notamermaid

About the European watershed. This does not only divide Rhine and Danube but much more of course. You can read up on it but for the purpose of river cruising on that stretch of the Main Danube Canal I fond the wikivoyage page very good: https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Main-Danube_Canal It also has a height profile you can print out and that if you are really into locks. Interesting on that are the two water supply markings Rothsee and Dürrlohspeicher. They additionally help the Canal maintain its water level. The page says under Schleuse Hilpoltstein: "The surface of the water between this and the next Schleuse reaches a height of 406 m (1,332 ft), the highest point directly reachable from the ocean on a seagoing vessel in the world." Seagoing vessel? I mean, they are too big for the canal!? I had to think about that one for a bit. These days I do not think that any such vessels go far inland on the Rhine, but historically the first ever vessels to sail up the Rhine with an engine came across the English channel. One could have a small coastal barge or yacht these days and go along Waal, Rhine, Main into the Canal. You just need to know the dimensions of your ship, including the draft, and any regulations that apply. notamermaid

And CC has published this: https://www.cruisecritic.co.uk/news/7294/ notamermaid

Just held, this is what it was about: https://cruising.org/en-gb/events/2023/march/riverview-conference-2023--vienna Article and video on travel weekly uk: https://travelweekly.co.uk/news/tour-operators/changes-in-water-levels-not-concerning-for-river-lines-says-amawaterways-owner notamermaid

It is a normal lock on the Rotterdam to Black Sea route, i.e. every ship passes through here. More specifically, the district is Pfatter, the coordinates are 48° 58.635' N 12° 20.629' E . In this video, the gentleman says that they are lucky somewhat that this has happened when the locks are all out of use anyway. By the time the maintenance work is done on the other locks, this one at Geisling needs to be free again so that it does not become the bottleneck, i.e. blockage between Regensburg and Straubing for all river traffic: https://www.pnp.de/nachrichten/bayern/havariertes-schiff-in-der-schleuse-geisling-bergung-laeuft-sehr-gut-10738262 For now it should not affect any river cruises. I assume that all river cruise ships are in position, seeing that maintenance schedules are known well in advance. notamermaid

Things are going well at Geisling lock under the circumstances. The water level was lowered by six metres and the divers sent down to the barge. Meanwhile a specialist barge with digger had arrived. This has been lightening the load since this morning. The wheelhouse of the barge has now reappeared, see photo: https://www.br.de/nachrichten/bayern/gesunkenes-frachtschiff-taucher-inspizieren-schiffswrack,TYSDzpM It is not clear yet if the barge can be manoeuvred out of the chamber in one or in several parts. The whole procedure with damage assessment to the chamber could still take two weeks. notamermaid

As expected, Maxau has peaked and is already a bit down again, now at 578cm. All looking good for several days to come. The next rise is not expected for over a week and as of now does not look substantial. We need to get closer to the 18th to see what the 24th to the 26th may realistically bring in the Upper Rhine valley as regards water levels. Oh, and it has snowed in the hills again, down to an elevation of 200m in the Middle Rhine valley. The night was cold. notamermaid

With more rain sweeping over the Danube basin in Germany we see another rise in river levels. Crucial is the bridge at Passau, yet there the level fell a little during the morning. Another wave is coming, Pfelling has risen to 444cm. This fast rise does not automatically translate into a similar rise at Passau due to the geography there and the lock at Vilshofen. Passau forecast suggests it will stay well below any problematic figures. notamermaid

I think for me with locks it is that the novelty and excitement go but the fascination stays. Although I live here surrounded by many waterways, I only had a vague memory of huge river locks from teenage years before I went on my Danube river cruise in 2013. As a side note to dams and rivers: there is a river in Germany that is quite different from the other major ones - the Weser. When it is born it already is a German Federal waterway as it is made up of two almost equally big rivers joining and becoming the Weser. Apart from locks it actually has a huge dam and reservoir above one of its two source rivers that is used to regulate the level throughout the year. notamermaid

About the U-Boot: found the info! https://www.technik-museum.de/en/u17 It starts its journey on 28th April in Kiel. notamermaid

Thanks for the map. Quite different from Rhine and Danube I would say. Both the Rhine and the Danube basin are fed by water from the Alps and the springs/ground water and rain water that come with the other tributaries from the other hills and mountains. Plenty of moisture throughout the year, just sometimes a bit too little...Our weather is essentially made high up over the North Atlantic. In 2018 there was an unusual shift in the general weather pattern up there, which led to the catastrophically hot and dry autumn of that year. The Rhine system and the Danube system are right next to each other and both rivers are in the grand scheme of things, i.e. the distances you are used to in Australia, just a stone's throw from each other. Here is the map of the systems as they relate to Germany: The funny looking light blue blob at the bottom is Lake Constance. The red line separating Rhine and Danube is also the European watershed. That is an interesting topic we should talk about again, especially since you are going to traverse that on the "Grand European" itinerary, as I tend to call all Amsterdam to Budapest (or reverse) sailings. notamermaid

