The river Moselle infos and river cruising experiences

[notamermaid]

Bridges. On the Moselle they are generally relatively high when they are modern, but there are a few lower ones, old with arches. That always poses a problem. In Koblenz a bridge lost almost half of its arches when the lock was built in such a way as to bring the river to modern waterway status. I am picking up on this topic for two reasons. Firstly, an interesting article with photo that I will share later. Secondly, the fact that the Viking Herja is still docked at Koblenz, now for over 48 hours. As I understand it, she is doing the itineraries on the Moselle. I do not know details. Now the Viking Idi has arrived in Koblenz, another ship that sails on the Moselle. Not sure if they are connected "ship swap style" like the company does it on the Basel to Amsterdam itineraries on the Rhine with other ships. If you know more, folks, please share:

 

I notice that neither of them are at the Viking Steiger, that is Viking's own landing stage. I guess this will soon be occupied by the B to A itinerary ships.

 

notamermaid

 

[notamermaid]

Correction of the info on the ship accident. The tanker did not hit another ship. They passed each other near the bridge. The ship will remain in Cochem and does not hinder traffic on the river.

 

notamermaid

 

 

 

[notamermaid]

The river levels have fallen really well, Trier gauge is at 496cm. The Saar river is right down to good levels, that is below flood vigilance, albeit still above the mean. This was the scenario on the Saar at Fremersdorf:

 

Good to see the ships sailing on the Moselle River, quite busy on the ship tracker websites today.

 

notamermaid

 

[notamermaid]

Flooding is a challenge and when river cruising is not suspended, navigation as such is still okay, there is the problem with the headroom under bridges. On the Moselle there are a few bridges as candidates for problems. In Cochem we have seen that one bridge is fairly high but the challenge are its arche in the strong current. At Koblenz there is a bigger issue. Here is an article with photo of ship and arch:

https://www.blick-aktuell.de/Berichte/Hochwasser-Treibgut-stellt-Schifffahrt-vor-Herausforderungen-591588.html

Admittedly, the ship does not need to sail that arch, as it is the docking area. That bridge has been altered so that ships can pass under it. The article talks of the challenge of debris coming down the river and getting caught in the anchor chains and potentially damaging the hull. The solution was docking on the Rhine instead. I commented on that river being busier than usual at Koblenz and that is at least part of the explanation. In this photo (text says that the flooding has reached Koblenz) we see the ship from a different angle and, my, is the Moselle dirty and fast!

https://www.blick-aktuell.de/Berichte/Mosel-Hochwasser-erreicht-Koblenz-591586.html

 

Ships that were due to sail the Moselle obviously had to wait at Koblenz or re-route while the river was impassable.

 

Let us have a look at the flooding and the situation at the bridges in this video:

 

The camera travels from the Staustufe (lock and dam) downstream towards the mouth. First comes the Europabrücke, a modern road bridge - no problem. But at the bridge is the approach to the embankment called Peter-Altmeier-Ufer. That is where the river cruise ships dock further on. That road stretch is flooded. At 1:40 you can see all three bridges. The second is the railway bridge where on the left the arches are a challenge for the ships. It is the approach to the lock. The third bridge is the Balduinbrücke. You recognize the photo shot through the arches onto the Arosa river cruise ship I posted with the article. On the left the Balduinbrücke had its arches removed. I find it fascinating how the drone has captured so well the difference in colour of the two rivers. They almost always differ in colour but with the Moselle flooding the difference is more dramatic.

 

And if you wanted to go on an excursion from Koblenz to Winningen for a wine tasting that would have proved a challenge. The roads where flooded.

 

notamermaid

 

 

[notamermaid]

A bit more on the docking at Koblenz on the Moselle. There is another area where river cruise ships can anchor, it is at Rauental. From what I recall seeing this is not exactly what I regard as a prime location or even just an attractive area of the city. But it has been a long time since I was in the vicinity. On marinetraffic.com it looks like this:

 

The MS Elegant Lady is there tonight. On the right in the photo you can see the lock and dam. I have seen river cruise ships dock there on occasion in the past, but I have no idea why they do not dock close to the standard area at Balduinbrücke.

