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

CroisiEurope is offering open days on their ship again. This November the MS Symphonie will be in: Karlsruhe Speyer Mannheim Frankfurt Mainz Full details with addresses here: https://www.kreuzfahrt-aktuelles.de/news/croisieurope-bietet-schiffsbesichtigung-in-fuenf-deutschen-staedten-an/41263/ I seem to have forgotten to add a few details in 2018. Sorry. There must be a couple of photos deep down in my archives. notamermaid

Thank you for the info. Much further upstream in Germany things are looking good as well. There had been substantial amounts of rain which brought the level at Pfelling briefly over 400cm. It is on a downward trend but still at 342cm. Really good. With the dry warm weather right now the level will fall further but within the next three days it does not look like a problem and should stay well over 300cm. There is no official forecast which takes us beyond 30 October. notamermaid

There is the idea that it connects it to the Nibelungenlied - the saga from which Richard Wagner composed the operas - but it is not a proven connection and I have not heard of a natural cave up there. There may be one. It appears the original legend was a dragon without name that tormented the people in the area, especially ships, and was defeated by a Christian maiden that was presented to it as an offering. Here is some quite good info: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/burg-drachenfels What is called the Drachenhöhle these days is a building from the early 20th century, really unique. It is interesting and the Schloss Drachenburg (neo-Gothic) is really nice. You can explore it virtually: https://www.schloss-drachenburg.de/index.php/de/entdecken/virtuelle-schlosstour notamermaid

A day trip to Königswinter part 1 Week before last I went to the North of my county, Rhineland-Palatinate and then into North Rhine-Westphalia, to the foot of one of the mountains of the Seven Mountains range, the Drachenfels, or dragon's rock. The town is called Königswinter. I had not been there for a few years and wanted to check out a couple of shops, a café/restaurant I had read about and first and foremost go to the Siebengebirgsmuseum to see an exhibition on early bathhouses and bathing in the Rhine but not to go up to the most splendid of regional tourist attractions that is the cog railway and the Drachenfels Castle (okay, you are allowed to call me weird). Königswinter is on the right bank of the Rhine, a few kilometres before Bonn (district Beuel). The close proximity to the Bonn area makes it a popular place to live to commute to Bonn and has a tram line going North and over the river. In the past it has been a good place for a trip out for townspeople and profited much from Rhine Romanticism. Yup, it is that most famous and notorious of lords that put the hill on the tourism map. Read Byron's "Castl'd crag of Drachenfels". Königswinter at the foot of the rock developed into a wealthy place full of Jugendstil (Art Nouveau) buildings and hotels. That splendour has faded in modern times as you can imagine but there is still enough old architecture from Baroque onwards to make it interesting. The approach on the main road in autumn colours with the tramline on the left and the railway on the right was pleasant: Unfortunately, it started raining, but we were able to take shelter under canopy of a farmer's food stall that had been set up in the car park we chose to go to: Obviously, we could not resist looking at the produce and got radishes, onions, walnuts and a type of apple I had never heard of before called Wellant. Apparently it is a relatively new breed from the Netherlands and popular for the fact that it is tolerated well by allergy suffers. We rushed through the rain and side streets, past a few interesting buildings. I enjoyed this house that reminded me of fairy tale stories (apart from the rubbish bin): By the time we got to the main town area my paper printout of google maps with markings was almost soaked and we were ready for lunch so stopped at a street corner to find our way and the English café. But hang on, that place here looks interesting, has a French breakfast menu, we both agreed, and changed from English to French. Good decision! To be continued... notamermaid

I will try and remember to post newspaper articles when they open. The level at Kaub is predicted to go down to 120cm and possibly a bit below that, now around 1/2 November. The weather is dry and unusually warm. Splendid sunny late October days. As mentioned in a previous post, I had a day out to a place I had not been to for a few years. I gave the clues of "seven" and "dragon". Solution coming soon. notamermaid

Remember, the original Vikings rolled their ships over land on wood and did it with muscle power. But those fellows were not welcome along the Rhine as they did more than just occupy the seats in the river side restaurants. notamermaid

