Rhine water levels 2020 and similar topics

[notamermaid]

With the border between Germany and Switzerland now open, let us have a look at how and what Switzerland is doing: https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/covid-19_coronavirus--the-situation-in-switzerland/45592192 

 

notamermaid

 

[notamermaid]

On 6/10/2020 at 7:16 PM, worldtraveller99 said:

We have taken the plunge and booked our Rhine Christmas Market cruise at the end of this November - Tauck from Basel to Cologne if anyone else is on that?  After the Strasbourg tourist board lady said their market should go ahead!x

 

So following along with you notamermaid and sincerely hope everything gets better rather than worse and we are able to travel.

 

Tauck from Basel to Cologne sounds great. Which ship will it be? Even if the markets are not on (I just cannot imagine them not happening) I am sure Tauck will look after you well with great service on board and the Christmas atmosphere is in the shops and streets with all the lights and decorations.

 

I have much confidence in the situation in the UK improving and look forward to getting a short trip in to do some Christmas shopping in Kent. You have got the shops open and soon the pubs will follow, so life will be good. Well, sort of.

 

Having less tourism puts my job in jeopardy and with no large scale events happening before the end of October in Germany (as it stands now) things will not improve in the Autumn. But I do not miss all the big crowds and long working hours. Life works without them for me. Things will also get better for you, I find having non-essential shops, museums and restaurants open has given us much of that back what we see as normal and it greatly reduces the mental stress. I am sorry to hear about the West End theatres though. Would have liked to have had a day at the South Kensington museums this Summer. Perhaps next year...  All my plans for the annual Summer trip to Britain are on hold and with Autumn being difficult to organize the plans will likely be pushed into Winter and be shortened.

 

Rhineland-Palatine is a pleasant place to be in now and the weather is lovely.

 

Oh, and next week will see the christening of the "Lady Diletta" in Düsseldorf. I hope I can spot her on the river on her first itinerary upstream.

 

notamermaid

 

P.S.: Plenty of water again in the river. The level at Kaub is at 233cm.

 

 

 

Edited June 21, 2020 by notamermaid
PS added

[notamermaid]

I am all excited as tomorrow morning will see the christening of the Lady Diletta in Düsseldorf. As social distancing and a ban on large events prevent the general public or a decent amount of dignitaries from attending, Plantours have decided to live stream the event. Here is the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5iFayOK7cM&feature=youtu.be

 

notamermaid

 

[worldtraveller99]

Glad that you are going to come Christmas shopping in Kent notamermaid. Let us hope that there are so few cases by then that no-one needs to wear masks! Or maybe we will have lots of lovely vaccinations!

[worldtraveller99]

PS It is the MS Inspire I believe.

[notamermaid]

On 6/20/2020 at 2:10 AM, Steerage Club said:

Hello notamermaid,

Hopefully I find you in good health and spirits! Well as I have been monitoring the weather and water levels in your part of the world as well as how Germany and Europe overall is managing the Covid-19 efforts, I as a group lead on a Main-Rhine-Moselle trip in Oct 2020 made the decision to move our trip to Oct 2021. We have also made a change to the itinerary and will now be traveling the Danube from Regensburg to Budapest. Although my wife and I have done the Danube from Budapest to Melk, the rest of our group will be experiencing it for the first time. I'm excited to share what I had experienced and learned on that previous trip. So with that, I will be switching to your Danube water level channel 🙂 to get your updates over on that river! I still will be checking in here as I'm still interested on how the Rhine flows, as a geography geek. 

By the way here in the New England area of the USA we are experiencing high temps and lack of rain too.

 

Cheers,

Steerage Club Member

Moving the cruise is probably a good decision. It will give your party and yourself peace of mind. A pity that you do not get to experience the Rhine but you know the appeal of the Danube! I am sure you will have a great time showing the river landscape to the others. Here is something for the geography (geology) geek : the Rhine takes water from the Danube and the Danube even disappears! It is called the Danube sinkhole: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danube_Sinkhole G.M.T. had informed us about it some time ago.

 

It is hot here now, up to 32 Celsius today, but rain will come at the weekend.

