Rhine water levels 2016 and similar topics

[Mrs Clooney]

Have been Reading with interest about the water levels down the Rhine and other adjoining rivers. I am due to go on a river cruise from Amsterdam to Istanbul starting 27 July 2016.

wishing everyone the best that is on a cruise at the moment and hoping with big fingers crossed that everything is back to normal in July for us and that the weather is nice and not too hot .

[notamermaid]

Hello CPTTrips and Sapphire73,

 

Thank you for the infos on the mustard mill in Cologne.

 

notamermaid

[notamermaid]

Clearing up is being done after the thunderstorms and downpours of Friday and Saturday. Rail traffic is still disrupted due to the damage to track and powerlines where a train derailed in the Middle Rhine valley. Discussions about insurances and changes to insurance policies for such "acts of god" feature highly in the news.

 

Lake Constance is still high but the water levels are going down slowly (apart from the Lower Rhine but that is too minimal to be of concern) and the authorities hope to be able to lift the ban on river traffic later today. Maxau is currently at 7.55m.

 

The weather is warm but a little unsettled. Expect more rain on Thursday.

 

notamermaid

[notamermaid]

Hello zentrisha,

 

We are still in Strasbourg for the night. Today but we did a walking tour in Strasbourg and Avalon comped our tour to the Black Forest. We will be taken to Heidelberg via coach tomorrow for our tours. We have been assured that we will take off for Mannheim at 4:30pm.

 

Thank you for your reports from the Avalon Tranquility II. I hope you have a great excursion to Heidelberg and that the ship can get back on schedule with the intented itinerary.

 

notamermaid

[CPT Trips]

Thanks, looks interesting . . . Adding it to "the list."

[Spartantartan]

We are on the Avalon Felicity and also docked in Strasbourg. We passed the Tranquility this afternoon around 5:15 and it was still docked relatively near us. I hope you are on your way to Mannheim by now, zentricia. We are supposed to leave Strasbourg any minute now and get to Mannheim tomorrow around lunch time. And we've been told that it's smooth sailing from then on. However, it's past the time when we were supposed to be on our way, and we haven't moved. That's the report fro, the Avalon Felicity.

 

 

 

 

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[Spartantartan]

Update from the Felicity: We're moving!

 

 

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[zentrisha]

We are on our way to Mainz and should be there by morning. The rest should be smooth sailing.

[notamermaid]

It is looking good for smooth sailing as the ban on river traffic has been lifted.

 

Have a great cruise, everyone.

 

notamermaid

[Spartantartan]

Thanks for you good wishes and the invaluable reports, notamermaid. We're in Mannheim and looking forward to the rest of our cruise.

 

 

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[notamermaid]

On this happy day for Rhine river cruisers (see posts #208 and #209 above) I would like to share with you a nice video I found. It is produced by Deutsche Welle. That is the German international broadcaster. They have some interesting stuff on their website. This one - I am sure you are not surprised I have chosen it :D - is on the castles on the Rhine:

 

http://www.dw.com/en/picturesque-castles-on-the-rhine/a-19342523

 

notamermaid

[Host Jazzbeau]

Thanks notamermaid, that is a great video of the Rhine castles. Also brings back memories on a different level: when I was in college in the late '60s I served for two years as Director of Public Affairs Programming on the student radio station. I had to fill one hour of every day -- and even I couldn't talk that much about public affairs. Thankfully Deutsche Welle sent us interesting tapes about news and cultural developments in Germany, and our listeners quickly became very knowledgable about "West Germany."

[M&Rsquared]

Notamermaid,

Question/OPINION: Viking is offering tour; Journey upriver into Moselle Wine Country. Explore the small villages and steep hillsides that produce some of the finest Rieslings in the world. You will head up the winding Moselle River by coach. All around you, terraced vineyards climb dramatic slopes, the walls of a deep valley cut by the river. During your journey, you will pass through typical Moselle landscapes, with some vineyards squeezed in small spaces between cliffs. Along the Moselle’s shores, lovely riverside villages are home to half-timbered houses and to wineries that produce the sweet white wines for which this region is known. During your excursion, you will stop at a local winery for a tour and tasting.

 

Googled map of Koblenz to Cochem to Beilstein - it takes an hour to get there so I presume an hour back :o. Not much time for photo stop then wine tasting... but I'd love to see the Cochem Castle... YOUR OPINION PLEASE.

 

I would do this in place of the Marksburg Castle (ankle problems).

 

AGAIN, I would like to thank you for all your insight / history lessons and water level information.

Marcella

[jpalbny]

M&Rsquared, I'm not notamermaid, but I'm not a mermaid either, so figure that out... but I wanted to give you a little bit of an answer to your question.