And we have another happy announcement from the Vahali shipyard. Well, not the shipyard itself, but they may have posted some photos on facebook like with past river cruise ship hulls they have sent on their way. This good news comes from the folks on Binnenschifferforum who have entered the Amadeus Riva in their Kaskotransport thread. She has been spotted in Austria, pushed by the Argo. If you happen to see an odd ship with the blue sign BN 654 displayed at its side you have spotted her on her journey to the Netherlands, too: https://www.binnenschifferforum.de/showthread.php?112666-Amadeus-Riva-KFGS-Kasko&p=449003#post449003 notamermaid

The Mozart has been spotted sailing! The folks on Binnenschifferforum say that she has left the shipyard in Linz and was seen sailing towards Vienna. It sounds as if her transformation is complete. notamermaid

I thought the itinerary that Jazzbeau did sounded amazing. Well I am biased because I do not really like Paris and am a fan of the East of France and Burgundy. The city of Reims has so much atmosphere. Having said that, Paris is a great city to explore. What you can do is fly into another city and take the train. Or take a train from Paris for a trip out. The high-speed trains in Europe are a great way to get around. If I was American and did not want to fly into Paris CDG, I would even consider flying to Heathrow, staying in London, then taking the Eurostar via Lille (interesting old city) to Paris. So many option. And the Rhone is a fabulous itinerary, too. notamermaid

No, except for public transport and health care settings. @Canal archivelovely photo. I miss seeing English residential areas. We do not have much of that warm brick colour in the Middle Rhine valley. Had a double rainbow a few weeks ago, but I was among relatively tall buildings at the time so photos would not have captured it well. notamermaid

No news is good news as they say and this has been true for the river levels - hence no posts from me. I have also been a bit busy. So first, river: Kaub is at 159cm. Rain on and off is keeping the river at good levels. It is a bit low for barges and fully expected in autumn, but plenty of water for river cruise ships. Dryer weather means that the level is predicted to fall, possibly below 120cm by the end of the month. Which is of course still fine for river cruise ships. Second, I have read a bit at work about Christmas markets (not idly hanging around in the office, I do actually need such info as I work in tourism, not to worry) and so far have found no cancellations of note announced. All major markets in Rhineland-Palatinate appear to be going ahead as planned but there may be the odd light bulb and decoration missing... After two difficult years, few I would say are willing to put up with another Advent of loosing money and tourists. Mask-wearing is accepted more, evidently. Almost all the staff in my local supermarket is now wearing masks and I would add another two percentages on the figure of random people in the street wearing them. It is a windy day today so the leaves are flying and trees getting more barren. But it is still colourful and pleasant to see the change from day to day. notamermaid

There is a lot to consider, so I also recommend reading the stickies. Gourmet Gal mentions the size of the rooms. If you want larger than standard river cruise cabins, have a look at the Amamagna on the Danube. But seeing that you do not spend much time in your room usually and are likely to be mostly on the ship in the lounge, dining room and on the top deck, a French balcony room can be very much sufficient. notamermaid

Interesting. So far I had not actually read that Viking stops in Bad Schandau on a regular itinerary, must have overlooked that. Perhaps it is sold or served in Bad Schandau itself. If you feel like inquiring (contact details at bottom of page): https://bad-schandau.de/ It looks like a really nice area, never been to that part of the East of my country unfortunately. notamermaid

It is indeed this set-up that TUI while originally German, is very much present on the British market. The river cruise "division" only exists in Britain, the German one has been defunct for years and the idea was fairly recently re-established so to speak, but only for the British market. I think it could be fairly complicated booking and paying TUI from Australia. I think a direct phone call with TUI in Britain could clarify this. notamermaid

Quick update. Before we could seriously think about low water in Bavaria again, Pfelling gauge started rising. The river stayed just above 300cm with a couple of drops below that figure. The level now is 326cm and set to rise further, likely reaching 350cm during tomorrow. notamermaid

The Elbe at Dresden is looking good at 149cm. Let us travel a bit upstream closer to the border with the Czech Republic and the town Bad Schandau. Precisely, I would like to draw your attention to a district of that town, which is called Schmilka. This place is old and sleepy, or rather was until a person with an unusual idea "saved" it, now Schmilka is a holiday destination again: https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20220902-schmilka-the-progressive-german-town-stuck-in-the-past Could you get to it on a river cruise? Yes, apart from the village being on the Elbe anyway, the fact that Bad Schandau has a river cruise landing stage (Viking) makes it very accessible. Schmilka is only seven kilometres away from Bad Schandau centre. If you know the area between Pirna and the Czech Republic do share your thoughts. notamermaid

