notamermaid

It was a rocky, delayed start for the Travelmarvel Polaris and it could have been worse, had it not been for the German company 1AVista Reisen - and also Phoenix Reisen - stepping in. I wrote about it here: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2811445-what-and-how-are-apt-and-travelmarvel-doing/#comment-62093504 This year the ship launched as the MS Polaris and sailed for the German market throughout Spring. I am not sure when Travelmarvel was able to operate a sailing for the first time this year of their ship but she is clearly now where she belongs. In September APT's boss gave an interview from onboard the Travelmarvel Polaris: https://www.ttgmedia.com/news/apt-boss-were-not-playing-for-the-short-term-but-the-next-100-years-36722 Now that we have our friends from Down Under travelling in Europe again, the companies are back operating ships in their own name. Question is how many Australians and New Zealanders will be on board yet? I have seen the MS Polaris on the Rhine where she sailed for Phoenix Reisen. A nice design, really like the hull and modern livery. I hope you have a great time on the Danube and fun conversations with hopefully a lovely mix of people having travelled from afar. notamermaid

My pleasure. Plenty of time to look around then. Düsseldorf is quite different from Cologne. No Roman remains and a bit more "sophistication" in my opinion. notamermaid

An unusual set of circumstances over the last two years may contribute to the offer. The ship has had "foster parents" this year... All good, it will get back to this with more info. notamermaid

A big occasion in some places. Does your Christmas tree have a special place of origin, like a twin town in Scandinavia or is it from the regional forest? Tons of fir trees not far from you of course. Ours are either plain regional - and not that big - or from Denmark perhaps. It was a bit too warm here along the Rhine but today it is a bit cooler and the wind has increased. We had a downpour last night. Düsseldorf is a good place for some luxurious shopping. Never been there in winter I wonder what the "Kö" (the famous street) looks like all decorated? Here is some info on Düsseldorf: https://www.duesseldorf-tourismus.de/en/experience/events/christmas-market Do you fly in from London or take the Eurostar? Erzgebirge is the region where they come from, that is correct. They may be manufactured elsewhere now in similar styles. Chinese ones are available, do check, they should be labelled or ask the vendor. The original handicraft from the Ore Mountains is really expensive. The pyramids are an investment and can become an heirloom. Here is some info: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_pyramid The odd large shop in a touristy place may even ship overseas. There certainly are a few online shops, here is one: https://www.seiffener-weihnachtsland.de/weihnachtsdeko/weihnachtspyramiden.html I think this one is not international. International big shops are the Käthe Wohlfahrt ones. Here is the list of their stalls at Christmas markets: https://www.kaethe-wohlfahrt.com/en/openinghours/marketlist/ notamermaid

Welcome to Cruisecritic! And thank you for joining the conversation. The time frame should enable you to see many Christmas markets open. I hope you have a great time. A bit of info on the graph you posted. It is the info that I use when I look further into the future than the regular forecast, just like I did in the post above. For those who do not know it, it is updated every morning and is a probability computer calculation (what the German name implies). Naturally the margin of error becomes greater with every day. Would the 18th of November make me nervous? Not yet. But then I do not need to travel potentially thousands of miles to get to the river cruise. 100cm is still a good-ish level and in the absence of heat the river does not loose volume as quickly as it would in August. We could have a look again at that graph and see how it develops. Would you like to post the graph again, say on Sunday, for perspective? notamermaid

So far, the forecast is correct. Pfelling gauge really steady, currently at 301cm. notamermaid

Hello newcomers to river cruising - and both Basel to Amsterdam! Well, it is probably the most frequent route in Europe and very popular for a first river cruise. Weather and clothes, very important. Not much different from home then I would say. The Rhine has a mild climate so really cold days below freezing do not happen all the time, but it can be icy and wet. Yes, that should work really well. Scarf for the windy sundeck and gloves for early morning excursions are good to have. Overall, the temperature range is usually minus 5 Celsius in the hills, especially Switzerland, on cold days to plus 12 Celsius on a day when during a warm spell the sun brings the temperature up in the afternoon. Nights can sometimes be colder and days occasionally a little warmer in sheltered areas and towns close to the river. This year November has started with mild temperatures and it is currently 12 to 13 Celsius in the valley. One thing you may want to note, those that are leaving early in the season: Sunday of the Dead (this year on 20 November) is traditionally a "quiet day" and by law Christmas markets are restricted in their opening hours. If a Christmas market starts before that day it may be closed or open late on the Sunday. notamermaid

