The Elbe river 2023 - not just water levels

[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

 

[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

 

[CroisiEurope America]

Thanks for your service, not a Mermaid 😄.  We're looking forward to another year on the Elbe.

[notamermaid]

On 2/1/2023 at 3:46 PM, CroisiEurope America said:

Thanks for your service, not a Mermaid 😄.  We're looking forward to another year on the Elbe.

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

 

[CPT Trips]

@CroisiEurope America The itinerary appears to have an unusual port call in Amsterdam.

 

DAY 12

AMSTERDAM

Enjoy lunch and time on your own in Amsterdam today. Passengers are welcome to board the ship at 6:00 p.m. Enjoy a welcome cocktail with the crew before dinner. The evening is free to do as you please.

 

Is there a possibility of booking only the Berlin to Amsterdam portion?

[notamermaid]

It is March, the first river cruise itineraries are happening soon, time to look at what the river did in February. The graph for Dresden:

 

 

Up and down at good levels throughout the month. MW is mean water level. Looks like a good start to the season, the probability bars look promising for levels around the mean.

 

notamermaid

 

[notamermaid]

Both Viking Astrild and Viking Beyla have left the Tangermünde winter harbour and have sailed today along the Elbe. So I guess they will soon be in position to receive the first passengers of the season. Well, the guests arriving on Wednesday in Berlin may encounter snow! Whereas other regions of Germany will see the temperatures rise after a short cold spell with snow, the weather will persist longer in the East and the roads may stay white for more than a few hours. Wrap up warm and have your cameras ready!

 

By the way, the smaller German vessel Sans Souci, which can dock in Berlin, is here, if you happen to get to Spandau you may spot her:

 

notamermaid

 

[AnhaltER1960]

16 hours ago, notamermaid said:

Both Viking Astrild and Viking Beyla have left the Tangermünde winter harbour and have sailed today along the Elbe. So I guess they will soon be in position to receive the first passengers of the season. Well, the guests arriving on Wednesday in Berlin may encounter snow!

 

notamermaid

 

Indeed, the Viking season starts by the end of this week with the first sailings out of Wittenberg, resp. Decin. While indeed there might be snow in the hills, here in the lowlands the soil is just a bit too warm for the snow to persist. Anyway, temperatures are chilly with just about freezing in the night and a few degrees above during the day. Prepare for that!

[notamermaid]

So both ships are now in position. Ready to sail! Hope it will be a good season.

 

And the Sans Souci? She has a few more "days off". Her season starts with the first sailing on 17 March, which will take her not onto the Elbe but East to the Oder and upstream as far as Breslau.

 

I still think it is a pity that Plantours has no bi-lingual itineraries. That is the company the Sans Souci sails for. But it may be possible to do something like that outside of the charter agreement with Plantours. I will get to that another time.

 

notamermaid

 

[notamermaid]

It has just been announced in the news that the Pergamonmuseum in Berlin is to close its doors from October due to repairs. This restoration work is of a structural nature to the whole museum. Details are not on the website (yet), this is the local news article: https://www.rbb24.de/kultur/beitrag/2023/03/pergamon-museum-berlin-sanierung-oktober-wiedereroeffnung-2037.html

 

For me a highlight of my visit to the city. I do not care for Berlin, but I must say if you like art, especially of Asia, this is the place to go to.

 

notamermaid

 

[notamermaid]

It is April, time to have a look at what the river did at Dresden in March:

Basically, a good month. Towards the middle of March the river reacted to heavy rain and rising temperatures. It went back to a lower, very pleasant, level. The last three days have been wet again which brings the level up and it is still rising. We may see a rise to 300cm again on 4 April but not much further.

 

notamermaid

 

[notamermaid]

There has been a lot of rain, a band of clouds made it from the west over to Bavaria and Thuringia, covering much of the Czech Republic and the East of Germany. Therefore the Elbe is rising fast and the authorities have issued a flood warning for Saxony. A level close to 400cm is expected at Dresden on 17 April.

 

notamermaid

 

[notamermaid]

Dresden is now close to 400cm which is flood warning level 1. The rise will continue through much of tomorrow but not as fast. 440cm are possible. Flood warrning level 2 is at 500cm. That should not be reached.

 

notamermaid

 

[AnhaltER1960]

Yes plenty of rain in the Elbe region. That has been a Genoa low, type Vb, as meteorologists call it. A low pressure system, which takes an ununsual route, not coming in from the (north)west, as usual, but from the east. Those Vb form in the Mediterrarenian move anti-clockwise around the alps and reach the Bohemian Basin from the east. And while the Bohemian Basis is well protected by hills from the north (Giant Mountains), the west (Ore Mountains) and the south (Bavarian Forest), there are no such hills to the east. Means, that low pressure, loaden with water from the Adria gets stuck between those hills until the last drop of rain has fallen.

Resulting in high water tables of the Elbe, which scratch at flood alarm levels, but will presumably will not reach the flood levels, which affect sailing, given not much additional rain will fall in the next days, until this wave has gone downriver. Positive effect is, cruisers will have fine views from the sundeck, as those six or seven feet additional water (compared to long-range mean) give fine views over the dykes into the landscape. And you will not (yet) have to use Wellington boots to enter or leave the ship.

