The river Moselle infos and river cruising experiences

[notamermaid]

Annual maintenance of the lock system

 

Shipping has been halted on the Moselle, or rather it "rests" as it is not much point sailing just from one lock to another...

 

All locks are out of operation from 16 May till 25 May to do maintenance work. Seven have been pumped completely dry for repairs, the others will get minor repairs with the water still in them. This is scheduled always far in advance. River cruise companies for example will have already adjusted their itineraries on the Moselle for next year accordingly as the dates have been published, even online for the general public to see.

 

This is an article in German. Photo shows an example of the work that is involved during this week:

https://binnenschifffahrt-online.de/2022/05/featured/25767/schleusensperrung-an-mosel-und-saar/

 

Oh, and the locks on the Saar are part of the maintenance week as well.

 

notamermaid

 

[notamermaid]

Maintenance having ended, traffic is running again. River cruise ships are again sailing up and down the Moselle, so if you want to do some ship spotting, here is a suitable webcam at Cochem: https://www.hotel-noss-cochem.de/de/kontakt-service/webcam-wetter/

 

Unfortunately, Feratel with its high-quality rotating webcams does not seem to have any stationed in the Moselle valley.

 

notamermaid

 

[notamermaid]

Ever seen an Amphicar? I never have in real life, but I have seen the tourist buses that run on both land and water. The Amphicar is actually a model rather than a generic thing, hence the capital letter. It is a car and boat construction made in Germany in the 1960's. A hotel owner on the Moselle is a collector and offers trips! One could have made a more condensed version of this video but it is cool to look at: https://www.dw.com/en/amphicar-an-electric-amphibious-vehicle/av-61991896

 

This wasn't the first amphibious vehicle in Germany and that is worth a post in its own right I find. But this will at some point go in the Rhine thread as it features the town of Koblenz. Okay, hmm, Koblenz is also on the Moselle, so perhaps two posts it will be .

 

notamermaid

 

[Host Jazzbeau]

There are a bunch of amphibious bus-like vehicles called 'Duck Boats' in cities in the US [and elsewhere?] based on a WWII design.  They are a lot of fun [we did this in Boston] – until they capsize and the limitations of that old design become obvious.  The Amphicar sits even lower to the waterline than the Duck Boats – so "you'll never get me up in one of those things!"

[Canal archive]

We’ve had ‘Ducks’ on the Thames in London and the Mersey in Liverpool both of these are now banned because of that sinking feeling.

[jpalbny]

On 6/5/2022 at 3:45 AM, Canal archive said:

We’ve had ‘Ducks’ on the Thames in London and the Mersey in Liverpool both of these are now banned because of that sinking feeling.

 

We had them in Albany for a number of years. Of course, we never did the "Albany Aquaducks" tour...but we did do it in Boston once and it was enjoyable.

Edited June 12, 2022 by jpalbny

[CPT Trips]

Philadelphia had some fatal accidents due to “Duck” tours and they were paused for a time. Although they restarted, using the Schuylkill instead of the Delaware River a number of years ago. The increased in their insurance rates due to the resulting lawsuits led to them ceasing operations. 

[notamermaid]

Augusta Treverorum - Roman Trier - was one of the main cities of the Empire and it seems to be still present at every turn 2,000 years later. And under many streets and buildings. There is so much known and unknown, i.e. still to be discovered that the city council is preparing a digital register for owners of grounds and buildings. You cannot just dig in Trier - the archeologists are very careful about this and the register should help the locals with any preparations or constructions plans.

 

Now the city is showing casing its Roman legacy again for locals and tourists alike with a massive exhibition. But this one - spread over three locations - will have the end of the Empire as its focus.

 

Here is some info: https://en.visitmosel.de/cities-culture/unesco-world-heritage/state-exhibition-in-trier-2022

 

notamermaid

 

 

Edited June 16, 2022 by notamermaid

[gnome12]

@notamermaidwhat is going on between 19 Sep and 3 Oct on the rail lines? All of the nice connections that I was looking at from Frankfurt airport to Cochem seem to not exist during this period. If I select a Friday before, I get my choice of the regional routes and the ICE/Regional. But for my date 30 Sep, I get convoluted routings with a minimum of 2 changes and most have much higher fares. See https://reiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/query.exe/en?ld=439&protocol=https:&seqnr=12&ident=7v.0220619.1656386334&rt=1&rememberSortType=minDeparture&REQ0HafasScrollDir=2#hfsseq13|7v.0220619.1656386334

[notamermaid]

I see partly what you mean, the link is a blank page, so I put in a time for 23 September and 30 September. Prices are higher on 30 September but I found an identical train in the morning on both Fridays that has only one change.