 

The water levels: Maxau 479cm, Kaub 172cm, Koblenz 166cm. That is plenty to see us into July and with rain forecast looks fine for sailing for a good week. Ohhh, this sounds like a post in normal times. Yesterday, I happened to see the NickoCruises Rhein Melodie on the river, happily sailing along with quite a few guests enjoying life on the sundeck. A waiter carrying drinks on a tray - with mask on. In that moment reality came back - it is the "new normal". But at least some ships are sailing. In a few days time I will probably spot a Dutch one and Amadeus Flusskreuzfahrten are still ready to sail from 1 July.

 

notamermaid

 

Edited June 26, 2020 by notamermaid
Correction

[notamermaid]

Just passing by...

 

There are many places along the river that get overlooked as they have no dock for river cruise ships. I hope to attract your attention to a few of these in the months to come. Here is the first one:

 

... Ingelheim

 

Ingelheim lies in the fertile and sunny low area that is the Rhine knee roughly between Mainz and Rüdesheim. The area is much known for its white wine. Nothing special. Ingelheim stands out as a red wine town! And is widely known for its white asparagus. Here is the Wikipedia page: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ingelheim_am_Rhein 

 

From the marina area in the Northern District a ferry connects Ingelheim in Rhineland-Palatinate with Oestrich-Winkel in Hesse.

 

Famous in Ingelheim is the former palace of the German emperors, especially Charlemagne. Excavations have revealed much about the history of life in the area between the collapse of the Western Roman Empire and the high Middle Ages. Recent digs now show that in burial grounds within the Ingelheim district are skeletons that are up to nearly 5,000 years old. The findings were enthusiasticly presented on regional television last week. Apparently, "the first Ingelheimer" enjoyed living in the area long before the Romans. This is the Kaiserpfalz (imperial palace): http://www.kaiserpfalz-ingelheim.de/en/historical_overview.php 

Today, nationally and internationally Ingelheim is known for the huge pharmaceutical company Boehringer. But I hope I could show you a little more of what is interesting about this small town.

 

If you wanted to get to it on a river cruise it is fairly easy from Mainz as Ingelheim is served by the main railway line to Koblenz. A little more complicated but also doable is a ferry from Rüdesheim to Bingen and then train to Ingelheim.

 

notamermaid

 

[Roger88]

Moving a cruise sounds fine for many travellers. Its very risky going on a cruise right now.. even if its a river cruise. River cruises usually are taken over by locals who might be infected and foreighners which makes it even worst cause the disease might spread even faster. Hold on a few months more and we will see how it goes together 

[Fourmiler]

I too would be cautious about booking.  There is talk that the E.U. will not allow travellers from the U.S. due to so many Covid 19 cases.

[notamermaid]

Now we know that US travellers will not be on European rivers for a while. Really sad. Please look after yourselves, hope to see you later in Summer, healthy and full of good spirits. If not Summer, than Autumn. Or for the Christmas lights. Do not give up hope yet, or if you prefer come next year. The ships will be there!

 

Well, ships. Bad news comes from nickocruises. The "Rhein Melodie" has problems with her engine, so had to be taken out of service. The River Voyager will take over for her. She had been sailing with guests on a first itinerary. So unfortunate.

 

But Phoenix Reisen are happy. They christened the new "Andrea (II)" in a small ceremony on 30 June and she is sailing on her first itinerary on the Rhine and Moselle (in German): https://binnenschifffahrt-online.de/2020/07/featured/15468/phoenix-tauft-neues-flusskreuzfahrtschiff-andrea/

Her big day had been postponed.

 

The Crucevita of Crucemundo - a Spanish operator - is also sailing.

 

And the AmaKristina in an exceptional deal between AmaWaterways and a German online cruise agent will be sailing with German language guests from Cologne to the Netherlands and back. The first of those itineraries starts on 5 July. What an interesting idea. Thanks to @steamboats for pointing the offers out.

 

The ferries are back and the ships on Lake Constance are allowed to sail across the border again to Switzerland and back again. Tourism on the river is back - but not as we know it (yet). The MS Goethe is still in the winter harbour at Cologne Niehl, together with many river cruise ships.

 

Here is a short video of the Palaces near Bonn that are sometimes visited as an excursion from Cologne: https://www.dw.com/en/augustusburg-and-falkenlust-castles-in-brühl/av-53993866

 

notamermaid

 

 

 

 

 

[notamermaid]

First, the water levels: Maxau 476cm, Kaub 166cm, Koblenz 159cm. That looks good, a little on the low side, but fine for this time of year. With the right amount of rain in good intervals, this should keep the river cruise ships doing well in the second half of July.