Will do, thanks. Saw the "HO"... Was a bit surprised that for me it was not a "no" as in the avatar name but part of my real name so I rushed to find a replacement photo. The new login pop-up still looks odd to me but is working fine. notamermaid

It is time to get ready, the gingerbread has been in the shops for weeks, it gets dark much earlier with the clocks back on normal time and the temperatures are very slowly going down. While I have no specific plans for this season I know many of you have booked a river cruise. I thought perhaps we could throw info and tips into this thread. Excitement guaranteed and fun shared is doubled! Where are you going? First time during winter? Have you been in the past, any favourite places? Tips for those who are thinking of a last minute (or for 2023) booking? I live in "Christmas market country" so here is some trivia surrounding our traditions: the first mention of a proper Christmas tree in historical data comes not from within the modern borders of Germany but from Alsace: https://www.christmas.alsace/symbols-and-traditions/the-christmas-tree-reigns-in-alsace/ Over to you. notamermaid

It is always good to see Rachel Stewart of Deutsche Welle doing another video of her adopted country. In September she started a road trip through Germany in four parts. The first leg took her to the North, a region you may not be so familiar with. Great fun and I have learnt some new things, too. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-AbtBU3WzE notamermaid

Thank you for the link and cheers to Mr. Neumeier for the very informative interview. Very nice interior I must say. The last photo of the lounge/bar is leaning towards Art Deco. Really classy. notamermaid

Short update. Kaub gauge is at 124cm. The forecast has been adjusted downwards and now shows figures below 120cm for tomorrow. But the most likely scenario is that the level will stay above 110cm and looking further into November we see the level staying low but at a level that can be expected in autumn. For the first half of the month the probability for the level at Kaub to stay above 100cm is very high. Good news, so time to return to Königswinter. notamermaid

@Nosdrachir Thanks for saying hello and the info about your cruise. I hope you had a great time. Short update. Pfelling gauge is at 298cm and is most likely - if the forecast turns out to be correct - going to stay between 300cm and 295cm Friday and into Saturday. Hopefully the rain that is forecast will keep the level steady on Saturday and into Sunday. notamermaid

The Siebengebirge, or rather the wider Lower Middle Rhine valley, is more often than not sailed at night. Mucha is definitely one of the great artists of "flowing lines and curves" (my words). I have an Art Nouveau calendar in my living room and the October page showed an Alphonse Mucha poster from the United States (!). Jugendstil buildings abound in Germany, the nearest one from is only about 100m away. Usually they are not sticking out that much, but there are some real gems to be seen if you know where to look for them. This is the famous head in the old town in Koblenz: https://www.fotocommunity.de/photo/jugendstil-haus-olaf-d-hennig/27377761 Address is Firmungsstrasse 11. A regional newspaper tells me (online) that there is now a plaque in the pavement saying "Stop. Nach oben schauen." so that more people know about this architectural attraction. In the 20th century there was a (dispensing) chemist in the building. This is one of my favourite places in Koblenz, called Im Paradies (mural spanning over the street): https://www.flickr.com/photos/hen-magonza/26969633153/in/photostream/ Looking further afield, Brussels is considered a haven for Art Nouveau enthusiasts. There, Victor Horta was the great architect and you can visit a museum dedicated to his work. Would love to see those buildings. notamermaid

I am playing catch-up with the news and a bit belated can to my surprise and relief say that our panic health minister in Berlin has decided to drop the panic. Talking about covid and protecting yourself in winter is not to be done with fear but on an "educational basis". In Rhineland-Palatinate here a politician has even gone as far saying we should treat covid like any other illness, which I suppose is another way of saying it is like seasonal flu. It makes me hopeful that we will not see any specific measures to control the illness in the wider public. Well, we have the energy problems to deal with predominantly anyway. I have read that the first hotels are specifically adding an amount to the guests' bills to pay for rising energy prices. I do wonder what river cruise companies will do? They have to pay more for diesel but also potentially for electricity supplied by the authorities on land, which they are obliged to use when docking. Edit: forgot to mention that the river level is falling but there is no real change to the forecast. Kaub should not go below 120cm and is likely to rise again on Sunday. notamermaid

Time to have a look at what Pfelling is doing. In these dry conditions the river levels have fallen and the gauge shows only 301cm. A problem? Not sure. The river being a bit more unpredictable than the Rhine it is difficult to judge but we may see the level drop to a critical level for the largest of river cruise ships before rain comes. It is forecast to rain on Friday all over Germany in varying amounts. The level forecast suggests 293cm at Pfelling tomorrow evening, which makes Friday a day that could see the level drop to 290cm and potentially below. I think we need to keep an eye on this. notamermaid