 

Transition from Summer to Autumn? 3 October public holiday raising demand? No idea really, only guessing.

 

notamermaid

 

[gnome12]

20 minutes ago, notamermaid said:

I see partly what you mean, the link is a blank page, so I put in a time for 23 September and 30 September. Prices are higher on 30 September but I found an identical train in the morning on both Fridays that has only one change.

 

Transition from Summer to Autumn? 3 October public holiday raising demand? No idea really, only guessing.

 

notamermaid

 

My sister doesn't arrive until 9:20 (on a flight out of Newark so likely to be late). That means logically that we are looking for something at 11 or later. There is a note on some of the routes that talks about construction. There is a 9:52 with one change, but it is 3 times the price of the regional trains. There is one at 13:09 with only one change, but it goes to Köln, then backtracks, which is not the Rhine Valley route. It also says that fares are unavailable. It looks like the best choices (cost and time) would be the 11:00 which includes and IC and the 11:30 both of which use the S8 to Mainz with a caveat about arriving 20 minutes late with connection times of fewer than 20 minutes. I'm kind of stumped.

[Canal archive]

Not helpful I know but one thing we do know is that German train time keeping is exemplary.

[notamermaid]

2 hours ago, Canal archive said:

Not helpful I know but one thing we do know is that German train time keeping is exemplary.

That is a good experience to have, mine is a bit mixed. Actually, one of my worst experiences is coming back from the river cruise from Passau on a Friday afternoon. Very bad around Frankfurt...

 

Weirdly, covid has made it a bit easier as Deutsche Bahn reacted well (generally speaking) with the pre-booking and distancing and more carriages. Not sure if this still has an impact on situations now like getting to Cochem on a Friday.

 

@gnome12 Further investigation is in order, will get back to that.

 

notamermaid

 

[notamermaid]

On 6/28/2022 at 3:57 PM, gnome12 said:

That means logically that we are looking for something at 11 or later. There is a note on some of the routes that talks about construction. There is a 9:52 with one change, but it is 3 times the price of the regional trains. There is one at 13:09 with only one change, but it goes to Köln, then backtracks, which is not the Rhine Valley route.

I see the notice about construction is for the route Koblenz to Trier and it is evening trains that are partly replaced by a shuttle on a stretch that is under construction (I think a tunnel alteration).  There are construction works near Mainz which could alter IC trains going to Koblenz but I cannot see that on 30 September, which means I may just not have found it, not sure.

 

I know you want the Rhine valley route, so backtracking is not an option. I cannot get the machine to show just one change. It throws in an "S" (tram) almost every time. Here is a screenshot:

I changed the setting to 10 min change time and price is for two passengers.

First train is via the right bank of the Rhine, you can see that is says VIA. Which means you go through the tunnel under the Lorelei rather than seeing the Lorelei. Second train is backtracking, so throw this out. Third suggestion actually leaves from Flughafen Regionalbahnhof. First and third both go through Mainz and Koblenz, RB 81 is along the Moselle. Same train, just an hour apart. What shocked me is the ridiculous price difference between suggestion one and three. Also note that the VIA RB10 takes much longer.

 

You may want to go for this one instead:

 

Why it is not possible on that day to go from Frankfurt airport straight to Koblenz and then change to go the Moselle is a mystery to me. Perhaps it works early morning (as you hinted at) and evening, which does not help you of course.

 

notamermaid

 

[gnome12]

46 minutes ago, notamermaid said:

Why it is not possible on that day to go from Frankfurt airport straight to Koblenz and then change to go the Moselle is a mystery to me. Perhaps it works early morning (as you hinted at) and evening, which does not help you of course.

Thanks. I wonder whether it is a question of the construction taking place only during off-peak daytime hours. 
 

I think the price differences are due to higher prices on ICE trains than on regional trains, or the bigger discounted fares on ICE trains no longer being available. 

