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Rhine water levels 2017 and similar topics


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I've never seen a picture of rafted ships in Uniworld's brouchures but the possibility of rafting is mentioned in at least 2 sections of their website.

 

In the FAQ section of the website in response to "Where will my ship dock?" it is noted that "There may be times when your ship moors next to another ship or between ships, especially in busy ports. Docking locations are determined by the local harbor authorities, not Uniworld or the ship’s captain."

 

In the Cruise Companion booklets on the website (and sent to passengers with their tickets) it is noted under Mooring and Docking Facilities with the warning: "Guests may experience obstructed views from staterooms and suites when the ship is docked."

 

Thank you capriccio,

 

interesting read. I know that companies do publish it in the small print but so far I had not seen such a passage written out. "Precise and to the point" info from Uniworld. I have just had a look at Arosa river cruises and found a download that basically says the same thing in different words (in German and English).

 

On my river cruise on the Danube - due to the fact that I know river situations from the Rhine - it was no surprise to me. I was more concerned with what the food might be like, it turned out very nice indeed. :)

 

notamermaid

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Thank you for the photo, jpalbny.

 

Looks like you were docked a little downstream from the town centre looking towards "Bopparder Hamm", the largest bend of the river and also famous for its wine. The small town opposite is called Filsen.

 

I saw the photos of the winter in the US on BBC. Brrrr! The sun is just coming out here and the daffodils are starting to blossom in my back yard.

 

notamermaid

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Beyond the standard ports... part 3

 

You might think that the area along the Rhine with its long history is full of medieval castles and old Roman towns. While that is true it would be a mistake to think that all places are that old. Karlsruhe is the second largest town in Baden-Würrtemberg (after Stuttgart) and as a district is on the border to the neighbouring land of Rhineland-Palatinate. Founded on 17 June 1715 it is one of the few towns with an actual birth date and pretty young (!). One well-known younger town is Ludwigshafen. Two other baroque towns on the Rhine with a (different) new town street layout are Mannheim and Neuwied.

 

While the town itself is 7.5km away from the Rhine, its large harbour in the district is on the Rhine.

 

What makes Karlsruhe different? Naturally, you will not find any medieval buildings in the town, yet the once independent suburb Durlach can help you out there, that one being the old capital of the noble family. Karlsruhe has been nicknamed the fan town due to its unusual planned town layout with the streets fanning out from the focal point - the palace. The nature of the town is therefore baroque with the town well rebuilt after WWII. Some other noteworthy points can be read on wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karlsruhe

 

With older towns in the vicinity Karlsruhe does not attract the large crowds. Very few river cruises stop there, German ships only, from what I could see.

 

Still, for a different view of Germany, and as a balance to all that cathedral and castle viewing, Karlsruhe deserves mentioning in my opinion.

 

notamermaid

 

Notamermaid,

 

I agree that some of these ports might hold interest for cruisers. I've also wondered if lines might consider special interest cruises (WWII, Roman history) that would hit different ports that would fit with the sepecific cruise themes.

 

Also, does anyone beside Croisieurope travel the Elbe from Berlin to Hamburg/Copenhagen? It seems like this itinerary might have some appeal for cruisers. Is this itinerary popular for German cruisers?

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Notamermaid,

 

I agree that some of these ports might hold interest for cruisers. I've also wondered if lines might consider special interest cruises (WWII, Roman history) that would hit different ports that would fit with the sepecific cruise themes.

 

Also, does anyone beside Croisieurope travel the Elbe from Berlin to Hamburg/Copenhagen? It seems like this itinerary might have some appeal for cruisers. Is this itinerary popular for German cruisers?

 

There are some themed cruises available on the German market as well, but from what I have seen the ports are often not chosen according to the theme. There are cruises on music (for the company possible to combine with most ports) and culinary cruises (for the company possible to combine with all ports). CroisiEurope has this special cruise this year on WWI, I linked to it a couple of weeks ago.