Thank you. Perhaps a temporary thing then. For the time being I am content with looking at the river in Rhinau but may try and get that photo of Koblenz back. I now also get a new login field, i.e. the pop-up looks different, but it works fine. notamermaid

New software thing on CC means that I had to change my avatar photo . No longer Koblenz and Avalonwaterways ship. It appears the file was too big. Oh well, after several trials I have found a small enough photo that I took on the Rhine. It is Rhinau, me crossing the river on the ferry there. A quiet contemplative day today. With pleasantly mild weather and a great autumnal sunset. Managed to go to Lumagica in Neuwied Niederbieber (longish evening). It was fun and when I get round to it I will try and post a photo in the Rhine thread. Night photos on my camera are not the best. notamermaid

Interesting how Grandads can influence the young folk. You know, beyond woodworking and model railways, etc. I hope the young man will enjoy learning my native language and will not be frustrated by the ever changing articles like in "das Schnitzel mit Rahmsoße" and die "Schnitzelrahmsoße". Talking of which, I prefer Schnitzel mit Pfefferrahmsoße. And as we are on 31 October. Today is Reformationstag, which the Protestants observe and tomorrow is Allerheiligen, which the Catholics observe. So tomorrow people will visit their loved ones in graveyards and place candles and flowers on their graves. German language lesson: it is "der Grabstein" (gravestone) and "das Steingrab" (stone (coffin) grave). Right, need to do shopping now as tomorrow the shops are closed in Rhineland-Palatinate. notamermaid

I think Schnitzel mit Jägerrahmsoße or Jägerschnitzel mit Champignonrahmsauce, or similar. Various versions exist on the internet. I am not sure what it was called last time I saw this on a restaurant menu. By the way, I went for British this evening and had chicken and mushroom pie with a puff pastry crust. notamermaid

New mystery river cruises: https://www.travelweekly.com/River-Cruising/Uniworld-unveils-new-Mystery-Cruises-for-2023?ct=river notamermaid

The Rhine at Kaub continues to look good for sailing. The level is now at 157cm, the forecast has been adjusted and shows the lowest figure for 4 November. On that day the level is likely to get close to 120cm before rising again. All this makes the outlook for the first half of November pretty good. Not great water levels but well above what could cause problems for river cruise ships. The brochures and online websites are full of Christmas markets and I have seen the brochure for the Christmas Garden in Koblenz. All looking promising for now. notamermaid

While I have not cruised in France, I will nevertheless say that it looks to be less problematic than on German rivers. 1. I read and hear almost nothing about low water on the Seine and Rhone. 2. Both rivers are generally speaking deeper than the Rhine and Danube, etc. and are also controlled by locks where river cruise ships sail. Details I will have to leave to experienced cruisers. Perhaps this map may be of interest to you: https://unece.org/DAM/trans/main/sc3/AGN_map_2018.pdf High water and real flooding can of course happen on all rivers and that is generally more in Spring than in autumn. notamermaid

Stuttgart sounds good. Interesting city with rich cultural life. The Moselle is a great region for that, indeed. notamermaid

You may have been on a river cruise ship before and walked through the lobby of another ship or just simple looked at all the others while docking, sailing or on a land trip. Perhaps you know this from ocean cruise ships already. A few river cruise companies give you the chance to look at ships in more detail and open them for a day or two. I know this from the Rhine but this may exist on other rivers and with US river cruise ships. Have a look round websites for such days. I think it is a nice idea, even just to compare it to your ship or past cruise experience. I have posted CroisiEurope on this thread: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2515614-croisieurope-open-day-on-the-ms-symphonie/#comment-64217452 In Basel, Thurgau Travel is showcasing four ships: https://abouttravel.ch/reisebranche/tage-der-offenen-schiffe-von-thurgau/ Dates are 25 and 26 November and they will also have some info on the Thurgau Gold which will enter service in April 2023. Lesser sailed rivers and canals will also be a focus, mainly Northern Germany. As with CroisiEurope, short presentations (in German) give info about the catalogue and some special offers and themed cruises. While Thurgau Travel only targets the Swiss and German market, CroisiEurope is international of course. If you happen to be in the towns mentioned on those days it could be fun to explore the ships. Should I find any more such days I will post them. notamermaid