 

An hour drive along the Mosel valley is likely to be stunningly beautiful. We drove the route from Trier to Bernkastel last year on our own - a bit upriver from your potential trip - and the scenery was gorgeous. I don't think you'd regret taking an excursion like this one. My concern would be the large group wine tasting. IME these tend to be so-so, just because of the numbers. But if you think you'd not enjoy Marksberg, then this sounds like a nice alternative.

 

We have not visited Cochem, but it gets high praise from one of our previous Uniworld CDs. She says it's her favorite stop on the Mosel.

Edited June 29, 2016 by jpalbny

[Host Jazzbeau]

M&Rsquared, I'm not notamermaid, but I'm not a mermaid either, so figure that out... but I wanted to give you a little bit of an answer to your question.

 

An hour drive along the Mosel valley is likely to be stunningly beautiful. We drove the route from Trier to Bernkastel last year on our own - a bit upriver from your potential trip - and the scenery was gorgeous. I don't think you'd regret taking an excursion like this one. My concern would be the large group wine tasting. IME these tend to be so-so, just because of the numbers. But if you think you'd not enjoy Marksberg, then this sounds like a nice alternative.

 

We have not visited Cochem, but it gets high praise from one of our previous Uniworld CDs. She says it's her favorite stop on the Mosel.

 

Remember the old ad slogan "Getting there is half the fun"?

[CPT Trips]

I did not see a mention of a castle tour in the trip description. Is that included?

 

While not as difficult as Marksburg, there are stairs in the castle and a fairly steep walk from the parking area.

[Mrs Clooney]

I am going on my first river cruise Amsterdam to Istanbul starting 27th July..

Have had the worry of the flooding river ( hopefully back to normal by july/august) and now the worry of the bombings at Istanbul airport this morning..

We have had flights from Istanbul to Italy booked for over a year and hotels booked and would hate to lose that part of the trip to say nothing of the money lost..

We will no doubt go ahead with our plans and envisage spending a lot of time in our hotel room at Istanbul..

desperately sorry for those who lost their lives and are caught up this this atrocity ..

[Host Jazzbeau]

I am going on my first river cruise Amsterdam to Istanbul starting 27th July..

Have had the worry of the flooding river ( hopefully back to normal by july/august) and now the worry of the bombings at Istanbul airport this morning..

We have had flights from Istanbul to Italy booked for over a year and hotels booked and would hate to lose that part of the trip to say nothing of the money lost..

We will no doubt go ahead with our plans and envisage spending a lot of time in our hotel room at Istanbul..

desperately sorry for those who lost their lives and are caught up this this atrocity ..

 

If you call the airline, they may waive the rebooking fees to switch to a different airport or to move up your departure to minimize time in Istanbul. Living in the NYC area I am not easily scared -- but I wouldn't go to Istanbul under the circumstances of ever-increasing violence.

[Mrs Clooney]

We are only in Istanbul for about 2 days.. Uniworld flies us there, as the boat finishes at Bucharest, which perhaps does not have the facilities/routes to get everyone home directly.Short in and out...Still not happy..But as we have been there before, I'm happy just to spend time in the hotel ( hiding under the bed) Hopefully the airport will have the tightest of security

[CPT Trips]

Hello CPTTrips and Sapphire73,

 

Thank you for the infos on the mustard mill in Cologne.

 

notamermaid

 

Oops! Es tut mir leid. My comment was about Cochem.

[notamermaid]

Quoting M&Rsquared:

 

Mosselle River tour

Notamermaid,

Question/OPINION: Viking is offering tour; Journey upriver into Moselle Wine Country. Explore the small villages and steep hillsides that produce some of the finest Rieslings in the world. You will head up the winding Moselle River by coach. All around you, terraced vineyards climb dramatic slopes, the walls of a deep valley cut by the river. During your journey, you will pass through typical Moselle landscapes, with some vineyards squeezed in small spaces between cliffs. Along the Moselle’s shores, lovely riverside villages are home to half-timbered houses and to wineries that produce the sweet white wines for which this region is known. During your excursion, you will stop at a local winery for a tour and tasting.

 

Googled map of Koblenz to Cochem to Beilstein - it takes an hour to get there so I presume an hour back :o. Not much time for photo stop then wine tasting... but I'd love to see the Cochem Castle... YOUR OPINION PLEASE.

 

I would do this in place of the Marksburg Castle (ankle problems).

 

AGAIN, I would like to thank you for all your insight / history lessons and water level information.

Marcella

 

End quote.

 

Hello Marcella,

 

Thank you. That is very interesting news. I discussed the possibility of a river cruise company adding such an excursion from Koblenz some time ago, I think that came about when someone said they had been to Winningen not far from Koblenz and very much enjoyed it.

