River Cruising Water Cooler

[CPT Trips]

On 8/17/2024 at 10:03 PM, Host Jazzbeau said:

We saw some much smaller-scale flower pictures in Orvieto in May, as we happened to be there during the Orvieto in Fiore festival.  But your picture is amazing!

I can not take credit for that photo. I assume it was from a drone that had a sophisticated camera. It is spectacular!

[Canal archive]

Notamermaid terrible news about what happened in Solingen, when you first hear about these happenings you think there but for the grace - you weren’t there, never heard of the place etc. then I realised my DH had been there and purchased for me the most perfect set of embroidery scissors I could ever have wished for. Mixed memories!

[notamermaid]

Terrible indeed. Solingen is famous for steel production, it is "our Sheffield". Better bite my tongue as regards to what else they may have in common these days.

 

I have just come back from work. Need to catch up on household duties. Beautiful sunny day here in the valley.

 

notamermaid

 

[Canal archive]

Quick question do you as a citizen off say the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand have to purchase an entry visa (present U.K. cost of £6.00) to enter any country of the EU. It’s me being lazy.

[Host Jazzbeau]

25 minutes ago, Canal archive said:

Quick question do you as a citizen off say the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand have to purchase an entry visa (present U.K. cost of £6.00) to enter any country of the EU. It’s me being lazy.

US:  Not until ETIAS is finally activated (if I live that long).  But we do have to purchase e-visas for Australia and New Zealand (and they expire even if Covid has shut down the country – I'm lookin' at you, NZ)

[Canal archive]

Thanks Jazz, what a shambles! Maybe I’m being a bit thick here but ‘why’? Is it jobs for the boys? A way of collecting personal information? Next everyone will have to do it to enter the U.K. well it won’t get my vote but then I’m an oldie so I don’t count. I’ll just have to sit back and watch.

If it’s decided to be introduced for the U.K. I have a sneaky feeling there could be challenges.

Edited August 25 by Canal archive

[jpalbny]

It's just another entry tax, IMO. As if there aren't enough taxes and fees included in the airplane ticket to get there!

[Daisi]

ETIAS is needed for most non EU countries. I believe Canada requires something similar for Europe called an ETA, and has had for a while. We’ve just been lucky that the ETIAS has been delayed for a bit. I’m hoping we can get our May trip in before it comes into effect, but it’s only a couple €s so no big deal.

[capriccio]

1 hour ago, jpalbny said:

It's just another entry tax, IMO. As if there aren't enough taxes and fees included in the airplane ticket to get there!

There is also an element of 'tit for tat'.  The US requires visas for citizens of many other countries and they in turn do the same.  At least with current technology the application process has gotten much easier as has the immigration arrival processing. 

[jpalbny]

21 minutes ago, capriccio said:

There is also an element of 'tit for tat'.  The US requires visas for citizens of many other countries and they in turn do the same.  At least with current technology the application process has gotten much easier as has the immigration arrival processing. 

 

No doubt. We require an entry tax too, so turnabout is fair play. 🙂

 

The online e-visas sure do make it easier! Now you can hand over the $$ even faster.

[Canal archive]

I forgot about the requirements for USA we had two years ago. What threw us was the fingerprinting before passport control my DH evidently has a challenge with his thumb print which caused just a little problem. Trying to get any help or sense from the on-site officials was not a pleasant experience. Why do uniformed employees have to be so rude and bumptious. 
Although USA we eventually had a fantastic time and introduced California to our grandson.

[CPT Trips]

@Canal archive Has South Park made it to England? 
 

[Canal archive]

Oh yes! I do so wish I’d been in the frame of mind to remember but at the time I was ‘I know for no reason’ really worried for DH. I know he’s a big boy and has for business visited the US many many times far more than myself but I’m sure it’s an age thing. ********** getting on in years! 

[LuAnn]

On 8/25/2024 at 7:37 AM, Canal archive said:

I forgot about the requirements for USA we had two years ago. What threw us was the fingerprinting before passport control my DH evidently has a challenge with his thumb print which caused just a little problem. Trying to get any help or sense from the on-site officials was not a pleasant experience. Why do uniformed employees have to be so rude and bumptious. 
Although USA we eventually had a fantastic time and introduced California to our grandson.

This happened to me once in Buenos Aries!! Trying to board the ship and for some reason the machine didn't like my finger!!! It WAS stressful as I was holding the line up for everyone who was anxious to board!! It finally worked after about 12 times!!! 😞

[ural guy]

I was in Fairbanks Alaska, visiting my daughter, and we took a short river cruise on the Chena river, aboard a sternwheel ship, the Riverboat Discovery III.  It was built in 1987 and has a draft of 40".  It also has propulsion jets so it can spin around in the river.  The smaller ship pictured is the RIver Discovery II, which still is functional.

 

They take you out for 3 hours, and turn around at the junction with the Tanana river.  Along the way you stop for a float plane to land alongside and the pilot gives a short talk, and a sled dog camp.  Finally you stop at a recreated Athabaskan village where you are led through various stops with short demonstrations with Athabaskan people telling of their semi-subsistence lifestyle (a younger guy told us he likes macaroni and cheese to go full on natural lifestyle). 