 

 

Borders and boundaries - another part in the series

 

At the beginning of this year, the Netherlands together with the German states North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate submitted the application to UNESCO to include the so-called "Wet Limes" in the list of World Heritage Sites. The UNESCO will probably decide on this in 2021: https://www.dw.com/en/former-roman-empire-frontier-in-bid-as-world-heritage-site/a-51926661

 

The "Wet Limes" means the borders/frontiers of the Roman Empire are largely formed by rivers and streams in the lower Germanic part of it, i.e. the Rhine region described here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lower_Germanic_Limes

 

The beginning (or end) of it is in Bad Breisig on the Rhine at the small, unassuming stream called Vinxtbach, opposite Rheinbrohl where the Upper Germanic-Rhaetian Limes starts and runs mostly through forest towards the Danube. And the locals in Bad Breisig want to makes sure their little stream is recognized as the important border that it is in Roman history. For the Vinxtbach was the border between Germania Inferior and Germania Superior. "Vinxt" is derived from "(ad) fines" meaning (at) the borders. Today the stream has no significance as a political boundary, it is only 19km long. But it still marks a dialect boundary between Ripuarian (Cologne "Kölsch" for example) and Moselle-Franconian (for example Koblenz and all along the Moselle towards Luxembourg).

 

Here is a weird fact: Moselle-Franconian German can be heard far away in a version in Transsylvania due to the mass immigration that happened in the Middle Ages. Those people are called "Siebenbürger Sachsen", but as I have just made clear, the dialect has got nothing to do with "Sachsen" - Saxony!

 

Why tell you about the Limes now? It was 15 years ago today that the Upper Germanic-Rhaetian Limes was added to the list of world heritage sites, after Hadrian's Wall in 1987.

 

notamermaid

 

 

[notamermaid]

While the Danube in Bavaria is struggling the level on the Rhine at Kaub is doing okay. The figures: Maxau 482cm, Kaub 132cm, Koblenz 124cm. That is a bit low for barges but river cruise ships have no problems at all with this.

 

The situation along the Rhine is quite good but in the Netherlands there has been an increase in cases of Covid-19. Many regulations stay in place in Germany to insure we are vigilant but people tend to crowd a bit together outdoors now. There is crowd control at some "beaches" along the river, old river sections and lakes. Plenty of space in the forests still to take in more "staying close to home" tourists.

 

And plenty of unusual places to explore! Here is a World Heritage Site that is bound not to be overcrowded, the caves deep in the forests of the Swabian Alb, with some of humans' oldest art: https://www.dw.com/en/caves-and-ice-age-art-from-the-swabian-alb/av-54110868

 

This is the UNESCO explanatory page: https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1527/ 

 

notamermaid

 

[notamermaid]

It is hot here, tomorrow will see the temperature go up to 36 in the Rhine and Moselle valleys. The neighbour's cats are slowly moving from shade to shade in the backyard, more than ever. Best thing to do, what a life! Apart from the hedgehog stealing the food during the night when they are asleep or away checking round the neighbourhood...

 

Just in case you are wondering, there are no festivals or large-scale events this Summer and into Autumn - the rule still stands, just varying between the countries bordering the Rhine. Raves, festivals and events go online, are down-scaled massively or are just not happening. But it is easy to have fun otherwise, much of culture and leisure is happening, mostly outdoors. If you are going places it is just a hassle trying to find out what is open and what isn't. There are worse things, for sure. We are all glad to be able to do so much (apart from the typical complainers and the defiant doing more). So, I thought to myself, a boat trip on my river is in order. I am still in the process of organizing it. Seeing the yachts on the Rhine and the people in beer gardens coupled with the splendid weather and artificial beaches, I call it a "French Riviera experience" - apart from not having an ocean. Still, it is water, enough for me. And the sunsets are good, too.

 

Hope to see the ships soon, taking you along. For the time being the German and Dutch ones will have to suffice my ship spotter's eye.

 

The river levels: Maxau 425cm, Kaub 123cm, Koblenz 121cm. The levels have steadily been going down and there is not much rain forecast. Kaub and Koblenz could get as low as 100cm next week. That is not a problem at Koblenz, but at Kaub it is not a good level as from there we could - without rain - go down quickly to 90cm and lower which will put the large river cruise ships quite close to the riverbed with their hulls. We do not want to see 90cm in early August, it does not bode well for the rest of the month and into September.