 

On the left bank of the Moselle is the marina, quite a nice spot, with a small restaurant and hotel. On the right is the home of the Koblenzer Ruderclub Rhenania, i.e. close to where the MS Elegant Lady is docked. I think I should consider this spot for a cup of coffee next time I am in the vicinity...

 

notamermaid

 

 

[notamermaid]

Just a brief mention - the river has much improved and looks to have quite a bit of room now for rain that may be coming next week. The gauges in France (Grand Est) are all on green so looking good there as well. This is the graph at Metz, much improved since that huge wave a good week ago:

 

notamermaid

 

[notamermaid]

And just to complete the picture, the Saar is down from a ridiculously high level to a more normal level:

 

notamermaid

 

[notamermaid]

While the Moselle is doing okay and the Saar is down to almost normal, the clearing up is still happening along the Saar river and some roads are still closed. The Saar river is navigable at this level but due to the debris the authorities have unexpectedly decided to keep the river traffic ban in place until Friday. A sonar ship is evaluating the navigation channel: https://www.sr.de/sr/home/nachrichten/panorama/saar_weiter_fuer_schiffsverkehr_gesperrt_100.html

 

notamermaid

 

[notamermaid]

The tanker stranded at Cochem and occupying the Viking landing stage has finally left, equipped with emergency repairs and a rather odd-looking wheelhouse.

 

We will see higher river levels due to the rain that has set in, but as of now the river is so low at Trier that the modelling shows no flooding in the next 48 hours. On the Rhine this looks a little different.

 

notamermaid

 

[notamermaid]

As of yesterday, sections of the Saar were still closed to river traffic. The sonar ship "Mosel" is still checking the river bed for shallow areas. The authorities have set the depth of the navigation channel at 3 metres. Some spots still have too much sand and gravel and the depth is not guaranteed yet so they keep working. A short video in German: https://www.sr.de/sr/home/nachrichten/panorama/saarschifffahrt_nach_hochwasser_in_teilabschnitten_wieder_frei_100.html

 

The Moselle river is fine as regards level and so thankfully does not contribute to the flooding on the Rhine.

 

notamermaid

 

[notamermaid]

Things are going well along the Moselle as regards river levels and the maintenance of the locks has been completed (14 June). Here are a few photos of the chambers emptied of water and the work that was done: https://www.wsa-mosel-saar-lahn.wsv.de/SharedDocs/Kurzmeldungen/Webs/WSA/WSA_Mosel_Saar_Lahn/20240614_ende_schleusensperre_2024.html?nn=1719074

 

notamermaid

 

 

[notamermaid]

Trier is known for its antiquities and those are in my opinion the main draw in this city on the Moselle. But if you have bit of spare time perhaps you may want to have a look at this exhibition of discarded items. It is a journey down memory lane of household goods and leisure items that have gone out of fashion, favour or simply use because a more modern thing replaced it. Ausrangiert is the German title - they are cast-offs, discarded, thrown out, stored in attic: https://museum-trier.de/en/startseite-english/cast-off-forgotten-everyday-objects-and-their-stories/

 

"ausrangiert" literally means having been shunted for the last time and put on the siding as the engine or wagon is of no more use.

 

notamermaid

 

[Izengolf]

Water levels have been perfect yesterday and today. We should reach Trier by 7am. A couple low bridges we had to leave the sundeck for a short while but otherwise the most beautiful river to sail. One storybook photo after another. I can see why so many people are doing this river again on this cruise. 

[notamermaid]

On 7/8/2024 at 10:57 PM, Izengolf said:

I can see why so many people are doing this river again on this cruise. 

Repeat cruisers on the Moselle, nice. Good to read that you are enjoying the river landscape.

 

I see you are docked in Bernkastel-Kues at the end of town. I did not know there was a landing stage there. But I was only in town for two hours.

 

notamermaid

 

 

[Izengolf]

Yes, absolutely gorgeous area and a short walk from the pedestrian area. We did a bike ride excursion this morning along the Moselle and it was excellent. By tomorrow afternoon we will be in Boppard. 

[Farang]

2 hours ago, notamermaid said:

Repeat cruisers on the Moselle, nice. Good to read that you are enjoying the river landscape.

 

 

 

 

notamermaid

 

 

notamermaid, is this a shot from a tracking app? I have been unable to get a location on the SS Victoria for about 3 days.