 

CroisiEurope is the company with the most rivers and the widest range of itineraries from what I have read over the last three years.

 

As regards the Elbe and canals: The three German companies Nicko Cruises, Phoenix and Plantours all do the Elbe stretch to Hamburg, so it must be popular!

 

A thought on Roman history: if a company dared this they could offer a European Roman river cruise itinerary with two back-to-backs over severall rivers and that way cover most of the Roman empire apart from the Mediterranean and Northern Africa. It would probably be a journey of four weeks! On a smaller scale a back-to-back of the Rhone and Rhine - Massilia (Marseille) to Ulpia Noviomagus Batavorum (Nijmegen) could be great. Or even just a week long trip on the Rhine. Plenty of stones still lying around for a "Roman" itinerary. :D

 

Or a tour of European history - freedom, rights and stuff. From seeing a copy of the Magna Carta in England, hop on the train to get to Paris to learn about the French revolution then get to Luxembourg and see Schengen that gave the agreement its name through the Main-Danube-Canal that was Charlemagne's European dream, to a former Eastern block capital like Budapest... But that would be standard ports, really.

 

notamermaid

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I hold my head in shame, having forgotten in my last post that great British island. England was obviously also a part of the Roman empire. The Scots (Picts in those days) stopped them in their tracks. Southwest of the border town Carlisle, on the coast, lies a small town called Maryport, supposedly called Alauna by the Romans. It was a fortress-cum-settlement and outpost for supplying Hadrian's Wall with commodities. I went there on a bleak, blustery Summer day and can imagine what the Romans must have felt like in Winter in such surroundings, far away from the warm and populated Italy. So if you wanted to include more of the Empire on a trip a coastal sail or fast train through England would be in order.

 

Anyway, on the subject of sailing. While the weather has turned grey and rain is expected for the weekend, the river levels though have fallen so much that any flooding is highly unlikely.

 

I shall report back if there is any significant change.

 

notamermaid

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Thanks for another Rhine water level thread. Our next river cruise will be Basel to Amsterdam, probably in October of 2018 or 2019.

 

I suffer from water level anxiety after our Danube cruise was stopped short in 2015 and I find your posts helpful as I prepare my contingency plans.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

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Thanks for another Rhine water level thread. Our next river cruise will be Basel to Amsterdam, probably in October of 2018 or 2019.

 

I suffer from water level anxiety after our Danube cruise was stopped short in 2015 and I find your posts helpful as I prepare my contingency plans.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

Sorry to hear about your worries and your cancelled cruise. October, I am afraid to say, has proven to be a tricky month. Low water is most likely then. If you can go in September instead you will have a higher chance of there being enough water for smooth sailing on the Rhine. To reduce your anxiety you could have a look at the smaller ships of 110m. None of those should have problems. For the 135m vessels you could compare the draft, marinetraffic is a good place to start. However, these are not always accurate which I have noticed when comparing shipyard details, press releases and marinetraffic. Sometimes minimum and maximum draft are given, somewhat confusing the figures that way.

 

Hope this helps.

 

notamermaid

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Moselle and Rhine are fed by the snow melt in the mountains and rain in the valleys right now. The levels have gone up. Neither river is flooding, though. Things can change quickly towards flooding status in March and April, so I do not want to give any indication of what it will be like in April.

 

The first cruises will be in about two weeks time; they have a very good chance of being unimpeded. There is lots of room still. Kaub is at 257 cm, Koblenz at 305 cm. Problems start to arise at around the 500 cm mark depending on what the authorities have chosen as the cut-off point for calling it flooding. This is different from station to station. The weather is quite settled; yet, after a day of warmth, colder again.

 

The crocuses and snow drops are blooming in my neighbours garden, it looks bright and cheerful! A nice change to the grey sky above.

 

notamermaid

 

Dear notamermaid,

 

Thanks for the post. There is a group of us from Texas headed that way next Friday for a trip on the Felicity departing Basel to Amsterdam. Can you give us an update on the water levels and weather?

