notamermaid

Info and photos from German forum Binnenschifferforum: https://www.binnenschifferforum.de/showthread.php?100639-Travelmarvel-Polaris-KFGS-02338263 Were you able to see Nuremberg Christmas market and if so was it part of the transfer? notamermaid

That is what she looked to me like on the Rhine when I spotted her some time ago. No questions right now. Thank you for saying hello from Nuremberg. Hope your journey to the ship was smooth. It may snow in Regensburg late tomorrow. Have a great time. notamermaid

That is what I was trying to hint at in my post. It is not clear what virus it was but if Viking suspected anything they should have reported it. I am just not familiar with the specific regulations or procedures. I will not say that Viking did anything wrong but I am not convinced they did everything correctly either. Does the IG River Cruise give procedures that one can look up as a passenger? I think they are "voluntary obligations" that the members adhere to. That would be independent of the German authorities. The regulations of the association would apply to the ship, whether it was in Hungary or Germany or elsewhere at the time. I expect the OP did the Grand European, seeing that it was 15 days. notamermaid

The Rhine at Kaub in November: The month started with the level being on the low side but high enough for river cruise ships. The first half of November saw steady levels. Then, corresponding to the situation on the Danube, heavy rain set in and made the river shoot up to a level just over the mean water line. The gradual decrease following the spike was not fast enough to bring the level down again to what it had been in the first half of the month and remained at a pleasant level for all river cruise ships without bringing Kaub gauge close to any figures that could make us worry what will be in December. notamermaid

The Danube at Pfelling in November: The month started with enough water but the level was too low to make us at ease. Too little rain meant that the level fell indeed again and 12 November brought the gauge down to the dreaded 290cm. Ignore the two computer glitches where the blue line sparks downwards. After a few days rain finally reached Pfelling and saw a fast rise to a level over the mean water line. Since then, the level has been high enough and fell only gradually till the end of the month. notamermaid

The Elbe at Dresden in November: Erratic but overall good, despite being a little on the low side - without being too low - in the middle of the month. notamermaid

Sorry to read that your river cruise was not as pleasant as it should have been and that you fell ill. I am a little puzzled but not alarmed by the procedure on board. It is possible and has happened in the past that a river cruise ship is put under quarantine order by the authorities when a norovirus outbreak is suspected. It normally means that a team of doctors checks on passengers and the ship remains in port without anyone being allowed on land. After assessment, the authorities can allow the ship to sail on even if many passengers are ill. Of course, I cannot say that Viking has done anything wrong here. I do not know procedures or regulations that need to be followed. It does not happen often that the authorities step in and I read about such an incident in the papers perhaps once or twice a year. From what you describe though I would say that Viking could have been more forthcoming with info and be a bit more vigilant. I mean, what could be wrong with altering the dining room procedures? More awareness would have been good. Buffets are always a problem. On my river cruise, the hotel staff were insistent that we use hand sanitizer every time we return to the ship and before entering the dining room. notamermaid

Below 90cm for nervousness - in dry conditions and summer. No bus rides that I know of at 90cm, just the "prepare yourself for the possibility if the level falls further" feeling. In the conditions now and at this time of year I do not see that happening and the long range forecast almost rules it out, meaning probability is below 10 percent as of today. notamermaid

Pfelling gauge: the level is quite stable now, after that relatively fast drop on 4th December. Daily fluctuation, as always, overall we can see it staying well above 300cm for now, i.e. better than anticipated. Current level 321cm. No real change forecast. notamermaid

Yes, all good for now. Kaub level running a little below the forecast all day today. Is stable though. 124cm. We can anticipate it getting lower than 120cm. Slight risk it will scratch the 100cm mark on Monday. Should rise after that low point, i.e. which ever figure it will be on Monday. Have a great cruise. A double one. Great! Have you mentioned before how you will be getting from Basel to Budapest? I do not recall. notamermaid