 

The dresses made of furs on display were amazing, the lady who made them has items in the Smithsonian.   I was thinking this maybe a hokey/flakey experience, but it wasn't.  The same family has been running this since 1952, and the granddaughter of the founder was the riverboat pilot.  Highly recommend to anyone who makes it up to Denali or Fairbanks.

 

Edited September 3 by ural guy

[pontac]

I saw this on the Mosel between Bernkastel and Winnegen on 14 August

 

'Ah-ha' I thought, 'they're dredging the river'.

 

But, no, it was the opposite. The barge was loaded with gravel which they were scooping up and dumping in the river.

 

Now, why were they doing that? I wonder if @notamermaid, our expert on German rivers can explain.

[notamermaid]

That is a good one. I do not know but I have three ideas for the gravel (looks more like sand) being dumped into the river. On the Rhine at notorious spots the river is dredged and the material redeposited at another site where it does not disturb, is generally useful or even serves the direct purpose of changing the water flow. For gravel/sand on the Moselle that does not make that sense to me. The river transports and deposits it at locks for example so you would dredge there, but creating a changed water flow on the controlled river? So not sure. Another explanation is that the engineers are preparing the area for the new landing stage at Bernkastel-Kues but the site looks a bit different, from what I saw in August. I do not think it is there. So again not sure. Third possibility is that you saw this near the lock at Lehmen. That is getting a second (larger) chamber so extensive work is being done around there. A lot of it has been completed but there were still quite a few things going when I saw it it August. The lock gets a small "harbour" upstream and downstream and for that the embankment needs to be altered. Like this:

https://www.wsa-mosel-saar-lahn.wsv.de/Webs/WSA/Mosel-Saar/DE/Wasserstrassen/Projekte/Aktuelle_Projekte/Mosel/2_Schleuse_Lehmen/2_Schleuse_Lehmen_text.html

This could be something you saw.

 

As there is no kilometre marker in your photo and I cannot make out the name of the work boat I cannot find out any more details. I cannot see a notification for skippers that would directly explain this. May be me or it has been removed.

 

notamermaid

 

 

 

 

 

[Canal archive]

River locks are notoriously bad for attracting silt up and the ecologists are the first to request the repositioning of silt hopefully in the same general area. So no surprise what with the river and frequent boat movements. According to the canal guys who also have rivers to contend with it’s a never ending job that requires constant monitoring.

[pontac]

Oh dear, 

I replied yesterday but it's not here. I posted a pic of a serial number on the side of the barge but I can't do it now as I am on the Seine. 

 

It does look like sand: I didn't get long to look as our boat was moving fast down river, but the barge looked like it had mounds of gravel, and when the scoop dumped it's contents it seemed there was a cloud of dust came off it. 

[Host Jazzbeau]

11 hours ago, pontac said:

Oh dear, 

I replied yesterday but it's not here.

No sign that it ever was here.  Apparently 'submit reply' didn't work.  But that should leave the post in CC's memory so that when you try to reply to a post it will repopulate in the text window.  [But not now that you have already posted.]

[Canal archive]

Completely off piste but I want to thank the world’s Paralympian's for their superb Olympic games.  A beautiful amazing achievement by all involved, sports men and women, trainers, volunteers and supporters so very very well done.p

[notamermaid]

On CC UK: editor review of Rhine and Moselle cruise on S.S. Victoria: https://www.cruisecritic.co.uk/articles/moselle-rhine-uniworld-ss-victoria?stay=1&posfrom=1

 

I will just post it here, it is displayed on the right side of my screen in the article suggestions so I reckon many people will notice it.

 

notamermaid

 

 

[RDVIK2016]

On 1/8/2024 at 8:31 PM, notamermaid said:

Around here I have noticed that people are not so strict with that these days. Twelfth Night is not the term, but we say 6 January the sixth, i.e. Epiphany, decorations are taken down. That is when Christmas ends. But the older version is taking all Christmas trees out and decorations down by Mariä Lichtmess (2 February). By the way - language nerd speaking - the a umlaut stands for the possessive case, meaning Mary's or of Mary. Literally Mary's light mass. You call it Candlemas.

 

Churches (not sure which one does what) and some people stick to that instead.

 

notamermaid

 

 

notamermaid,

I was reminded the other day of our "language nerd" discussion about the use of the Latin possessive (genitive) referencing Roman Catholic feast days and the names of churches such as  Mariä, Michaeli, Stefani, etc. We agreed that Mariä Himmelfahrt/Assumption of Mary was the most common one, but just past Sunday I realized we had not brought up Mariä Geburt - the Nativity of Mary - on 8 September. There must be other obscure uses, but this one seems common enough to be added to the list. 

RDVIK

[Canal archive]

Notamermaid is the Christingle still celebrated in Germany it was started there in the 1740s not old I know but always enjoyed by my Girl Guides, Brownies and Rainbows.

[notamermaid]

8 hours ago, RDVIK2016 said:

Mariä Geburt - the Nativity of Mary - on 8 September

Had forgotten about that one.

 

4 hours ago, Canal archive said:

Notamermaid is the Christingle still celebrated in Germany it was started there in the 1740s not old I know but always enjoyed by my Girl Guides, Brownies and Rainbows.

Actually, I had never known a Christingle before I went to England, I do not know what the German equivalent is and I do not recall celebrating in such a way. Perhaps we just never did or I was too young to remember.

 

notamermaid