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Dear notamermaid,

 

Thanks for the post. There is a group of us from Texas headed that way next Friday for a trip on the Felicity departing Basel to Amsterdam. Can you give us an update on the water levels and weather?

 

As "no news is good news" I did not report river levels for a few days. Everything is fine along the Rhine as far as I can judge from the news and gauging stations. No flooding in sight right now. Afternoon temperatures are now in the double digits everyday but mornings are cool and night frost is possible in the hills. Especially in Switzerland I would guess. This appears to be the trend for the next week, without much rain or storm.

 

 

notamermaid

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As "no news is good news" I did not report river levels for a few days. Everything is fine along the Rhine as far as I can judge from the news and gauging stations. No flooding in sight right now. Afternoon temperatures are now in the double digits everyday but mornings are cool and night frost is possible in the hills. Especially in Switzerland I would guess. This appears to be the trend for the next week, without much rain or storm.

 

 

notamermaid

Thanks! We leave Houston on Friday. Hoping for a wonderful trip.

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A bit about history...

 

While Germans go happily about their daily lives there are nevertheless some moments and days when dealing with historical events is "the order of the day". On the 9th of March - as every year - people gathered in Engers at 7.30am to remember those that died when the Urmitz bridge was destroyed by a deliberate detonation on the orders of the German army.

 

Yesterday, Saturday, in Nierstein a memorial to the crossing of the Rhine was unveiled. I have a German local news report on it. An emotional ceremony, with certainly the most emotional being an American veteran saying "Ich bin ein Niersteiner". The memorial has already been nicknamed "das Patton-Denkmal": http://www.allgemeine-zeitung.de/lokales/oppenheim/vg-rhein-selz/nierstein/ich-bin-ein-niersteiner-rhine-river-crossing-memorial-erinnert-an-die-historische-rheinueberquerung_17775884.htm#cxrecs_s

 

Engers will be part of my series "beyond the standard ports". As I cannot tell you if Nierstein has a docking station for river cruise ships I cannot include the town in my series. But for a nice trip out from Mainz or some wine sampling on a land tour it is a nice place to visit. Nierstein and Oppenheim are neighbouring wine villages in the region called Rheinhessen.

 

notamermaid

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As "no news is good news" I did not report river levels for a few days. Everything is fine along the Rhine as far as I can judge from the news and gauging stations. No flooding in sight right now. Afternoon temperatures are now in the double digits everyday but mornings are cool and night frost is possible in the hills. Especially in Switzerland I would guess. This appears to be the trend for the next week, without much rain or storm.

 

 

notamermaid

Thanks! This is our first river cruise and our first time to the Rhine. My wife is uncertain about what kind of clothes to pack for the daytime tour activities. That's the reason for the weather question. Sounds like the water levels are going to be ok.

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Engers will be part of my series "beyond the standard ports". As I cannot tell you if Nierstein has a docking station for river cruise ships I cannot include the town in my series. But for a nice trip out from Mainz or some wine sampling on a land tour it is a nice place to visit. Nierstein and Oppenheim are neighbouring wine villages in the region called Rheinhessen.

 

notamermaid

 

Notamermaid,

 

On our Avalon cruise last year (Remich to Amsterdam), we docked at Engers--right in front of the Schloss. We arrived there in early evening (around dinner time) after leaving the Moselle and left the next morning for a cruise up the Rhine to Rudesheim before heading back downstream toward Amsterdam.

 

I'm not sure why Avalon chose Engers rather than Koblenz. I suspect that it's less crowded, and probably cheaper than docking in Mainz. It was a rainy evening, and my wife and I took a walk around the Schloss, but that was the extent of our personal visit to Engers. This cruise also stopped at Dusseldorf rather than Cologne as our last port before Amsterdam.

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Notamermaid,

 

On our Avalon cruise last year (Remich to Amsterdam), we docked at Engers--right in front of the Schloss. We arrived there in early evening (around dinner time) after leaving the Moselle and left the next morning for a cruise up the Rhine to Rudesheim before heading back downstream toward Amsterdam.

