notamermaid

Finally, full return to travelling for foreigners to the US: https://www.travelweekly.com/Travel-News/Government/House-passes-bill-dump-vaccine-mandate-for-visitors notamermaid

We have talked a bit about the Moselle's large tributary, the Saar. Few ships go up that river from Konz, or indeed start in one of the ports on the Saar. Amadeus River Cruises offers a cruise in 2023 (and 2024) that sails the Rhine, Moselle and Saar. The unusual inclusion of Grevenmacher as a stop, mostly to get close to Luxembourg city, adds to the appeal of this itinerary I find. Nice to be able to read so many details (I think it is a leaflet designed for use in/by travel agents for their customers): https://www.amadeus-rivercruises.com/fileadmin/media/06_DOCUMENTS_AFFILIATES/ARC_USA/01_Travel_Agent_Section/NEW_Individual_Program_Itineraries_2023/Saar_Moselle_Fairytales_CGN_CGN_USD_2023_1.pdf notamermaid

No, I do not think you did. A mistake would be not to talk to the folks on board that are older than you. Get a feel for the people that you could gel with and listen to some amazing stories. I am sure that will happen. I recommend the stickies at the top of this river cruising board for some great info. It will prepare you better. But I am convinced you will enjoy the cruise still even without reading those. No you will not be bored I think, just do some preparation and planning (but stay open to last minute changes). Within the limitations of the time frames the itinerary demands you can do lots that is a bit more energetic, if that is what you need, like hiking and cycling (for tips or potential bike hire ask the cruise director). There is little evening entertainment but the day is filled with so much activity that you may not miss it much. Have a great time. notamermaid

Amadeus River Cruises unveils 2024 itineraries: https://travelweekly.co.uk/news/tour-operators/amadeus-river-cruises-unveils-2024-european-programme The "Rhine in Flames" one is a truly special date. It incorporates the experience of the fireworks at Koblenz: https://www.rhein-in-flammen.com/spay-koblenz-gb/spay-koblenz-gb.html notamermaid

As it is quiet, I wasn't going to write anything in this thread in the next few days, but then I spotted something... You can see it underneath the graph I posted above, but I have blown it up from the website for you: The parameter for GlW (gleichwertiger Wasserstand) has changed. Kaub now has 77cm instead of 78cm. A slight adjustment only but important to remember for me, you know, before any of you say to me "but last year..." . The TuGlW remains the same, so our calculations will not change much in low water. For those I have completely baffled with this post, perhaps you would like to look in 2022, post #308: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2827571-rhine-water-levels-2022-and-similar-topics/page/13/ notamermaid

Hmm, I will just have a quick look... ((pretends to go down to the river bank)) ... yup, ships running perfectly, all good. The BBC is almost as bad as Bloomberg with this. Not saying the article is wrong of course, it is just this underlying scary tone that is a bit of a "pain". But seriously, logistics have been a bit more challenging and there is the new "Synthese" ship which has been hailed as the best step to adapt to low water on the Rhine. Other rivers have been similarly affected I reckon. You just adapt and get on with it, I would say. German articles are a bit "happier" in tone. The one thing we should not do - as I have said several times before and just repeating it for the newcomers - is deduce from business that leisure will be the same. The same physical rules apply for river cruise ships of course but the ships are different and depending on river the situation will not necessarily be the same at a certain point in time. It could be better, it could be worse. notamermaid

A famous chef will be on board the Scenic Diamond: https://travelweekly.co.uk/news/cruise/raymond-blanc-to-join-culinary-themed-scenic-sailing notamermaid

More from Riverside Luxury Cruises: https://travelweekly.co.uk/news/cruise/riverside-luxury-cruises-appoints-jon-knight-as-head-of-sales notamermaid

Here we go, Muzemandeln: https://www.dw.com/en/sweet-carnival-treats-from-cologne-muzemandeln/video-52468540 I prefer the Muzeblätter. All very well you may say, cannot go on a river cruise to experience Carnival as it is off season. Well, you can actually. Viva Cruises offers a Rhine cruise Düsseldorf return on the Viva One: https://www.viva-*****/en/cruisedetail?id=358&adults=2 Come a day earlier and stay a day longer and you are in the area for most of street Carnival. Or for those who feel comfortable on a Swiss-German and German language ship, there is the Thurgau Travel Edelweiss in Basel for the Fasnacht, which is during the week after Rhenish Carnival: https://www.thurgautravel.ch/angebote/fasnacht/ notamermaid

