notamermaid

Sketchy connections and alternative phone! Having an interesting time. Tired from walking around a lake and up to a castle. Next castle visit should be to a moated one... notamermaid

No doctor, no nurse. One medically trained person for the itinerary beyond Budapest. My experience of how European lines deal with this. notamermaid

Kaub gauge at 107cm. notamermaid

Last night I had an apparition at least that is what I thought. But the level at Pfelling did rise well over 300cm. Window of opportunity? Back down a bit now. notamermaid

Welcome to the wonderful world of river cruising. My tip: join a roll call if you have not done yet. Would love to see a post or two from people on the river. End of July is very much up in the air as regards river levels. Pfelling gauge: 264cm, definite trend upwards, forecast suggests 270cm and further. Late on the 13th the 290cm is even a high probability. I believe it when I see it... notamermaid

Back wheelers on the Elbe (CroisiEurope), side wheelers several on the Elbe as excursion boats. Only river cruise ship on the Loire is a side wheeler (CroisiEurope). The "Mainz" confirmed to be in Mülheim, one enthusiastic spotter on Binnenschifferforum has already posted photos from the shipyard. notamermaid

If the dinner is as good as the decorations on the ship I saw years back then it will be splendid. Yes, the Dutch laws and customs differ from ours. I am sure there will be lots of opportunities to do shopping in Amsterdam. Christmas Eve is half day closure and 25th and 26th are full day closures in Germany. notamermaid

It is well into July and time to have a look at what the river did at Dresden in June: The month started with a still adequate level and we see the river react to rain the following week but it went gradually down from there. The Czech authorities control the level with the reservoirs and dams and this shows as far as Dresden. By the end of the month the level had nearly reached the mean low water line. As AnhalterER1960 has confirmed, this is too low for the river cruise ships. And the low water has continued. Dresden gauge is now at 56cm. While it is raining in the West there is hardly any precipitation in the East. But this is likely to change during tomorrow when localized thunderstorms are forecast for Saxony. notamermaid

Thanks for the info. I am a bit surprised. A bit inconvenient for the city centre but certainly preferable to Niehl, which is even further out and not the right place for a pleasant evening stroll. notamermaid

Yes, clouding over a bit around where I am. Have a nice evening in merry Rüdesheim. Tomorrow - the Rhine Gorge! notamermaid

In other news: the old steamer "Mainz", built in 1929, has been the "Mannheimer Museumsschiff" for many years now. It needs the special Schiffs-TÜV, a check-up like an MOT just the equivalent for a ship. For that reason it has been towed from Mannheim to a Cologne shipyard alongside a tanker. The folk from Binnenschifferforum picked up the story and one man has kindly posted photos from the journey. The Mainz has passed the Loreley again (second photo): https://www.binnenschifferforum.de/showthread.php?115420-Mannheimer-Museumsschiff-beim-quot-Schiffs-Tüv-quot-in-Köln like she did so many years ago (homepage of the preservation charity): https://www.raddampfer-mannheim.de/ I am not sure if I have traced the signal of the tanker properly but I think the steamship is now in Mülheim, that is opposite Cologne Zoo, i.e. on the right bank. I was a bit surprised to find a river cruise ship signalling from there, the Viking Vali: If you see the steamer there or spot it somewhere else, do drop me a line here please. notamermaid

Website for long-range forecast was offline. Back now. Kaub gauge 97cm Wednesday into Thursday. After that a rise to over 100cm again, 115cm likely. Likely to remain above 100cm until 22 July. notamermaid

Pfelling gauge at 248cm. Trend shows a little tick upwards but even the best case scenario does not indicate more than 275cm within the next 36 hours. notamermaid

I agree, it is interesting to compare the rivers and they all have their own atmosphere and particular beauty. Also some of the more built-up areas of the Rhine have their appeal. Would you believe I have never done a guided tour of Koblenz? A bit embarrassing really, but I suppose it is the case of not getting round to exploring what is near you. Reassuring to know that I interpret the situation almost exactly the way your captain sees it. He is a bit closer to the water than I am... Have not had much time to nip down to the river bank, but from what I have seen more stones and groynes are sticking out of the water. Which reminds me: the "Seven Maidens" may be more visible by now, not sure, as it is such a well-known legend I reckon your commentary in the Rhine Gorge will mention the stones. There is a popular spot on a hill from where you can see the river and that area at Oberwesel. @RDVIK2016 the text mentions "Heimat"! https://www.romantischer-rhein.de/en/a-aussichtspunkt-sieben-jungfrauen-blick Kaub gauge: 104cm, still due to drop below 100cm tomorrow. notamermaid

Budapest to Passau is a good itinerary in that it avoids the stretch from Vilshofen to Straubing further upstream. That should eliminate low water concerns. Flooding can happen in both months although not that often, so both time frames sound good. Weather patterns I am not familiar with in detail. You have more daylight and warmer nights in June. May will see the landscape already in full bloom but a month later you do get a little difference in what flowers and trees look their best. notamermaid

