notamermaid

Things are looking rather splendid along the Bavarian Danube. Pfelling gauge is at 394cm. A steady flow of water is to come from the Upper Danube in the next few days. The temperatures are high, it is very warm for several days. How the river levels will develop towards the end of the week is not clear yet, the warm temperatures may lead to short thunderstorms. For now it looks to be a perfect time to be on the river! notamermaid

Linz in Austria has a webcam overlooking the river which shows one docking location for river cruise ships very well: https://www.linztourismus.at/freizeit/reise-planen/service/webcam/ notamermaid

Then you probably know Winningen well seeing that it is so small. Myself, I still have not been to the museum that also has info on August Horch (the car engineer). Yes, I find the Moselle lovely, too and I almost favour the dramatic parts in Luxembourg and in France (Sierck-Les-Bains). You can actually go all the way up to Nancy-Frouard (smaller ships), but very few ships go that far. It is mostly bike & barge. There are a few sailings up to Metz, but in general ships when they do not go to Luxembourg (Grevenmacher or Remich) divert to the Saar river. I have written a bit about such possibilities in the Moselle thread where you can also read about the itinerary that @gnome12 did. notamermaid

If you are in the UK this may be of interest to you: https://travelweekly.co.uk/news/tour-operators/avalon-waterways-launches-dedicated-brochure-for-uk-market Yes, people still like paper. Nothing like receiving a big, colourful magazine to rustle through in the post or taking one home from the high street travel agent. Almost as good as a new pair of shoes, for me anyway. notamermaid

@Canal archive You were kind of right about the tow path talk. Apparently, someone had heard something and new someone, etc. The story is here: https://www.sagafarmann.com/posts/1449 Talking of tow paths. In times when ships had no engines they were of course towed against the strong current by horses. The tow paths in many parts of the Rhine still exist. Treidelpfad is the German word. notamermaid

The two ships have parted company and the Heike Lucie is sailing upstream on the Main on her own. The Saga Farmann is remaining in Gustavsburg/Bischofsheim and according to a local newspaper is planned to stay there till Sunday morning. notamermaid

Yes, a community in the best sense. A barge may have been just a ship mobile service (telephone) call away. Here the two are caught on webcam at Rüdesheim courtesy of the hotel Papa Rhein: https://heimatzeithotels.panomax.com/bingen notamermaid

Just a brief look at the weather and the river levels. We can look forward to a sunny Whitsuntide. Monday is also a public holiday in Germany, by the way. As a result of no rain and higher temperatures we see the levels drop. But only slowly going down steadily. At Kaub all looks well, the first week of June will most likely see figures between 170cm and 205cm. After that potential rain may give a rise which at this time of year should lead to good levels but no high levels close to flooding. notamermaid

Oh, good. Explained then. Had not noticed that. I also find the itineraries nice. Really something to consider beyond the standard lines and operators that we usually talk about here on CC. notamermaid

Well, then I think not much should be changed. notamermaid

Yes, grin, it is certainly a more unusual cargo. In one of the videos posted on youtube a person from the Saga Farmann says that "the captain certainly knows his stuff, he has done this before". It is actually a standard procedure on the Rhine to take a ship alongside if it cannot sail by itself. Normally this means a part-finished ship, i.e. a hull that has no engine or at least no steering unit. A river cruise ship constructed in Serbia for example may be finished in the Netherlands and is normally first pushed by an "Argo" then another pushboat and then near the Main confluence with the Rhine attached to a barge. A procedure like that with a ship going upstream I have only heard of once in the last two years when an unfinished hull was - due to unfortunate financial circumstances - sent to Eastern Europe. Earlier this year the "Achim" barge was, being deemed unfit to sail after she had sunk in a lock chamber on the Danube, taken alongside a barge down the river to I think Romania. I also would be interested to know how they looked for a barge to take the Saga Farmann up the Rhine. The authorities? A job offer through the various inland waterways shipping organisations? notamermaid

Yup, they usually carry at least one car around with them. notamermaid

The engine, I think the term is unit, is indeed separate from the passenger unit and the reason is noise and vibration reduction. They are kind of fixed though, meaning they cannot be uncoupled like with a pushboat and its barge unit. On this shipyard website they do not use the term unit though: https://www.meyerwerft.de/en/ships/premicon_twincruiser.jsp There is a German Wikipedia page: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/TwinCruiser Here the shipyard that built the Premicon Queen, which was then the Thurgau Ultra and is now advertised as the River Crown, uses the phrase "The back half of the drive unit hosts the spacious restaurant": https://www.neptunwerft.de/en/press/press_detail/the_sixth_twincruiser_is_built_in_rostock.jsp I am not sure if this automatically reduces the number of cabins possible, need to leave that to a technician. Perhaps it can be figured out from the text or drawings on other websites. notamermaid

In the Rhine thread I have written about the epic journey of the Norwegian Viking replica boat, The "Saga Farmann". It has left the Rhine and is now on the Main. As I write she is still tied to the Heike Lucie at the port Bischofsheim. I had understood from the videos posted by the boat crew that the barge would take her as far as Mainz. We will see tomorrow what has happened and if there was a change of plan. It is easy to track and try and spot the boat on the river as like other ships she sends a signal (this is the 21st century not the tenth 😉). https://www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais/details/ships/shipid:6781228/mmsi:257081140/imo:0/vessel:SAGA_FARMANN notamermaid