[gnome12]

On 7/2/2022 at 9:33 AM, notamermaid said:

You may want to go for this one instead:

 

Why it is not possible on that day to go from Frankfurt airport straight to Koblenz and then change to go the Moselle is a mystery to me. Perhaps it works early morning (as you hinted at) and evening, which does not help you of course.

 

notamermaid

For some reason, I am not seeing this one at all. I have limited my selections to regional trains and S-Bahn with the 10 minute connection time, but I get the first option departing at 11:45 not 11:30, although seemingly otherwise the same. The next regional combination that I see is at 13:00 not 12:45, but again seemingly the same combination of trains since it arrives also arrives at 15:41, just I guess with a shorter connection time in Mainz.

[gnome12]

51 minutes ago, gnome12 said:

For some reason, I am not seeing this one at all. I have limited my selections to regional trains and S-Bahn with the 10 minute connection time, but I get the first option departing at 11:45 not 11:30, although seemingly otherwise the same. The next regional combination that I see is at 13:00 not 12:45, but again seemingly the same combination of trains since it arrives also arrives at 15:41, just I guess with a shorter connection time in Mainz.

@notamermaidI think that I have the answer for the differences. The details talk about 20 minute delays on the S8 (and presumably also the S9) to Mainz. The English website doesn't seem to be adjusting for that; it shows a 25 minute transfer time, but if 20 minutes of that is removed then the transfer is below the 10 minutes that we have been assuming. Your German website is adding the time by assuming an earlier S-bahn train to Mainz; the rest of the routing is the same.

The €49 fare for 2 (Quer-Durchs-Land-Ticket) seems to be good any time after 9:00, is there any reason to either pre-book a train, or to select the more expensive normalpreis ticket (which is cancellable but doesn't matter if I don't buy it in advance) rather than the Quer-Durchs-Land-Ticket. I realize that for ICE (and maybe IC) trains you reserve a specific train; is that true of regional trains too, or can I just buy the ticket when we are ready to depart, and at each connection point (Mainz and Koblenz) take the next train if we wish?

 

Sorry to be such a pain, but the DB website and app don't seem to be very helpful on the subject.

[Canal archive]

Not being sexist at all but has German timetabling gone to pot now that AM has retired!

[notamermaid]

8 hours ago, gnome12 said:

The €49 fare for 2 (Quer-Durchs-Land-Ticket) seems to be good any time after 9:00, is there any reason to either pre-book a train, or to select the more expensive normalpreis ticket (which is cancellable but doesn't matter if I don't buy it in advance) rather than the Quer-Durchs-Land-Ticket. I realize that for ICE (and maybe IC) trains you reserve a specific train; is that true of regional trains too, or can I just buy the ticket when we are ready to depart, and at each connection point (Mainz and Koblenz) take the next train if we wish?

Stretching my abilities, need to get my head round this with a commuter I think. I never book regional trains unless I am travelling far and rely on a specific connection. Will be back...

 

notamermaid

 

[PhD-iva]

Currently traveling on Uniworld enchanting Rhine and Moselle itinerary. Very lovely weather, excursions, food, accommodations, everything. Having a great time. The Moselle is lovely and I encourage everyone to visit!

[notamermaid]

33 minutes ago, PhD-iva said:

Very lovely weather, excursions, food, accommodations, everything. Having a great time.

Thanks for saying hello and good to hear you are enjoying yourself. Sounds like the Moselle has just go another fan.

 

notamermaid

 

[notamermaid]

On 6/28/2022 at 5:32 AM, gnome12 said:

what is going on between 19 Sep and 3 Oct on the rail lines?

Have now been able to confirm with a helpful DB employee that on the day you travel (and probably on other days) there is construction work going on near Mainz so S8 or S9 are the options instead of the standard trains. Hence the fact that the connections are different and more complicated than when you first researched.

 

Other info to follow.

 

notamermaid

 

 

 

[notamermaid]

Okay, this is what else I have been able to establish. There is the Quer-Durchs-Land-Ticket, as you mention, which you can use for the whole way and as far as I can establish also between Frankfurt and Mainz as you are leaving the regional sector around Frankfurt. There is also the Rheinland-Pfalz-Ticket which you can use for the journey but it is not valid between Frankfurt and Mainz as there is no agreement between the two states for that part of public transport. A few busses are also excepted.