 

Have fun - in whichever way it is safe for you and your loved ones.

 

notamermaid

 

[worldtraveller99]

Thank you for keeping us updated notamermaid. And if you hear that the Christmas markets are happening that would be great!

[notamermaid]

Will do. All still "under review", a mix of early cancellations (a few), discussions if or if not with some, large ones planned with fewer stalls and wider aisles. More information is reaching the papers, but I fear that we might see plans being altered right into November. There is even talk of allowing markets to open earlier in November than is the norm, i.e. looking at dates well before Sunday of the Dead.

 

I guess the whole situation puts the large Christmas markets at Birmingham and Edinburgh in jeopardy, too. Still, if they keep it all outdoors... Greater Manchester certainly not looking good right now.

 

Take care.

 

notamermaid

 

Edited July 31, 2020 by notamermaid
Added info

[worldtraveller99]

Thank you!

[notamermaid]

Friday has been the hottest day of this year so far, Rheinfelden in Baden-Würrtemberg near the Swiss border topped the list with 38.5 degrees Celsius, second in place was Trier with 38.4. Rheinfelden by the way had the most sunshine in the whole of Germany in 2019. Sounds a truly warm place. The Rhine valley is known to have generally the warmest climate in Germany.

 

The level at Kaub is at 110cm, going down as predicted, but rain on Monday and Tuesday fortunately should keep the level from falling below 100cm, so a slight change in prediction. Will see how it goes. After the rain we will see a heatwave and the temperature in the valley is forecast to reach 30 degrees (and sometimes over) for eight (!) consecutive days "more or less everywhere" from Basel to Cologne. No rain during that time.

 

What this will do to the upper reaches of the Danube which are influenced by the Rhine valley weather I am not sure, but it does not look good. Before that, though, downpours will give the Danube in Bavaria quite a bit of water. The Elbe by the way is right down in figures, but will see some rain as well.

 

Nature is drying out with an increased risk of forest fires. So, a romantic wedding proposal resulted in a fine, reports the regional broadcaster SWR: near Ludwigshafen in the Palatine forested area a young man lit a small fire in a garden barbecue pan to propose to his love. Locals living nearby saw the fire and called the police. The police came quickly, put out the fire and told the couple off.

 

notamermaid

 

[notamermaid]

It is hot here, the beginning of a heatwave that is supposed to last seven to eight days. And immediately one's thoughts turn to the river levels. The rain that caused havoc in Bavaria did not reach the Middle Rhine valley but gave the river upstream from Mannheim quite a bit of water. The run-off we have seen since day before yesterday, giving a steady rise and the level at Kaub is now at 191cm. Rather than being a problem it has been beneficial and pushed the figures to mean levels. Great for sailing. I dare say who needs the Mediterranean? In this heat, sipping a cocktail on the sundeck and watching the sun go down after a day of excursions and good food on the Rhine is a great alternative.  The travel writer in the "Telegraph" has certainly acquired a taste for it and it is "safer than ... with the lads in Magaluf". Quite right I should think. He travelled on one of the short trips current offered on the MS Inspire: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/cruises/articles/river-cruise-return-sailing-again-germany-rhine/

 

notamermaid

 

 

[notamermaid]

On 7/30/2020 at 6:26 PM, worldtraveller99 said:

Thank you for keeping us updated notamermaid. And if you hear that the Christmas markets are happening that would be great!

 

Here is some info on the plans for the Koblenz Christmas market in German, please send through a translation website, but basically plans are going ahead, in which form the market(s) will happen is not clear yet and the page will be updated: https://www.koblenz-touristik.de/events/koblenzer-weihnachtsmarkt/herzlich-willkommen.html

 

Currently we are in a heat wave and Advent seems so far away...

 

The river levels: Maxau 464cm, Kaub 151cm, Koblenz 142cm.

 

notamermaid

 

[worldtraveller99]

Thank you! We are hoping for the best. In the UK the travel trade has started a social media campaign to Government to #savetravel. It is awful that travel companies did not furlough staff in March as they needed to make refunds when bookings were cancelled, but now when quarantine is stopping future bookings, no more furlough is offered, and our companies are going out of business.  I don't know if there is a similar problem in Germany?