Let us stay in Germany and pre- or post-cruise, I know many of you are interested in Nuremberg and certain infamous and trying times, or the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam. Here is a tip for you that came to me as it is an anniversary, the 80th anniversary of the arrest of Sophie Scholl. It is quite present in the news in Germany right now. The young woman studied in Munich so if you want to see this, there is a memorial to her. I think this article explains it well: https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/sophie-scholl-and-white-rose It was turned into a film: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0426578/ notamermaid

The river is rising and falling with the rain, it looks to have reached a peak at Kaub this afternoon, now slightly falling again. All very normal so I will move to more pressing matters. A tiny "crisis" is occurring in the Rhineland, to revellers' shock the rise in cost of living has reached Carnival! Fewer "Kamelle" may be thrown this year, oh no!! Only half joking... Although Carnival is so much fun, for some the costs are a serious problem. So what are Kamelle? They are sweets, boiled sweets, originally all caramel, hence the Karamelle having morphed linguistically in the Rhineland to Kamelle. I have no statistics but imagine hundreds of kilos being thrown from the floats in street carnival to the people watching a parade. If you want to reduce the cost of staging such an event and preparing a float, get costumes, etc.., the Kamelle are an easy item on the list that you can save money on. Talking of sweet food, I think it is time for a couple of photos or a video on other Carnival treats. Coming soon. notamermaid

Happened with us, just one person though. Perhaps not so surprising. As I said, we have all lived quite close, for a hundred odd years in the wider Rhineland, all of us. And at least on my father's side for a lot longer. More so for you than for us here, but as the Vikings raided along the Rhine, who knows, one of those strapping men may have caught the eye of a Rhenish maiden that was an ancestor of mine. I won't rule it out. I am a bit surprised by how much the test differentiated for @Rebel54. I thought that if I did such a test it would probably reveal boring 100% Germanic. Perhaps it would be more accurate and varied after all. I have step relatives on both my mother's and father's side. Oddly enough, one got in touch yesterday after not having had any contact for at least four years. Got a bit further with the research for the American family. Looks promising for giving them some good news in the coming weeks. If so, I will then pass it on to a couple of more qualified people to continue. notamermaid

A nice small town indeed. A Neckar river cruise together with the Rhine would be a good trip, too. I think AmaWaterways have teamed up with a company to offer a "genealogy river cruise" this year. But I think if I felt comfortable touring independently a land trip could be more in-depth. Fascinating stuff, finding out about one's family. I went to the area of Würzburg three years ago partly to see where my ancestor was from. Turns out he was not born in the village that I visited, it is his last place of residence in Franconia but he only lived there briefly. But his name appears elsewhere in the area and stems from not far away. So still Würzburg-Franconian. I think all my family hail from within the German realm, but before 1700 who knows... notamermaid

A phone call has revealed that the landing stage that was damaged is the out of town one. A very friendly tourism assistant told me that the modern big one at the town centre embankment is fine. Apparently there is also a very nice park at the river and a Roman fort near by. Sounds inviting to me. The town being accessible with a river cruise ship means it is eligible for inclusion in my series of lesser known ports. So I will write a little about Monheim some time. This is the thread I mean: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2516698-rhine-beyond-the-standard-ports/ notamermaid

I have not been and never heard the name before. I have been to Stuttgart which is not too far from there. That is quite a thing to find out. It kind of changes your whole being. Kusterdingen appears to have an interesting church - the one in your photograph. Turns out the roof is green tiles. That is quite unusual. Kusterdingen is an hour and fifteen minutes by car from Lampoldshausen, where @jpalbny's ancestor is from. Checked the name in the Neckar thread where we had talked about it. By the way, I am currently helping with a genealogy inquiry that was passed on to me through work. An American family planning a trip to the Rhineland to check out an ancestral home. I do that sort of thing occasionally, but only very limited research as I am an amateur. notamermaid

Let us start the tips in this thread this year with a snow scene, the magnificent Neuschwanstein Castle in white surrounded by white rocks: https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2023/jan/26/bavaria-walking-holiday-hiking-germany-south It is my preferred season for photos of the Schloss. A quieter time I expect, too. One of the most visited sights in Germany it can get a bit busy... Now, the castle is quite a distance from the Danube but offered as an excursion pre- or post-cruise with some river cruise lines. Is it worth the detour or add-on? In my opinion, yes! Far from being old, the building is still a masterpiece of one man's dream castle and the mountains are nice to look at, too. notamermaid