 

Journeys and their respective ticket combinations may show up on your screen as not being available because as the DB attendant explained the prices are not fed into the system by Hesse regional public transport authorities. That is why you can see Mainz to Cochem for example but not Frankfurt to Cochem. This makes comparing prices a bit more difficult which matters for you for the prices for

 

Quer-Durchs-Land-Ticket 49 euros for two

Rheinland-Pfalz-Ticket 31 euros for two

 

So now for the missing part Frankfurt to Mainz: looks to be 5.60 euros per person.

 

You can buy either ticket on the day or pre-book but I do not know if you can buy the ticket for the missing part in advance. It sounds a hassle to me. Here is the Verkehrsverbund in Frankfurt: https://www.rmv.de/auskunft/bin/jp/query.exe/en#focus

 

In short, in theory (apart from the missing bit) you can buy the whole journey in advance as a standard ticket or you can "buy as you go along" on the day which makes a lot of sense for the regional trains as you do not reserve seats on those.

 

For the fast trains on which the special saver tickets (the two above I mean) are not valid I generally speaking would reserve seats and buy in advance for convenience.

 

Questions are: how much money are you willing to spend for the convenience? How much money would you like to save by buying on the day and doing away with the convenience (and potential stress if you do not make the fast train you booked in advance)?

 

Hope this helps in playing around with the intricacies of Geman rail travel.

 

notamermaid

 

[gnome12]

1 hour ago, notamermaid said:

Okay, this is what else I have been able to establish. There is the Quer-Durchs-Land-Ticket, as you mention, which you can use for the whole way and as far as I can establish also between Frankfurt and Mainz as you are leaving the regional sector around Frankfurt. There is also the Rheinland-Pfalz-Ticket which you can use for the journey but it is not valid between Frankfurt and Mainz as there is no agreement between the two states for that part of public transport. A few busses are also excepted.

 

Journeys and their respective ticket combinations may show up on your screen as not being available because as the DB attendant explained the prices are not fed into the system by Hesse regional public transport authorities. That is why you can see Mainz to Cochem for example but not Frankfurt to Cochem. This makes comparing prices a bit more difficult which matters for you for the prices for

 

Quer-Durchs-Land-Ticket 49 euros for two

Rheinland-Pfalz-Ticket 31 euros for two

 

So now for the missing part Frankfurt to Mainz: looks to be 5.60 euros per person.

 

You can buy either ticket on the day or pre-book but I do not know if you can buy the ticket for the missing part in advance. It sounds a hassle to me. Here is the Verkehrsverbund in Frankfurt: https://www.rmv.de/auskunft/bin/jp/query.exe/en#focus

 

In short, in theory (apart from the missing bit) you can buy the whole journey in advance as a standard ticket or you can "buy as you go along" on the day which makes a lot of sense for the regional trains as you do not reserve seats on those.

 

For the fast trains on which the special saver tickets (the two above I mean) are not valid I generally speaking would reserve seats and buy in advance for convenience.

 

Questions are: how much money are you willing to spend for the convenience? How much money would you like to save by buying on the day and doing away with the convenience (and potential stress if you do not make the fast train you booked in advance)?

 

Hope this helps in playing around with the intricacies of Geman rail travel.

 

notamermaid

 

Thank you so much for all your help. Because we are unsure of arrival times (each of us coming from different airports currently prone to delays), I think we will stick to the regional trains and just buy them on arrival. It looks like it is a bit cheaper to buy the tickets to Mainz, and then the Rhineland-Pfalz ticket. However, unless I can buy the R-P ticket at the Airport station, it will be simpler to get the Q-D-L ticket. I would also like to see if I can buy Merzig-Metz tickets there, as my only option on the DB site is to have them sent by mail for an additional €5.90. And since the tickets for the train we want are full price, I see no reason to book in advance. 

[notamermaid]

21 minutes ago, gnome12 said:

And since the tickets for the train we want are full price, I see no reason to book in advance. 

Merzig to Metz, yes, sounds more logical to book when you are in Germany. There is also the Saar-Lor-Lux-Ticket, but that is only valid at weekends so I reckon this does not help you? There is also the possibility of splitting into Merzig to Saarbrücken and then Saarbrücken to Metz. There is the slight chance that this is cheaper.

 

There is the possibility of inquiring at a station and book at a ticket office, but they appear to usually ask for a booking fee of 2 euros.

 

notamermaid