 

I'm not sure why Avalon chose Engers rather than Koblenz. I suspect that it's less crowded, and probably cheaper than docking in Mainz. It was a rainy evening, and my wife and I took a walk around the Schloss, but that was the extent of our personal visit to Engers. This cruise also stopped at Dusseldorf rather than Cologne as our last port before Amsterdam.

 

I remember you saying last year that you stopped in Engers. Yes, the village is an odd choice. I could not believe it at first when the local newspaper announced the christening was to be held there last April. It was the first time a river cruise shipped had docked there in decades. I know from a recent newspaper article that Avalon will expand the use of the Engers location. But more on the place at another time. First up on my list is another port further upstream.

 

 

notamermaid

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The "castle stretch" - what is it all about?

 

A question about the Rhine on another thread made me wonder if potential cruisers might like to know a bit more why there is such fuzz about the Rhine section that people call the "castle stretch". Past cruisers please excuse and skip this post if you know it already. :) So here goes.

 

"Castle stretch" refers to the river section sort of in the middle of the length of the Rhine and its proper name is UNESCO World Heritage Site Upper Middle Rhine Valley. It lies in the Rhine gorge and is also often referred thus. An apt nickname, "castle stretch" better describes what you can see there: castles galore! Ruins, rebuilt castles, an undestroyed castle, a couple of palaces and a huge monument. And lots of vineyards. The official kilometres are from 526 to 593, those numbers also appear on the tourism logo for the area. So, on 67 river kilometres there are around 40 castles and palaces, the highest density in the world.

 

 

It is a very narrow valley carved by the Rhine and a "bottle neck" with relatively high rocks on both sides, perfect for castles overlooking the valley and their owners exercising power that way. The stone is slate making the valley somewhat darker than chalk or red stone would. Quite inevitably this led to the valley being favoured by the Romantic movement in the 19th century. That is how mass tourism really got going, all those British following in the footsteps of Lord Byron and William Turner. Them coming from the North of course, they first saw Cologne and took the journey from there upstream, meaning that the first romantics very much included the lower middle Rhine valley in their pictures and literary praise.

 

Locally, talks are underway to include the lower middle Rhine valley (up to Bonn) in the UNESCO world heritage site. It will be interesting to read when the authorities start the application process. This could still take some years. But I think it would be great to see the two sections united in such a way. After all, there are some more castles and palaces around there.

 

You can see the whole lot of castles, etc. on the map on the wikipedia page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhine_Gorge

 

 

notamermaid

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Here's Wikipedia's description of the mine.

 

A business known far beyond Trechtingshausen’s limits is the stoneworks, which quarries quartzitic greywacke from a strip mine and processes it. The strip mine’s roots go back to the 17th century. Since 1963, the quarry has been owned by the de Beijer family. Its location near the Rhine and the railway line affords it good links to international transport routes. Among other things, the quarry’s products are used to maintain and expand coastal protection in the Netherlands.

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Here's Wikipedia's description of the mine.

 

A business known far beyond Trechtingshausen’s limits is the stoneworks, which quarries quartzitic greywacke from a strip mine and processes it. The strip mine’s roots go back to the 17th century. Since 1963, the quarry has been owned by the de Beijer family. Its location near the Rhine and the railway line affords it good links to international transport routes. Among other things, the quarry’s products are used to maintain and expand coastal protection in the Netherlands.

 

Aah, yees. I had forgotten about the mine and had to look it up again. According to the company website quarrying has been done there since 1650. The name greywacke has been adapted from the German Grauwacke. Not unusual in geology. Nickel is ultimately a German word as well. The greywacke can contain quartz or feldspar, they look slightly different in tone from each other, but are both dark grey. It is used in many older buildings and as pavement sometimes. I expect the stones they use to keep the coast safer in the Netherlands are larger than our cobblestones (which, by the way, I learnt recently, are not really called that officially)!

