved to landing stage 2 from 1 (as an example) or a docking cancellation. notamermaid

Fortunately I am a bit too busy to read too much into it or get too stressed out - but I am sad that my neighbour who was in a coma has died. They talk of excess deaths in Germany and it feels like that to me now. I have lost six neighbours in eleven months, two feline and four humans. A seventh, a young man who fell literally suddenly flat on his face, is recovering well but will have facial scars. It is worrying. Another neighbour says he is optimistic after his heart surgery, wish I had his optimism. I think I need to get away and get some Vitamin D in winter sunshine. I am planning to go to a spa resort or a small village in the high hills where there is snow. Perhaps over Carnival. Still no holiday planned but I am considering a short river cruise, just an overnight one. KD has these party cruises... If it gets too loud I will just hide in the cabin. Should be fun seeing the skyline of Cologne and the area there. I know the views around Bonn, Cologne and Düsseldorf but not from on board a ship. The water level threads are up and running, it will be great to share people's excitement about their upcoming cruises. Life is quiet and there is not much to talk about along the rivers but that will sure change come March. First it is Carnival of course. A few river cruises in Europe are available on that weekend and CroisiEurope is even offering one during Venice Carnival. notamermaid

Yes to the river cruise direction from me. Love the itinerary stops (not done the cruise but this would be in my top five to choose from if I booked) Highly recommend those rivers. If you would like to see Austria as well why not fly into Vienna and go by train to Passau or Munich and make your way to the river cruise from there. notamermaid

You can certainly get beef sausage but as regards purity I cannot say if there is not a single bit of pork in it. You can get lamb and venison as well. Turkey is a bit rarer but possible to get. Eateries that mainly serve Muslim customers, which in Germany is the odd Oriental restaurant and the many, many Döner fast food places, serve normally no pork but German-style sausages are not typically on the menu. In restaurants you could simple ask if the beef sausage is 100% beef. notamermaid

A short ship review: https://travelweekly.co.uk/destinations/ship-review-a-rosa-sena notamermaid

British fog - you can't beat it . Have seen the fog coming in from the sea on the south coast at Brighton. In the 80s when there was not as much filtering of exhausts and chimneys I saw the fog on the Thames, you know, you could only see fog. Fascinating. Today I am chuffed because I read earlier that the German film "Im Westen nichts Neues" has been nominated for nine Oscars! Northern German television station interviewed the curator at the Erich Maria Remarque museum in Osnabrück. The man is quite happy. Remarque wrote the novel 95 years ago. Will be interesting to see if the film gets an Oscar in March, or more than one. It beats the film "Das Boot" as a German film with the most nominations. That one got six nominations in 1983. Winter is dragging on here, just cold and grey. I have not even planned any day trips yet. After a hectic Christmas season and unhappy emotions I am a bit exhausted. notamermaid

Last year's winter cruises had a successful first season. The popularity has encouraged Viva Cruises to offer them again. The first departure is on 27 January: https://www.travelweekly.com/River-Cruising/Viva-Cruises-winter-Europe-sailings?ct=river While it is a little too cold for long excursions for me, I must admit that four nights on my river with a massage and just relaxing on a cosy ship sounds a great idea. notamermaid

Here is the thread on the Elbe river for 2023. Join us again this year with comments and tips - not just for this magnificent river making its journey from the Czech Republic all the way to Hamburg in Germany and to the North Sea but also the connected land portions like Prague and Berlin. Safe travels. notamermaid