@Host Jazzbeau and @Canal archive, thank you. Much appreciated. Kaub gauge down to 132cm. Should stay above 120cm. Rainy weather means that the level should rise again soon, probably already Friday evening. Strong winds have made trees drop a lot of leaves but the colours are still nice. A real fascinating mix, even on single leaves themselves. notamermaid

I have been wondering that myself. So far I have not read of anything or heard anything through work other than that some authorities might reduce the lights or reduce the hours they are lit. I will keep my ears open and try and get some info from papers. Not a fan of reading German newspapers these days, but one has to keep informed about this most essential of custom that are the markets of course. Actually, glancing at the papers the other day, I read that our chancellor has decided (after a big debate) to keep three nuclear power stations running for longer. Have not looked at details but it would appear that this should keep the lights on in Germany for longer... What has been noticed is that the sale of electric heaters has gone up as people are worried about having the gas central heating turned off due to lack of natural gas supply. Not a problem on a river cruise ship of course. Should the worse come to worst I will try and convince a river cruise company that they need me on board to report for a travel magazine or newspaper. notamermaid

"Light stands for the joy of living" This is the (my) translation of a quote from this article on saving energy and events that use light, especially the Christmas markets, but also the tradition of towns putting up Christmas trees in winter: https://www.tagesschau.de/inland/regional/nordrheinwestfalen/wdr-story-51195.html Again we read in the article linked to above that LED lights do not use much energy. It is an interesting thought in that article. The event "Herbstleuchten" in Hamm uses lights that cost 45 euros to run on an evening. When you consider that more than 1000 people attend every evening who then leave the lights off at home, this actually (purely speaking about lights I reckon) saves energy. Just a reassuring take from the article: lights may go off a little earlier in towns and cities but most authorities are determined to put lighting up as in previous years - at least in North-Rhine Westphalia. notamermaid

Okay, now that was special! Just a few days after the official opening of the Niederfinow boat lift a river cruise ship did the first sailing of the canal and lift transport. Remember that this is a route that is rarely travelled and only smaller river cruise ships up to 110m length can go through the lift. The passengers of the Excellence Coral did not only have the honour of being the first in the lift but also stopped in it to be treated to an exclusive concert on board the ship. At a height of 36m they enjoyed three live acts. The Excellence Coral sails for a Swiss company. Here is the German article from Switzerland: https://www.travelnews.ch/on-the-move/22714-die-excellence-coral-im-rampenlicht-des-neuen-schiffshebewerks.html The new boat lift is of course larger than the old one and now opens up the area for river cruise ships up to 110m length, the classification for the lift has jumped to V, i.e. a higher Federal German Waterway identification number. However, I do not know if smaller locks along the Oder Havel Canal and nearby will still restrict the area to ships smaller than 110m, meaning the waterways in the East of Germany around Berlin will continue to be sailed by only a handful of river cruise ships. notamermaid

Thank you. Please do if you find the time. We hear little from beyond Budapest. I expected the situation to be fine but it is good to be reassured by people actually on the that route now. Also, I am sure people will appreciate it if you share any tips from that part of the river. I hope you have a great time sailing in the autumn scenery on the Danube. notamermaid

@Worksheet Thank you for sharing your experience. I would say there were somewhat inconsiderate passengers on your cruise. I had the similar "group experience" in that they tended to be too loud, too focussed on themselves. Happened long before Covid but the experience of that mentality stuck with me. While there is no directive or regulation to self-isolate, you can even go to your office when you are positive and feeling fine, in such close confinements as a river cruise ship it should be the norm to not eat in the main dining room when you are coughing and sneezing a lot. I hope other cruisers are as considerate as you were on the ships that are currently sailing. I reckon he/she was expecting to hear from the butler if you needed anything. Still, it would have looked better if the CD had inquired actively in my opinion. Good to read that you felt better relatively quickly, although it sounds like you lacked the energy to enjoy Frankfurt. notamermaid