 

There is a photo on this wikipedia site: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trechtingshausen

 

It is an eyesore probably but mining has been part of the region almost as much as winegrowing has.

 

notamermaid

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Here is a question that was raised on the Moselle thread. As it applies to a Rhine and Moselle cruise I post it and my answers for your info here:

 

Q: Hello Notamermaid,

Our Rhine cruise in April includes a visit and dinner at Burg Satzvey. Do you have any experiences or comments on this castle?

 

Thanks

Pbeach

 

A1: Hello pbeach,

 

I am afraid I have never been to Satzvey castle. The people there are quite enterprising, the castle is famous for re-enactments of medieval jousting tournaments. It is popular with German day-trippers. Those events get favourable reviews on tripadvisor. The town it belongs to is called Mechernich. This is a tourist website with some info on it: http://www.nordeifel-tourismus.de/en...atzvey-castle/

 

The castle's website is only in German but it will give you some ideas what to expect as regards architecture: http://www.burgsatzvey.de/

 

Have a great cruise.

 

notamermaid

 

A2: I mentioned the Burg Satzvey to a lady this morning and she spoke favourably of it. Yesterday, I forgot to mention that it is a moated castle in a valley rather than a castle on a hill. There are quite a few of that type in the area around there and further North and Northeast. For a trip out this makes it an unusual part of a river cruise itinerary on the Rhine and Moselle. Nice idea, I find.

 

Oh, the region is called the Eifel, which is bordered by the Moselle in the South and the Rhine in the East. Burg Satzvey is closer to Bonn and the Rhine region than to the Moselle. So I looked this up and presuming you are going with Tauck you will go to the castle from Cologne. A great itinerary: http://www.tauck.com/tours/europe-to...-rmn-2017.aspx

 

As this is an excursion from the Rhine valley I shall post this on the Rhine thread as well.

 

notamermaid

 

 

Note: This sounds exclusive to Tauck, I have not read about such an excursion before. I really like the idea of going to a moated castle and be able to compare the architecture and setting to hill castle in the middle Rhine valley. I am not too familiar with that particular part of the Eifel but other parts are delightful. I think this has the potential for a very nice evening.

 

notamermaid

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Beyond the standard ports... part 4

 

Moving further downstream, having sailed past Mannheim (underrated, mostly used for getting to the famous town on the Neckar called Heidelberg) and the confluence of the Main with the Rhine a ship could stop at Mainz or Wiesbaden as its next larger port. Admittedly, I have left out Ludwigshafen. I cannot get myself to writing about it before I have seen with my own eyes what might merrit an inclusion in my series.

 

As Mainz is a stop for a few international lines now I will skip it and introduce number 4: Wiesbaden (-Biebrich)!

 

Wiesbaden is the capital of the land Hesse and a town famous for its spa culture. With its affluence and elegant character, partly coming from the spa buildings themselves, it has not much medieval feel about it, being a potentially welcoming contrast to what lies ahead downstream - the Rhine gorge.

 

To be precise I have to say that Wiesbaden is not on the Rhine but on the Salzbach that flows into the Rhine within the boundaries of Wiesbaden. The suburb Biebrich lies on the Rhine and with its grand castle facing the river very much welcomes day trip tourists! Wiesbaden is an excursion on some German and Dutch river cruises.

 

Here are the specific respective wikipedia pages: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiesbaden

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biebrich_(Wiesbaden)

 

notamermaid

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Aah, yees. I had forgotten about the mine and had to look it up again. According to the company website quarrying has been done there since 1650. The name greywacke has been adapted from the German Grauwacke. Not unusual in geology. Nickel is ultimately a German word as well. The greywacke can contain quartz or feldspar, they look slightly different in tone from each other, but are both dark grey. It is used in many older buildings and as pavement sometimes. I expect the stones they use to keep the coast safer in the Netherlands are larger than our cobblestones (which, by the way, I learnt recently, are not really called that officially)!

 

There is a photo on this wikipedia site: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trechtingshausen

 

It is an eyesore probably but mining has been part of the region almost as much as winegrowing has.