That put a big smile on my face. I do not have much wildlife around here. The other day I say a bluetit on the tree right in front of my house. Nice specimen. But as so often happens I could not take photo before it flew off. It is relatively mild so they are quite agile and even sing. Hopefully the small bird of prey from last year will be back in Spring to breed in my neighbourhood. The wild boar are a hazard in autumn but fortunately I did not hear of any accidents last year. I have been to the Koblenz tourism fair. Some nice chats and lots of paper, meaning brochures to look at. Talked to the lady at the Anton Götten/CroisiEurope stand briefly as well. Germersheim had a stand so I asked about river cruises. As I feared, the companies that dock there still mostly go by coach to Heidelberg, etc. and few guests actually explore the town. I think I will go there this year as it is small and has some 19th century fortifications left. Fun fact: the fortress is not Prussian but Bavarian as the Palatine was Bavarian territory. notamermaid

Well, the month started with unpleasant excitement unfortunately at Monheim, a town between Cologne and Düsseldorf. A barge hit the newly installed landing stage for excursion boats. It is bent and not usuable right now but fortunately at least did not drift off: https://www.monheim.de/stadtleben-aktuelles/news/nachrichten/baumberger-steiger-nach-kollision-mit-einem-schiff-schwer-beschaedigt-12051 I must admit that I have never been to Monheim. Big question is: have they got a docking area for river cruise ships? I will explore that and see what else I can find out about the place. notamermaid

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

Another Viking ship for the Seine, not until 2025, but the company seems to want to announce early that there is a contract for building a fifth ship for the Seine. So the four 125m ones will get another sister: https://travelweekly.co.uk/news/tourism/viking-adds-fifth-ship-to-paris-fleet It says "Exclusive docking location at Port de Grenelle". Err? I think they must mean that they have a landing stage that is Viking's own. Do not be fooled by the wording, there are other ships docking at Port de Grenelle: The two blue dots close together are CroisiEurope's MS Boticelli and MS Renoir. notamermaid

Let us see what river levels were like for those very few cruises that ran over New Year and at the end of the past month. Here is the graph at Kaub for January : The month started well above the mean and after a decline the graph shows the peak following substantial rain at the middle of January. After a relatively sharp drop the level is in slow decline still and the month finished with a level that is considered slightly low for barge traffic, meaning potentially reducing cargo. But the forecast shows another return to levels closer to the mean. notamermaid

What was January at Pfelling like? Here is the gauge: The month started at a level well above the mean and then went down. The middle of January saw much rain and a small peak is visible in the graph but the level did not return to the previous high. Although it has been raining (and snowing) since then it has not been substantial enough to keep the level up. The temperatures are too cold for much snow melt - and frost is what we want to see in January. A standard month overall I would say. But a bit more precipitation in the higher regions of Bavaria would be good now. notamermaid

My pleasure. Have a fantastic time on the river. Coming up: a first look at the water levels, meaning January 2023. notamermaid

Beef yes, that is standard, lamb not so much. Lamb as meat is not eaten that often by many people (but I do regularly), so sausages are not eaten that often either but for shopping should be available in specialist butchers or on a sheep farm. Note that lamb is more expensive than pork and much of beef. Supermarkets tend to have just a few cuts from Irish or New Zealand animals. Best place indeed is an eatery/butchers connected with Muslim communities if you are in a big town. You can get horse by the way, though not exactly standard either. Talking of lamb, here is one place I have been to during a harvest festival, a sheep farm. They have recipes with lamb online (German only) and sell lamb sausages in the shop. This is not far from Koblenz: https://www.hof-meerheck.de/rezeptideen/ Not wanting to go too deep into this but perhaps you are interested in the out of town farms. Here is a big map: https://www.mein-bauernhof.de/kategorie/fleisch/lamm/ I was just thinking, perhaps it is possible to have lamb sausages bought in by the crew for the German barbecue dinners on board river cruise ships. If they know well in advance I am sure they are happy to offer that. notamermaid

Very interesting. I was wondering why it is specifically pork and shellfish. German words: kein Schweinefleisch (no pork), kein Schweinedarm (no pork intestine (or casing)), etc. notamermaid