With the Main Danube Canal inaccessible at this time of year due to maintenance (see Danube thread) it is of course not possible yet to have a Grand European journey or even start a river cruise in Frankfurt that goes upstream to Nuremberg. Roaming offers on the Main river I actually found one river cruise that is starting in March. That makes sense with this APT itinerary as it leaves from Amsterdam and will be on the Main when the Canal reopens. APT calls it "Highlights of the Rhine and Main". I have said in the past that I would like to see a river cruise line focusing on the Main in an itinerary. This year we have the chance to sail only on the Main with Viva Cruises on a four night return trip Frankfurt. Available internationally, so certainly a nice short trip if you just want to see the Main river landscape or test out if a river cruise may be for you: https://www.viva-*****/en-us/cruisedetail?id=346&adults=2 Always having little time in between work; I would consider booking this for myself to just get away for a few days from home. notamermaid

So, more info and correction. The river was not on a very high level. The MS Annika lost some of the construction at the funnel, nothing from the sundeck or wheelhouse. Apparently she was not fully getting ready to sail for the season, just repositioning from Offenbach. According to Phoenix Reisen, repairs will take a week only and are considered "cosmetic". notamermaid

The weather is quite eventful this week as well. It has been really warm, well into the double digits in some places. But it is stormy again (well, was during the day here) and today it has been chucking it down. As a result we see another fast rise of the river's water levels. Maxau has risen by 80cm since midnight, now at 547cm. The peak will be tomorrow, possibly before lunch. It should remain below 600cm, so again stay under a level that could have a significant impact on a river cruise itinerary. The wave is forecast to reach Kaub during the early hours of tomorrow and peak Friday morning. No real flooding anticipated there either. notamermaid

So how are things at Geisling lock? Here is the report from this morning: https://www.br.de/nachrichten/bayern/gesunkenes-frachtschiff-taucher-inspizieren-schiffswrack,TYSDzpM Video of last night says that the ship sank like a stone in seconds, there is no evidence of it having hit anything, all was normal procedure until it just basically started disappearing under water. The Diesel swimming on the water surface had been pumped off during the day (Monday). This means this morning the water level could be lowered so that divers can safely inspect what the situation is under water. The chamber is deep, meaning the water's depth is 11 meter which is too much for safe diving. Depending on how things go, the rescue operation could take some time. After today's inspection, the next steps will be decided. First all the water has to go, then the load needs to be hauled from the ship, then the ship taken out of the chamber. I guess the question is how, it does not sound as if the barge will be in any decent condition... notamermaid

That is an interesting question. I am tentative with an answer, but generally I would agree with Canal archive. I will admit though that I am not familiar with the Danube past Budapest. The Rhine does it automatically, kind of retain water I mean - Lake Constance is the natural reservoir. notamermaid

At Kelheim the Canal meets the Danube. I mentioned in post #19 that you cannot explore the first 500km of the Danube by motorboat. That means neither river cruise ship ,nor excursion boat, nor private small yacht. With a tiny exception and that is at Kelheim. Upstream from the town is the Donaudurchbruch bei Weltenburg, a gorge so stunning it needs mentioning. From Kelheim you can take an excursion boat just a few kilometres upstream to see the gorge and the abbey there. This is a special agreement with the authorities (and it appears criticized by environmental institutions) as the area is under strict protection due to its status as a nature reserve. The gorge: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danube_Gorge_(Weltenburg) The abbey and church: https://www.kloster-weltenburg.de/en/abbey-church/ The boats: https://www.schifffahrt-kelheim.de/ notamermaid

Just managed to sneak behind a couple of tracking/pay walls. It is the MS Annika of Phoenix Reisen. She tried to sail under the bridge. The crew must have though that the ship fits under at this spot although the river is high. Apparently there was just a bit too little headroom and bits from the superstructure landed in the river. This is all I can find out. The many bridges on the Main and Main Danube Canal always pose a hazard and - just to mention it for those who are new to this thread - make many river cruise ships with high superstructures keep the sundeck or part of it closed for (almost) the entire river journey. A few more details on this topic are on page 1 of this thread. notamermaid

The river cruising season on the Main at Frankfurt is not off to a good start. At least for one river cruise ship. According to German news reports, the (name undisclosed) vessel has hit the "Eiserner Steg" bridge and while the iron construction appears to be fine, the ship has sustained damage. While try and find out a bit more about it. notamermaid