I think snow is coming to the North of England, the forecast certainly said Scotland. We will see more snow Thursday to Sunday, depending on region. I did not know that existed, interesting. Have only ever made normal mince pies. I have tried filling that contained orange or cranberry from shops, but I have only bought standard ones this year. notamermaid

I have been out and about a bit but have not much time to take longer trips to Christmas markets that needed more than an hour's attention. So it has been smaller places so far. One afternoon was an unplanned stop at Andernach. But first, here is one of my standard German food traditions. I have mentioned the supermarket chains that stock regional stuff. From REWE I get just a few foods that are connected to Christmas. For a simple afternoon treat I get Lebkuchen that are from the organic range. A bit cheaper than the big brands, but the quality is nice enough: We have organic food shops but supermarkets have been selling organic food for many years. Standard word by which you can recognize the products and produce is "Bio" or the longer word "ökologisch". notamermaid

The river level has gone down as forecast. Kaub is currently at 135cm. It has been raining but most of the precipitation in the last 24 hours actually has come down as snow even in the valley! Kaub is forecast to fall to below 130cm tomorrow and continue to go down. It could get as low as 110cm. But long term modelling suggests we will most likely see a rise next week. A dusting of snow on my dustbins: Okay, a bit more than that perhaps but I wanted to get the pun in. (sorry!) notamermaid

Schneeeee!!!!! (excited notamermaid running through the flat smiling) It has been snowing. When I went to bed last night, the rain sounded different, kind of icy drops on leaves. When I got up the landscape was covered with a dusting of snow. Which means the snow had reached right into the valley where it was apparently cold enough. I mean 60 to 70 metres above sea level. Much of it is gone again around here in town already but I managed to take a couple of photos. Busy Friday and Saturday - still stepping in for a colleague. Unfortunate illnesses and even an accident have hit my department this winter. Catching up with stuff and Christmas preparations. My outside fairy lights chain has "disappeared", something I can only blame on myself or kobolds reorganizing my cellar (it is of course the former...). My neighbour, a young man, is still recovering from his terrible fall, he just fell over in the street, collapsed. I dare not ask what happened in detail, he looks miserable. It happened at the end of September. Shortly after that, another neighbour was found dead in her flat, she was not young but no very old either. A shock. The family thinks it was asthma. And my other neighbour who fell down the stairs (I had mentioned it in September) has recovered but cannot return to the flat. She has now officially moved into an old people's home. I miss my neighbour's cats who died in Spring. So before I make everyone else morose, I will say that the mince pies have arrived by post and yesterday I got my first "Gewürzkuchen" of the season, a chocolatey spice cake, at a village bakery. Now join in with Bing Crosby: "Let it snow! Let it snow! Let it snow!" - Oh hang on it has snowed! notamermaid

At Dresden it is 104cm. High enough. On a downward trend. Summary for November coming up. notamermaid

In March/early April you get the effects of snow melt (it will start earlier than that) and potentially some heavy rain. It depends on the weather conditions in each individual year. It can lead to flooding but does not have to. Historical data from the "Undine" website points to high water issues rather that low water issues in that time frame. This is as much as I can say. Unfortunately, Viking does not appear to give away data easily as to how many sailings of theirs are affected each year. I have seen sporadic comments from Croisi Europe in articles. notamermaid

Let us have a quick look at Pfelling gauge. The water levels of the rivers are on the way down. Whereas the Rhine has got plenty of water to get through many days without rain, the Danube is a little more prone to problems - even this late in the year. It need not be the case always but this year in December we see it potentially going towards a brief low water situation. Now at 321cm, the trend is for 315cm to be reached by Tuesday. That is still 25cm above the critical level, so the level may well stay okay. Logically, much precipitation does not mean the level will rise accordingly. It is quite cold now and much rain can come down as snow in the South of Germany. Both rain and snow are forecast in varying, overall not huge, quantities in the German Danube basin for next week. I think Tuesday will give a clearer picture. Time to have a look back at how November went. notamermaid