[notamermaid]

worldtraveller99,

 

I have not looked too much into this. But basically brick-and-mortar travel agents had problems to keep going against the competition from online before 2020, so they are loosing much in this pandemic, having had to close for several weeks. Furlough started early - the scheme is well-established in Germany as "Kurzarbeit" and does not necessarily run as not working, but reduced hours to no hours (too complicated for me to know the ins-and-outs) and does not automatically stop on a nation-wide basis - but many businesses are struggling. As our lock down was not that long and borders have been open within Europe for some time now things have eased but the hospitality sector, i.e. incoming tourism, is not back to any numbers near to what they were last year. No Chinese, Japanese and American tourists. The out-going tourism is also struggling as regards long-distance flights, but many Germans have gone abroad to Greece and the Balkans. So, tourism is happening on a smaller scale and in a different way. The coastal areas of Germany are fully booked and Mecklenburg West Pomerania is still sending day trippers from other areas of Germany away. On the motorways I saw quite a few Dutch and even some UK number plates over the weekend. The travel trade in Germany has been hit hard, no doubt, and will not pick up this year to anything that resembles last year. As is the case around the world really.

 

So how is the town on the Neckar that is visited so much by river cruisers on the Rhine doing? This is Deutsche Welle's travel show which starts with a report on Heidelberg without its tourists from America and Asia: https://www.dw.com/en/heidelberg-without-tourists-from-asia-and-america/av-54480300

 

notamermaid

 

[worldtraveller99]

Sadly have just received email from BA - flights to Basel end November cancelled, so no Rhine river cruise for us this year. We think Tauck will also cancel, and am waiting for that (in about 6 weeks time) for their refund too. It is all too sad. 

[notamermaid]

20 hours ago, worldtraveller99 said:

Sadly have just received email from BA - flights to Basel end November cancelled, so no Rhine river cruise for us this year. We think Tauck will also cancel, and am waiting for that (in about 6 weeks time) for their refund too. It is all too sad. 

I am sorry to read that. I suppose if you were desperate to get to your cruise you would need to re-book quickly, possibly with a Eurostar section of your travel to your destination. But I can see Tauck cancelling now, the way things are going also in mainland Europe. No point in Tauck waiting things out and see the Christmas markets cancelled days before the river cruise is to sail. If you still want to cross the channel, I have heard that Lille market is supposed to be good (hoping it is on). And a land trip to Aachen and Cologne with the Eurostar is nice. But then, you are probably safer off bracing the winter winds near Dungeness (for the non-informed: it is a desert (!) in England): https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/aug/14/dungeness-where-the-wild-west-meets-the-post-apocalyptic

I know it is an article with payment, posting this for the great photo.

 

34 degrees in London, I know, keep in the shade! Had around 36 here, now down to 32. No air conditioning in flat, so temperature in bedroom is 30.

 

Take care.

 

notamermaid

 

 

 

[worldtraveller99]

Thank you notamermaid - no we don't have air con either - temperature in our bedroom about 32 degrees C too! But we will come to the Rhine, if only in a couple of years time. Am not sure how we get out of this without a vaccine - numbers with virus go down then up again, ad infinitum. 

[notamermaid]

On 6/26/2020 at 10:06 AM, worldtraveller99 said:

PS It is the MS Inspire I believe.

I read this morning that the Inspire will continue with the short cruises for VIVA River Cruises for more of this season, so I checked on the website and, indeed, she will be sailing for the German company: https://www.viva-*****/schiffe/ms-inspire/?size=15#shipOfferlist

 

Have you heard anything from Tauck yet, will you be perhaps on a different ship if things go well? Or rather, you would be if you could make it, seeing that your flight has been cancelled?

 

It sounds as if you have already closed the chapter Rhine river cruise for this year. Perhaps it is safer this way. I am not happy or comfortable with how things are going, they say we will not get a lock down again, everyone is striving to avoid it, but I can see places having to close again, just within communities on a small scale at least. I just do not trust the situation. The population low density areas in Germany are okay but some densely populated areas have quite a few new cases. Rhineland-Palatinate is still alright, but there is no way we will be back to normal this year. It was back to school on Monday in Rhineland-Palatinate and already a few classes and several teachers all over the state are in quarantine. Full stadiums, packed Christmas markets? Just wishful thinking...

 

We can enjoy three more days of hot Summer temperatures then it will go down to more moderate warm temperatures.

 

notamermaid