That is a great mix of companies and styles. I am sure @Coral and others would be eager to know if you get that "exclusive luxury vibe" from Riverside that Crystal had. I wonder if the atmosphere and food will stick out from the other lines. Personally I would like to know how Amadeus handles the cruises and excursions. All bi-lingual? Dedicated itineraries? Is there a minimum number of passengers needed to have an English tour offered? Does the food seem more continental-European compared to the American lines? Hope your work schedule is as much fun as it can possibly be. I know you will be exhausted from all the impressions. 🙂 Any short reply after the busy days very much appreciated. notamermaid

Sometimes when it rains, it pours. Now happening on the upper Danube and the Canal. Neither rain, snow, frost nor flooding are the problem, but now added to the accident in the lock there is a warning strike for the personnel involved in the maintenance. Over this weekend the union has called for strike action, just when the scheduled work was supposed to begin. Scheduled maintenance means that all traffic lights at the locks are on red, no ships are allowed to use them, the chambers will be run dry and a few gates will be replaced as well. This is planned to end on 31 March. Needless to say there is now a slight worry that work may not be completed in time. This is the German press release: https://www.wsa-donau-mdk.wsv.de/Webs/WSA/Donau-MDK/DE/SharedDocs/Pressemitteilungen/SSP_2023.html notamermaid

Unfortunately Viking does not publish these times, that is standard with them and many other lines. German lines tend to be more forthcoming with publishing. As regards "lit up": check the times of sunset. If you are sailing later in December you will find that it is dark enough some time between 5pm and 6pm for the lights to come on. River cruising is so different from ocean cruising we always say, so I also recommend reading the threads that Canal archive is referring to. The Viking dailies are a great source of information, hopefully someone will be happy to post one for you. You could also go to the roll call of last year for that particular cruise to see if the info is in there. If this itinerary runs over Christmas you need to know that 24th, 25th and 26th December are very festive days in Germany and reserved for the family and worshipping, so shops are closed from midday 24th and most Christmas markets are either closed for the season or only partially open. You would need to check each individual port. Closures may differ in France and the Netherlands. notamermaid

I have been to Lahneck Castle on a day trip and is a short walk. It is also an incline, but really managable. If the coach takes you to the car park where I parked then that is not too bad. There are two access paths to the castle, one straight up the hill and one from the plateau behind it. The castle itself is accessible with just a few steps into the building but I have not been inside. This is a really old castle in typical Medieval style. There is no car park at the castle itself although there is a service vehicle area, so question would be if Amawaterways has a means of getting you close or if you have to walk from the visitors car park. Hopefully someone will reply soon with the logistics for the excursion. If not, I can try and remember who went there - we had a conversation in the Rhine thread - to give them a call here on CC. This map shows the way I walked, see the car park from which the steep incline leads to the castle at the top of the map, that would take longer and must be steeper: If one can manage the incline but not the steps then the restaurant at the castle is great for just sitting and admiring the view. This is my trip report from Lahneck Castle, spread out into three parts: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2771435-rhine-water-levels-2021-and-similar-topics/page/9/ notamermaid

A somewhat unusual and "curious" accident is in the headlines in Germany. A ship sank yesterday in the lock "Geising", that is in the district of Regensburg. The barge "Achim" loaded with iron ore sank and it was first not clear what had happened. It is assumed that it broke in two. The captain and another crew member still on the ship were able to save themselves but sustained injuries. They were both taken to hospital. Does not look too bad though. Diesel is in the lock and the water was tested. No harm to the environment so far outside of the lock, it seems. Needless to say the lock is not usuable and both ship and heavy load will be a bit of a task to lift. Any possible damage to the lock will have to be assessed as well. It will cause some disruption to traffic, but the locks on the Canal are due for maintenance soon anyway. Scheduling for the maintenance may be affected. Here is a report: https://www.br.de/nachrichten/bayern/gueterschiff-an-schleuse-in-der-oberpfalz-untergegangen,TY6okAs notamermaid

The level at Pfelling has peaked and is now at 443cm. Passau was still rising earlier this morning but the graph indicates it may be levelling off. 481cm now, that is somewhat lower than I had expected it would be today. No problem getting through under the bridges. notamermaid

Well, it did get better but late afternoon, early evening the storm gathered strength again. Most of Rhineland-Palatinate went to level 2 (Basel back on 3) and there was a warning for snow storms in the high hills of North Rhine-Westphalia. Too late in the night for me to check if it happened, but forecast suggested during the night even the low hills were going to get snow. This morning it has brightened up, the sun has come out in the Middle Rhine valley. notamermaid