A bit of insight into how CroisiEurope has been doing lately and what they expect and plan in 2023: https://www.seatrade-cruise.com/people-opinions/2022-promising-year-recovery-croisieurope-gm-christian-schmitter-says notamermaid

2024 sailings have gone on sale: https://travelweekly.co.uk/news/tourism/riviera-travel-releases-2024-european-river-cruises notamermaid

An article expanding a bit on the takeover and plans: https://www.travelweekly.com/River-Cruising/New-river-line-plays-a-familiar-tune-with-former-Crystal-Mozart?ct=river and new from the UK with info on booking through travel agents: https://travelweekly.co.uk/news/travel-agents/riverside-luxury-cruises-unveils-raft-of-booking-offers Certainly looks promising for the re-launch of the Mozart. notamermaid

I seem to remember the Interrail ticket contains a couple of ferry connections. But we are talking about two different things if I understand you correctly. Thank you for thinking of us. As I do not watch German television I had not heard before you mentioned it. It is a cold day today and there is a feeling of frost in the air and in the bones. Conditions will be icy overnight. The rain has stopped in the valleys so probably no snow in the West. The East of Germany has seen snow today. Next weekend is forecast to bring quite a bit of snow even to the valleys. notamermaid

The water levels along the Rhine are still pleasant, not too low or too high for river cruising. It has been raining but the trend at Kaub is for the level to go down. Currently at 154cm, the forecast suggests 140cm to 120cm as a high probability. But a figure of under 100cm is highly unlikely in the near future. notamermaid

Thank you very much for the kind words. Steamboats appears to be the local running around the markets the most , but I am happy to read AnhalterER1960's comments from the East as well, hoping he is enjoying the local markets. Our "man on the Elbe" is the source of info on that river. Additionally this year we know of a couple doing a Christmas market cruise on the Elbe, so if they have time I am sure they will be happy to post about their experience. Go here to that thread and perhaps ask them later in the year: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2827573-the-elbe-river-2022-not-just-water-levels/page/3/#comment-64333335 All in all, I would tend to go for the Rhine or Danube over the Elbe for a winter cruise. Ending in Budapest sounds great. I cannot say much about the Rhine or the Danube from my own experience of markets - I tend to go to ones that are off the beaten track of river cruising, but enjoy Koblenz every year for an hour or two - so will leave suggestions to others. If I had the choice, I personally would try and get something on the Main but I reckon the choice for you is limited. I tend to steer towards a five night cruise rather than longer and add a couple of days before and/or after the cruise to have a more intensive experience of a port/area. If there is a river cruise with Viking for the Moselle and Rhine during Advent in 2024 I would consider that as well if I were you. If you have a bit of time with booking, have a read in the roll calls for this running season, perhaps people will comment on which markets are visited late in the day. No point being there at 11am when the market opens and yes, as my fellow Germans have pointed out, the opening times are important to check with Sunday of the Dead being the day of closure and a kind of "hinging day", i.e. orientation for first day of opening. As regards age and tradition of markets and the ambience, yes that varies a lot. For big tradition Nuremberg is a must-see, for atmosphere perhaps Strasbourg is even better - feel free to disagree anyone. Alsace is certainly an area with long Christmas traditions, the first Christmas market was held there in 1570, and Sélestat is "home of the Christmas tree". Have fun planning. notamermaid

I guess that was Interrail. Still available: https://www.interrail.eu/en notamermaid

@worldtraveller99 River cruise nearly here, finally, a long wait for you. Have a great time. For those interested in a more religious context of Christmas lights, this is the Moravian star: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moravian_star There used to be a stall on Koblenz Christmas market at Jesuitenplatz. The website says there is a stall again this year but it does not give the precise location: https://www.herrnhuter-sterne.de/de/Messen-Weihnachtsmaerkte.html It is a copyright protected product. notamermaid