notamermaid

Advent, Advent, ein Lichtlein brennt. Erst eins, dann zwei, dann drei. 🕯️ 🕯️ 🕯️ It has been a busy week and I am back at the water cooler pre-Christmas-stressed but also refreshed. In mind and soul that is. A Christmas present problem solved, good conversations at work and Christmas market cheer have put me in a better mood overall. And the family Christmas tree arrived this afternoon! As you know from the river threads, I have also been busy reporting on the flooding. It is not good but it could be much worse. The photo I posted in the Rhine thread of the fire brigade closing a flood protection gate in Neuwied made me think. One of those plaques marking the levels of the Rhine there has the date 1 January 1926. High above one’s head. Wikipedia says the level of the water in town was 3 metres. That means it must already have been high at Christmas. With virtually no flood protection the town was very vulnerable. I cannot imagine what it must have been like, knowing that Christmas and New Year would be so interrupted by the river. I have found a nice photo showing the many small boats used to get around town during that time: Fast forward to 1993. In that year we had really bad flooding along the Rhine, it was even a bit higher in that year than in 1926, according to the plaque at Neuwied at least. It was just before Christmas that the level peaked at Koblenz. I remember it well. I was on my way to work. I had left my home during dawn and the train went eerily slowly through a few villages. At one low point in the topography, the train crawled along and there was only water to been seen all around me. That morning I could not be sure I would be able to get home. The line may have had to be closed. But I made it home safely. And at Neuwied? The people were safe, the town was dry as after the terrible flood of 1925/1926 Neuwied got a flood protection dyke. Fast forward to 2023. The other day a lady told me a tennant had complained to her in strong words about the radiators not being of the best modern standard and this and that… Petty details, from a woman who has just moved in and you get the feeling that she will just keep on complaining. While others are struggling to keep the house dry from floods… I am not suggesting anyone make do with a manger, as Mary and Joseph had to over 2,000 years ago. Or live in a draughty castle. We should enjoy our modern amenities and live comfortably. But it is good to remind oneself that we have it good. I hope you all do and that you are safe and sound in a warm, happy home. And if you are travelling right now can look forward to returning to such a place. Have a good week. notamermaid

Maxau gauge has just dropped to 750cm, later than expected. The authorities hopefully will give the go-ahead soon. notamermaid

Maxau gauge is at 754cm. To give you a timeline to work with - I mean just in case it is useful for insurance purposes - here is Maxau gauge: notamermaid

We have a tradition of the Rauschgoldengel (which came from Nuremberg), but I think most people put the bauble style top on the tree. I have not decided on my tree topper yet, I will choose one of the two bauble ones I have got (I may be persuaded to change my mind by the family). Anyway, this year is different as for the first time in many years it will be a real fir tree! notamermaid

To put the improved situation into colours: Much better. notamermaid

Remember the barge called Achim? It broke into and sank in Geisling lock. The investgation has now revealed that the barge was not carrying to high a load so the accident had reasons. I have just read that a barge has hit the the railway bridge at Regensburg. It happened around lunchtime and river traffic was halted. It was estimated that this would continue into the evening. Not sure if things have returned to normal there yet. notamermaid

Pfelling gauge at 601cm, Passau at 657cm. Not far down enough at Passau, but it is looking much better. notamermaid

I remember how happy you sounded after your river cruise last year. Hope this year you are having as much fun and more. Thank you for taking us along. notamermaid

My pleasure. Maxau gauge is at 757cm. Forecast yesterday more or less suggested this for tonight, with the prospect of the level dropping below 750cm. Well, the evening still has a few hours. notamermaid

The Neckar stayed on too high levels longer than expected but yesterday the river traffic ban was lifted. notamermaid

The Danube is still too high for comfort - Pfelling is at 629cm, Passau at 687cm - but overall the situation is easing. It is getting colder again and there is little to no rain. It will get wetter again but more of that precipitation will fall as snow than it did last week. notamermaid

Update. Maxau gauge still too high - 779cm. 750cm forecast for tomorrow evening. Bingen peaked this morning with a good 10 centimetres to spare below the river traffic ban threshold. Kaub peaked just before lunch well below the threshold. Koblenz has also peaked. The wave is just passing through Cologne and the level will fall noticeably there soon. So no further problems of note for the Middle and Lower Rhine valleys from what the graphs tell us. A short video (as always, ignore the German commentary if you wish), just to show you the appealing village of Leutesdorf in flooding. It may look dramatic at first, but it is all standard stuff that people are used to and notice that the buildings are away from the promenade and often have a cellar on the ground floor and people live on the first floor. Their forebears knew why they built them like this. https://www.ardmediathek.de/video/swr-aktuell-rheinland-pfalz/rhein-hochwasser-ueberflutet-promenade-in-leutesdorf/swr-rp/Y3JpZDovL3N3ci5kZS9hZXgvbzE5NzE1MTY When the man and the woman walk through the old gate you can see the markings on the wall, the river can get much higher there. notamermaid

The Moselle has risen again but is not seeing the problems the Danube and the Rhine are having. The level at Trier gauge has peaked yesterday at 620cm. It is back down to 574cm. Contrary to the last wave in November, a river traffic ban was not even imminent . Only problem on the Moselle may be a couple of low bridges, but it is a bigger deal at Passau on the Danube for example. Trier gauge in context with the flooding in November: notamermaid