[notamermaid]

marinetraffic.com: https://www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais/home/centerx:7.065/centery:49.918/zoom:14

use the search field in the map if you cannot see her.

 

notamermaid

 

[notamermaid]

It may be simpler from this page, have only just thought of it: https://www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais/details/ships/shipid:8860576/mmsi:269057865/imo:0/vessel:S_S_VICTORIA

 

There are a couple of unusual ships on the Moselle. Let us have a look at that soon in another post.

 

notamermaid

 

[notamermaid]

Before we get to that, here is a screenshot of river cruise ships that happen to illustrate where you can dock on the river at or near Trier:

 

This morning the Amadeus Brilliant is at the city centre, the Grace is in the industrial harbour (Trier-Nord I think) and the S.S. Victoria is in Schweich. The third is a standard alternative to Trier.

 

I remember reading about a river cruise ship docking in Longuich (see right side edge of map) but that may have been a one-off or specific to one company or itinerary only.

 

notamermaid

 

Edited August 14 by notamermaid

[Izengolf]

The SS Victoria docked in Schweich on my cruise. Nothing to walk to from there as it is beside a nice campground yet it was a lovely, quiet place to sleep with the window down and screen up. 

 

Edit: To clarify, nothing touristic to walk to however a good place to get some exercise by foot or bike along the river.

Edited August 14 by Izengolf
Added more information

[notamermaid]

2 minutes ago, Izengolf said:

Nothing to walk to from there as it is beside a nice campground

I gathered that it is a quiet area. Have never been there. Did you shuttle into Trier or was that dock chosen for the excursion to Luxembourg - or both?

 

notamermaid

 

[Izengolf]

We took the bus to Trier in the morning, returned for lunch and then those that chose to could take the bus to Luxembourg in the afternoon. We did both tours but I would take Trier if I could only do one. It was closer and more interesting but this could also be due to the guide in Luxembourg  who was a bit dull "here is government finance building" instead of some scandalous stories from history. Surely a place doesn't become like Luxembourg without some real Game of Thrones action over the centuries!

[notamermaid]

4 hours ago, Izengolf said:

Surely a place doesn't become like Luxembourg without some real Game of Thrones action over the centuries!

I am sure it has happened, I mean the Kasematten must have been built for something other than storing coffee. 😉 But the real more modern action was further North in the Ardennes region of the country. I really fancy going to Éislek (which is the Northern part) as I picked up a brochure somewhere earlier this year. Had never really looked into it before. So for river cruisers it is back to the coffee story. I actually doubt coffee has ever been in the Casemates in the city but go to a supermarket along the border with Germany and you will find out about the coffee trade. It is like [exaggerated] one half of the shop is for the locals, the other half is for the French and Germans with cigarettes, coffee and alcohol. 😁 And there [notamermaid coughing] you have the reason for Luxembourg's wealth...

 

Joking aside, the financial sector and the reduced taxes for petrol, etc. have worked out really well for the country. It has been a long time since I was in Luxembourg for longer than an hour (got petrol and coffee last time, really!). Coffee was traded in highly dubious ways after WWII but this went via Belgium normally. And that is quite a story!

 

Luxembourg (country) I tend to call the sandwich between France and Germany as it was the third part when the Empire was divided at Verdun in 843. While the country is basically a Germanic entity with a Germanic dialect elevated to language only in modern times it is very much influenced by the French culture and language close by. South of it is what is French but the name of the son of Lothar, who had got the "sandwich" as inheritance, lives on in it and the place is also "not quite French" as the other parts like Burgundy for example are - to me anyway. It is Lorraine or as we call it Lothringen, the old Lotharingia.

 

Anyway..... It is an interesting country and the setting of the city is dramatic, loved the train ride out of Luxembourg quite some years ago.

 

notamermaid

 

 

Edited August 14 by notamermaid
grammar

[notamermaid]

I read in the notifications that several locks will be closed for a short time over the next few days, meaning today, then another one tomorrow, etc. There are short necessary repairs. Sounds like only minimal delays for river traffic.

 

notamermaid

 

[notamermaid]

For the Rhine there are interesting maps that show you the course of the river, which is especially helpful for castle viewing. The same publisher actually has one for the Moselle, too. You can look it up here: https://www.rahmel-verlag.de/en/products/produkte_details.php?prod_id=41

 

notamermaid