Yes. What will Noble Caledonia still change? From the photos I gather the hull will get a new colour scheme. According to a German report called "Farewell Thurgau Ultra" it was a very popular ship that had sailed with Thurgau Travel for quite a few years but had been short-time chartered by other companies as well. Thurgau Travel has replaced her with the new "Thurgau Gold" that was supposed to have been christened this month. Have not checked if it has taken place. There are a few videos online that show the interior of the Thurgau Ultra. There is a good website with review and photos but unfortunately it is also a travel agent so no linking allowed. notamermaid

The courts decided yesterday that the excursion boat which sank in Brohl is a "boat" not a "shipwreck". This has implications for the court case with auction. But first for me it means hooray there is hope yet for this ship that also has had me twice as a passenger (many years ago). notamermaid

The Heike Lucie with the Saga Farmann left Engers at dawn and after a stop at Boppard has left the Rhine. The captain of the Heike Lucie has kindly provided some photos for upload on Binnenschifferforum. Here they are: https://www.binnenschifferforum.de/showthread.php?115130-Saga-Farmann-FGS-257081140&p=458449#post458449 notamermaid

The Danube at Passau showed a tiny wave yesterday, after all the rain. The level there is now 572cm. No rain coming and the weather will be sunny and warm over Whitsuntide. Upstream at Pfelling will most likely stay at good levels over 400cm, giving no rise for concerns that the level could drop too fast. Computer modelling for next week looks pleasant (this is not available for Pfelling or Passau but available for Kelheim). Whit Monday is a public holiday in Austria, Germany and Hungary. You can check other countries here: https://www.feiertagskalender.ch/feiertag.php?geo=0&jahr=2023&klasse=5&ft_id=35&hl=en notamermaid

Thank you. Good to read. I am intrigued, why have you got a German saying on a sign in your avatar, if I may ask? notamermaid

Good point. I have had a look and it seems that Marksburg Castle is open all year. But would I want to be up there in winter? Snow looks great but icy ground is dangerous in that place. I think such an itinerary needs adapting to the weather conditions. A Black Forest coach trip is fabulous in snow, but, again, icy or rainy and blustery? Not my thing. notamermaid

Okay, I had this feeling... I suggested that there is a chance that the Saga Farmann may dock before Koblenz. It has turned out to be correct. The twosome is in Engers: A barge and a Viking ship replica in front of a Rococo Palace. Now that is something. Although I think she may be further upstream at the industrial harbour if the signal is perfectly accurate. notamermaid

High German or "Hochdeutsch" is what is in the dictionary and in the news. And what you write in your essays in school, etc. A typical example for the difference between High German and Low German is das Wasser - dat Water. You see that Low German and with it the Lower Saxony dialect family is closer to English. Also Dorf - dorp which is the -thorp(e) surviving in place names in England. Basically the further down the Rhine you go the more the dialects sound a bit like English. Dutch is also Germanic and has retained those traits. Going full nerdy: A couple of years back I stumbled upon the fact that "lützel" is the German equivalent of little in English. It is a word that has fallen completely out of use in High German, but a few Saxon/Low German dialects retain it. It actually has something to do with a place on the Rhine. Koblenz has a suburb called Lützel. And there is a Lützelstein in Alsace, which the French language gives away in its meaning, they call it La Petite Pierre. "Small stone" and all together now the English is: "Littlestone". That happens in stark contrast to the fore mentioned Alsace place to be a flat village at the sea in Kent. Right back to rivers and canals. The Heike Lucie with the Saga Farmann should arrive in Koblenz in about 30 minutes, which is 19.45 local time, provided she docks there and not before. notamermaid

I am not ashamed to say that I am a tad envious. 🙂 Try not to rush through St. Pancras, instead take a few minutes to admire the mix of old and new railway architecture. I have done the trip Koblenz or Cologne to London by train several times in my life, either with ferry in between or in more recent years through the Tunnel. St. Pancras to Cologne is great, from one "railway cathedral" to another. The Thalys in First Class was the best experience. But Eurostar in Second Class is also fine, better than some German ICE's Second Class. One of my worst train journeys in a supposedly "First World modern high speed train" was actually a stretch around Frankfurt on a Friday afternoon coming back from my river cruise on the Danube. It was overcrowded and half the toilets were not working... Much preferred the First Class reception lounge of the Eurostar at Ebbsfleet International. Newspapers, drinks... 🍹 Have an amazing time in Europe. notamermaid

Angles and Saxons were two distinct tribes. The Saxons' origin (land) is still clear in the modern word Lower Saxony, or Niedersachsen. It has geographically nothing to do with Saxony in the East of Germany but there is a small connection to Saxony-Anhalt. The Lower Saxony language group will sound closer to your English than High German will. notamermaid

The Saga Farmann has hitched a ride and is towed alongside the barge Heike Lucie as the current is too strong and she does not have the necessary papers for sailing by herself. Apparently this will continue to be the case for quite some kilometres, i.e. up to Mainz. She is starboard so you may not see her going upstream when you pass downstream, she is quite small compared to her 135m "helping hand". This is what it looks like: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HvbVZeyECIE Thankfully, there is no flooding, which would have made the voyage a bit trickier. And the weather forecast looks good. notamermaid