Bold letters are by me. I am convinced they were aware of the river levels... Just the communication was not there. I hope your family can get some semblance of a cruise and can enjoy the ports they will be able to see. notamermaid

Still touch and go at Bingen for tomorrow, Kaub level should stay under the river traffic ban threshold. Maxau gauge still very high, 808cm. Virtually no chance for river traffic tomorrow. As I have a busy weekend ahead, I cannot say when I will be able to report next. notamermaid

I have just read that Basel Rheinhalle gauge has dropped below 790cm. That means the ban on river traffic in the Basel area has been lifted. Please note that this is only the stretch from Basel to Birsfelden. But this at least means the river level is falling and the volume of water is reduced. There are still some rivers in Switzerland that are carrying a high volume. With nearly no rain added over the weekend things look promising. notamermaid

That is not acceptable in my opinion. The river has been closed in Germany close to the French border since Tuesday morning and it was foreseeable two days before it closed and a given 18 hours before it closed. You may want to - or have done - look at prior posts in this thread. Given the chance it should be possible for a passenger to say no to bussing or at least try to reach them before they touch ground. A personal e-mail is possible at short notice in this day and age. Frankly to be brutal I see the old "Viking-non-communication-trick" potentially at play again. We as locals saw this coming but anyone with knowledge of the river - that Viking has in abundance - could tell also. It is not rocket science to look at graphs. If there was an e-mail saying there will be an "alteration to the itinerary" that may be regarded as okay but I do see room for improvement to informing to what that alteration will look like. Again, headline from Tuesday: https://www.swr.de/swraktuell/baden-wuerttemberg/karlsruhe/hochwasser-rhein-bei-karlsruhe-gesperrt-100.html As regards Cochem Christmas market - I thought all dates were published online as is standard practice latest in summer. Large events dates are normally fixed nearly a year prior. notamermaid

Such a pity. I am bit surprised about operations on the Moselle. The river is high but river traffic is not banned. Is this logistics or did the ship not fit under bridges? The ones on the Moselle are actually not that low in general, Koblenz bridge may be a bit tight. I hope you got to see Trier. Have a good transfer to Paris. notamermaid

Maxau gauge river level is going down, while further North the levels are rising a lot. No change to prospect of the river ban being lifted on Sunday, same time frame as yesterday. Unfortunately, the authorities are now putting a river traffic ban at Bingen in the high probability range. Which would put Rüdesheim out of an itinerary. notamermaid

A very dear lady has just returned from the Lorraine region of France. She visited the Metz Christmas markets and says they are great. Nice shops in town, too. Would love to see the Cathedral lit up in winter. Cities of light Paris to Prague itinerary? I think there should be at least the option of going to the Cathedral of Light in Metz (my words), its nickname is "The Good Lord's Lantern" and I can truly say that it is fascinating in daylight, having been inside. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metz_Cathedral notamermaid

Strasbourg - that is an interesting city as regards its topography and river cruising. Have you noticed? Brochures show you the lovely old buildings and the excursion boats and the river. But you do not see river cruise ships sailing or docking in Strasbourg. That is because Strasbourg city district is on the Rhine but historic Strasbourg, that tourists are mostly interested in, is not. Strasbourg is on the Ill (see here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ill_(France)). Strasbourg has grown towards the Rhine and the alterations to the river and landscape are enormous. See Strasbourg on an old map: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Straßburg#/media/Datei:Plan_Strasbourg_1720_(cropped).png The Ill river has even got a new mouth, the Rhine itself was given a new, that means permanent, single river bed and straightened in the 19th century. So, large ships as we know them have never anchored in Strasbourg old town and today there is a massive harbour area. Many ships even dock in Kehl, in Germany opposite Strasbourg. A photo: https://www.strasbourg.port.fr/groupe-pas/nos-missions/ River cruise docking is here: https://www.strasbourg.port.fr/river-tourism/croisieres-sur-le-rhin/?lang=en notamermaid

Update on Maxau gauge. It has indeed peaked, 841cm early afternoon it was, now it is slowly going down. Current level is 835cm. No chance for river traffic tomorrow and unlikely for Saturday but Sunday looks good. Mainz level should peak on Saturday, the others following in due course. All those gauges will show high levels but for now look to remain below the river traffic ban threshold. notamermaid

Mainz is a nice city I find. A visit to the Dom on the Day for you perhaps? Have a great time, I am sure Viking will have a splendid feast for you. The Christmas markets, well, they are known to mostly end before Christmas Eve. For details of ports that have a market or at least some special display of sorts, like an ice skating rink for example, after Christmas Eve one needs to check every port. Decisions of towns are not normally done at short notice so I am surprised about the change due to no Christmas markets. Have a great time. notamermaid

Oops, sorry my geography was wrong. What was I thinking?! You are going with the flow of course and things look good for that. Will you be in Strasbourg on Christmas Day? notamermaid

Yes, could work out. The wave is coming towards you, it is the 14th today, so will be in the Netherlands next week, around the 19th. By then being only a "small wave". By then things should be easier in the Upper Rhine valley. Fingers crossed. notamermaid