[notamermaid]

Thank you for the analysis. I saw the unusual formation in the radar. An almost dry weekend in Rhineland-Palatinate as the major cloud formation swept through from the East below my state.

 

I see that the plateau was reached yesterday and the level at Dresden has been going down slowly since last night. A good outcome for river cruisers.

 

notamermaid

 

[notamermaid]

All is good on the Elbe right now it seems. Flooding has gone and the authorities have stopped issuing regular updates on the situation. The levels have dropped considerably.

 

With the current weather patterns - cool to mild, dry but with a hint of rain -  we should see only a slow decline in the levels now and indeed the forecast shows this for the Upper Elbe.

 

notamermaid

 

[notamermaid]

It is May, time to have a look at what the river did in April:

 

This is how the mild flooding described in a previous post looked like in the graph. Mild it was although the rise in the graph appears huge. While flood warnings for the Elbe were given out by the authorities, the river at Dresden though did not reach the flood mark relevant for shipping which is at 500cm. The river is back to a normal level and it looks good for river traffic in this somewhat cool and slightly rainy May weather.

 

notamermaid

 

[notamermaid]

Dresden is perhaps the main port and attraction visited by river cruisers on the Elbe, not counting Berlin and Prague of course. Both those cities are accessible by smaller (those with less draft) river cruise ships. All ships cruising the Elbe and Havel - whichever stretch - are smaller than the large ships on the Rhine for example.

 

I have not been to Dresden. The popular attractions I am sure I would enjoy but these unusual modes of transport would really grab my attention: https://www.dvb.de/en-gb/excursions/hillside-railways

The Schwebebahn is the oldest of its kind in the world,

 

notamermaid

 

 

[ural guy]

We are in Bad Schandau now, and this morning we see the Viking Astrild docked.  

 

 

Viking's included tour is to the Bastei Brucke, which we also visited this afternoon, and we again saw Viking as she was sailing away.

 

 

Saxon Switzerland, as this area on the Czech/German border is called, has huge rock 'outgrowths', along with the steep Elbe valley, make for a picturesque scene.  We had a cloudy day, but you get the idea.  Here is the Brucke:

 

 

 

Rocks:

 

This part of the river is from morning visit to Konigstein Castle, which was well worth it's 4.7 on google, after 20,000 reviews.

 

 

And the elevator in Bad Schandau, along with a view of the town itself.

 

 

Very pretty part of the world.  

 

 

 

Edited May 15, 2023 by ural guy
delete pic

[jpalbny]

Great pics, ural guy! Chris has had that region on her list for a while now. I will have to show her your pictures.

 

We'll be on the Elbe next month, as our Silversea cruise ends at Hamburg. We have two nights there before we fly home. Looking forward to it!

[notamermaid]

15 minutes ago, jpalbny said:

We have two nights there before we fly home.

"Chris will immer hoch hinaus" - she always sets her sights high - or should that be chooses the sights that have many steps? Here are the best views from up high across Hamburg according to Northern broadcaster NDR: https://www.ndr.de/ratgeber/reise/Panoramablick-Die-besten-Aussichtspunkte-in-Hamburg,aussicht105.html

 

notamermaid

 

[jpalbny]

Thank you for the list! We have been to quite a few of them on our last visit. I will try to find a few of the others this time!

[ural guy]

JP-  Quite a few things to do in the region, hiking/biking leading the pack.  You can take a 1890's tram up a small valley 8 kms from Bad Schandau, with various stops for hiking trails and hotels along the way.  There is a small waterfall at the tram end point to check out.

 

Here are a few pics from my daughters from both the Castle:

 

 

 

And Brucke:

 

 

Today, the girls rented canoes and went downstream from Decin, Czech Republic to Bad Schandau.  It was 52f, cloudy and windy.  They were happy with their adventure, and even got to ride the ferry across the river at one point. 

 

After dropping them off, I went backcountry roads through the Czech mountains to find a restaurant that had wood carvings and old tanks, according to Atlas Obscura.  What an amazing spot, the restaurant had license plates from all over, and various knick knacks hanging...along with anti tank rocket launchers from  four different armies, it looked like.  Along with all the sculptures and good food, I was happy with my choice.  

 

 

 

The width of the roads.

 

 

 

 

 

[jpalbny]

We must visit. That area looks incredible! Thanks for sharing.

[notamermaid]

It is June, time to have a look at what the river at Dresden did in May:

 

From a level well above the mean we see the figures gradually going down till the middle of the month. A short period of rain kept the level from falling much below the mean and gave a short rise. Now we are in the summer period and warm temperatures without rain will put a strain on the river. A short rise happened at the end of the month but the following days not shown here yet reveal this to not have lead to a good level.  Still, the figures are above 100cm. NB: the authorities in the Czech Republic can control the volume of water to some extent with the reservoir and floodgates and a certain effect can appear at Dresden, one that we are not able to determine how extensive it will be. Companies have learnt from past years so few cruises happen in the heat of summer and in early autumn in that area. Viking offers the „Elegant Elbe“ itinerary in June but then the next departure is in October.

 

notamermaid