 

notamermaid

 

What I always called "cobblestones" are those regular shaped paving stones. This post led me to do a little searching, and I found this on Wikipedia.

 

"A sett, usually referred to in the plural and known in some places as a Belgian block[1] or sampietrino, is a broadly rectangular quarried stone used for paving roads.[2] Formerly in widespread use, particularly on steeper streets because setts provided horses' hooves with better grip than a smooth surface, they are now encountered rather as decorative stone paving in landscape architecture.[3][4] Setts are often inaccurately[5] referred to as "cobbles"; a sett is distinct from a cobblestone in that it is quarried or worked to a regular shape, whereas the latter is generally a small, naturally-rounded rock.[6]"

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What I always called "cobblestones" are those regular shaped paving stones. This post led me to do a little searching, and I found this on Wikipedia.

 

"Asett, usually referred to in the plural and known in some places as aBelgian block[1]orsampietrino, is a broadly rectangularquarriedstoneused forpavingroads.[2]Formerly in widespread use, particularly on steeper streets because setts provided horses' hooves with better grip than a smooth surface, they are now encountered rather as decorative stone paving inlandscape architecture.[3][4]Setts are often inaccurately[5]referred to as "cobbles"; a sett is distinct from acobblestonein that it is quarried or worked to a regular shape, whereas the latter is generally a small, naturally-rounded rock.[6]"

 

Exactly, CPTTrips, you beat me to it! I was going to explain that in one of my next posts. I live in a "wikipedia"-street in that it is perfect to show the difference between the paving types "live". When I get round to it I will post some photos. But the wikipedia photos suffice, of course.

 

 

The weather is exceptionally pleasant for the end of March and the river level is comfortably low.

 

notamermaid

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Here is a question that was raised on the Moselle thread. As it applies to a Rhine and Moselle cruise I post it and my answers for your info here:

 

Q: Hello Notamermaid,

Our Rhine cruise in April includes a visit and dinner at Burg Satzvey. Do you have any experiences or comments on this castle?

 

Thanks

Pbeach

 

A1: Hello pbeach,

 

I am afraid I have never been to Satzvey castle. The people there are quite enterprising, the castle is famous for re-enactments of medieval jousting tournaments. It is popular with German day-trippers. Those events get favourable reviews on tripadvisor. The town it belongs to is called Mechernich. This is a tourist website with some info on it: http://www.nordeifel-tourismus.de/en...atzvey-castle/

 

The castle's website is only in German but it will give you some ideas what to expect as regards architecture: http://www.burgsatzvey.de/

 

Have a great cruise.

 

notamermaid

 

A2: I mentioned the Burg Satzvey to a lady this morning and she spoke favourably of it. Yesterday, I forgot to mention that it is a moated castle in a valley rather than a castle on a hill. There are quite a few of that type in the area around there and further North and Northeast. For a trip out this makes it an unusual part of a river cruise itinerary on the Rhine and Moselle. Nice idea, I find.

 

Oh, the region is called the Eifel, which is bordered by the Moselle in the South and the Rhine in the East. Burg Satzvey is closer to Bonn and the Rhine region than to the Moselle. So I looked this up and presuming you are going with Tauck you will go to the castle from Cologne. A great itinerary: http://www.tauck.com/tours/europe-to...-rmn-2017.aspx

 

As this is an excursion from the Rhine valley I shall post this on the Rhine thread as well.

 

notamermaid

 

 

Note: This sounds exclusive to Tauck, I have not read about such an excursion before. I really like the idea of going to a moated castle and be able to compare the architecture and setting to hill castle in the middle Rhine valley. I am not too familiar with that particular part of the Eifel but other parts are delightful. I think this has the potential for a very nice evening.

 

notamermaid

 

Thank you for the additional coverage of Satzvey. Yes, we are on Tauck Rhine & Moselle, visiting the castle the evening of April 28 via Cologne.

 

Pbeach

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