No expert here either, but this river maiden is trying her amateur best. It looks as if we will have low water levels for most of July but details become a bit more guesswork next week. As the "most likely" scenario remains above 90cm, especially in the time frame for your sailing in the Rhine Gorge, I would say it looks promising for a smooth sailing. The forecast changes daily and more reliable figures are available about four to five days out from the time you are to be at Kaub. notamermaid

Have had a busy weekend, am ready for a break. Finalized plans will now take me around my country, a short trip far enough for the area to look different from where I live. Away from all the major rivers and I doubt I will be able to find an excursion boat either. A different county (Land) administration and a different accent should provide the necessary change of scenery. Will try to keep in touch about the water levels. notamermaid

Pfelling gauge at 243cm. Budapest level is going down again and may see a figure of below 130cm on 12 July. notamermaid

Most markets in Germany close on 23rd December. You will need to check individual places for details. I am sure Viking has arranged some nice things for you to do but Christmas is a Christian family affair, so regulations (law) and customs apply. Life after Christmas is low key and some places may be closed, especially those run by small organizations or volunteers. An example: https://www.koelnerweihnachtsmarkt.com/de/ Christmas lights will be up until 6 January and I am sure a river cruise over Christmas is special but to see Christmas markets in full swing, go before 22 December. Again, check the websites of the ports you will be in to get more details. notamermaid

Moselle, lovely, I am sure you will enjoy that river, it perhaps is more similar to the Main than to the Rhine. Forecast showed highest temperatures in Germany to be around the Main river today. 37 Celsius near Frankfurt was the highest I read. Not sure if it got there, but the air certainly heated up enough to give thunderstorms in the Middle Rhine valley. Markedly cooler this evening than last. Hope your day tomorrow will be a little cooler. Mainz is an interesting city I find, got its appeal. Still have not been to either the Gutenberg Museum or Museum of Ancient Shipping. Unfortunately, the latter is closed for renovation this year. notamermaid

In other news: a barge carrying containers did not manage the turn in Bendorf harbour and hit a smaller barge. Noone was injured but the damage is extensive. A stowaway sailed on a barge for weeks, all the way to Rotterdam and back, looked after by the crew. It was fed and watered but got seasick so the captain took the cat to a vet. During the visit the chip was noticed and the poor feline could be returned to its owners. A new christening in Basel - the latest edition to the ever growing river cruise ship family is the Thurgau Gold. notamermaid

Pfelling at 257cm. Not looking too good. It is Sunday, no forecast issued. Gauges further upstream suggest no rise today or tomorrow. Rain of note forecast for Wednesday. Should give a noticeable reaction of the river, hopefully at Pfelling, too. A bit of info in German, but if you are interested it may lead you to have a look at English info elsewhere, the new "Hungerstein" at Bogen (Pfelling) from 2018: https://www.bogen.de/freizeit-und-tourismus/kultur/sehenswuerdigkeiten/hungersteine-bei-pfelling notamermaid

Have a great time and thank you for reporting. I had a nice drive along the Main last year. I still cannot get used to the river being so narrow compared to the Rhine and it being at the same time deeper in stretches than the Rhine. That is of course man-made and thankfully for river cruisers ensures sailing in low water is (almost) perfect. I will not rule out minor problems at docks but sailing is fine - apart from the niggling annoying bit of about one kilometre beyond the last lock where the Rhine kind of determines the depth at the mouth of the Main. As a side note to that: one could have a long river cruise on the Canal from Nuremberg and then all the Main down to Frankfurt, focussing on that river and offering more daytime sailing. Perhaps one day a company will offer that in summer... You can still see the Rhine castles on a hired excursion boat or offer a scenic drive with visit to a castle or a palace. But back to Kaub: 103cm. Running below the forecast. Minimal rise anticipated (rain in the Upper Rhine valley and potentially thunderstorms in the Middle Rhine valley). Drop below 100cm on Thursday most likely. Lowest figure - margin 88cm to 92cm most probable - due for 14 July. notamermaid

Not off topic at all, any port, itinerary and Transylvania extension is interesting and perfectly placed in this thread. It is by the way not untypical to have low water in Bavaria and not low water in Bulgaria (yet). That is according to the authorities. Cannot remember which website that was where I read that (sorry!). Pfelling at 269cm. Budapest has picked up a little: 160cm, but forecast does not look too favourable, after a further minimal rise it may fall to below 150cm. I have had a look at the thread for 2022. In August several people reported embarking or disembarking their ship in Komarno instead of Budapest. But I cannot say at which water level that was, I did not track that exactly. The situation was much worse than it is now - Pfelling gauge was below 235cm when people posted. notamermaid

That's the spirit. Have a great time. notamermaid