 

I adjusted google a little and allowed for traffic and the fact that your are in a coach rather than a car. I assume now that one way would take you 1h and 15mins, same time again back. If this is an afternoon excursion it does sound a little rushed to me, including Cochem and Beilstein.

 

This is what hostjazzbeau added to jpalbny's answer to you: Quote:

Originally Posted by jpalbny

M&Rsquared, I'm not notamermaid, but I'm not a mermaid either, so figure that out... but I wanted to give you a little bit of an answer to your question.

 

An hour drive along the Mosel valley is likely to be stunningly beautiful. We drove the route from Trier to Bernkastel last year on our own - a bit upriver from your potential trip - and the scenery was gorgeous. I don't think you'd regret taking an excursion like this one. My concern would be the large group wine tasting. IME these tend to be so-so, just because of the numbers. But if you think you'd not enjoy Marksberg, then this sounds like a nice alternative.

 

We have not visited Cochem, but it gets high praise from one of our previous Uniworld CDs. She says it's her favorite stop on the Mosel.

 

Remember the old ad slogan "Getting there is half the fun"?

 

End quote.

 

I fully agree on this aspect. You could follow google maps photo option along the Moselle river bank to Beilstein. For that you need to have the scale at 100m or even 50m. Put in Koblenz as destination then click the photos then get rid of the destination on the left hand side and do not add a route planner. Works best I think.

 

Beilstein is a lovely place, thank you for reminding me. I have not been inside just passed by, but I know a dear person who is very fond of Beilstein.

 

Cochem is a great stop. I like the town but I have not been inside the castle. I expect it to be easier on legs and feet as it is a rebuilt from the 19th century whereas Marksburg is the real deal from the Middle Ages and notorious with river cruisers for being one of the most strenuous cobble stone places.

 

A few weeks ago I decided to add some info on Beilstein to the Moselle thread but have not got round to it yet. I shall do that very quickly now.

 

All in all, this optional is a great alternative to Marksburg if you do not fell up to it for health and love exchanging Medieval architecture for scenery and wine village. Rüdesheim on the Rhine is certainly a wine village but for me is more touristy in feel than Cochem and has got a slightly different (for me more pleasing) feel to it. The number and nationalities in those towns differ from each other a bit. From that point of view it could interesting to compare them on a cruise. As well as the differing scenery, of course.

 

jpalbny suggested that the wine tasting with such a large group of people is not going to be a top level experience. I tend to agree with that. If you do not put the emphasis on wine tasting and just go with the flow there I think you will enjoy this trip for all the other potential nice experiences.

 

notamermaid

Edited June 29, 2016 by notamermaid
Spelling and additional information

[bama4cruisin]

We are only in Istanbul for about 2 days.. Uniworld flies us there, as the boat finishes at Bucharest, which perhaps does not have the facilities/routes to get everyone home directly.Short in and out...Still not happy..But as we have been there before, I'm happy just to spend time in the hotel ( hiding under the bed) Hopefully the airport will have the tightest of security

 

 

Last September we spent 3 nights in Istanbul after a Celebrity cruise. While there was already some unrest, it had not reached the point it is now. However, even at that time we saw more security in place at Ataturk airport than almost anywhere (and we flew to New York State only 3 weeks after 9/11). You have to clear the first security station (ALL luggage went through scanners before checking in). We cleared security 4 times before boarding.

[notamermaid]

I did not see a mention of a castle tour in the trip description. Is that included?

 

While not as difficult as Marksburg, there are stairs in the castle and a fairly steep walk from the parking area.

 

Hello CPT Trips,

 

Thank you for pointing that out about Cochem Reichsburg. I could not find (access?) the trip descriptions on the Viking website so cannot tell. I have not been to the castle itself. I am sure it is of great value to M&Rsquared seeing that she/he reported potentially having problems with uneven surfaces or steps.

 

notamermaid

[M&Rsquared]

I did not see a mention of a castle tour in the trip description. Is that included?

 

While not as difficult as Marksburg, there are stairs in the castle and a fairly steep walk from the parking area.

 

Sorry, there is no tour of castle (a photo stop). I called Viking and they said the trip would take us to Cochem and Beilstein plus the wine stop.

I looked up Cochem and saw the magnificent castle and thought... it would be nice to see.

 

thank you to not a mermaid (jpalbany) and to notamermaid for your comments.

One week from today we fly to NY then next day JFK-ZRH.

Edited June 29, 2016 by M&Rsquared

[CPT Trips]

it is a scenic area. Any observations I made about accessibility are moot. If they take you up to the castle, there are great views of town and river.