Rhine water levels 2019 and similar topics

[notamermaid]

3 minutes ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

 

On our Rhine cruise one of the post-cruise sightseeing stops was the Rhine Falls, where they have power boats that try to fight the current and get you very close to the falls.  Will this flooding make that more exciting, or stop the boats from operating?

Oh, it will certainly make it more spectacular. But as regards the excursion boats not running, I do not know if they do that. I suppose one could find out. Thought I might have a look round the internet, found a website that could help with an enquiry, but what is better in my opinion about this website is that it has a live webcam. May I present to you the Rhine falls: https://rheinfall.ch/de/

 

notamermaid

 

[2inSETexas]

We visited the Rhine Falls four years ago. It was in June, not record river levels but quite a sight anyway.  You'll love it.

[Riversanddale]

Just a note adding our interest in a thread for the Main River. Our next trip is Bamberg to Trier and we love and try to follow this area. Thanks for all the current updates on the rivers and happenings. With changing weather patterns and more boat traffic it’s hard to stay current from afar. Our wishes for safe travel for all.

[notamermaid]

Riversanddale,

Thank you for your interest in a thread on the Main. It has been started and a few have already posted. I hope to get round to adding info soon.

 

notamermaid

 

[notamermaid]

Due to the snowmelt and rain in Switzerland, the river will stay high with the level at Maxau not rising significantly at first. After a short drop it is predicted to rise with the wave then coming from Lake Constance a little. This means mild flooding with slow river traffic could persist into 20th June.

 

notamermaid

 

[notamermaid]

They only wanted to install underfloor heating...

 

...but when they started digging and the archeologist came in they discovered sensational stuff. I am talking about the Johanniskirche in Mainz. Main has got a Romanesque cathedral that is now a good 1,000 years old, but St. John's Church is even older: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._John's_Church,_Mainz

 

During the excavations a sarcophagus was discovered and as there was no other way of finding out who might have been buried in it, archeologists opened it: https://www.dw.com/en/germany-1000-year-old-sarcophagus-opened-in-mainz/a-49059143

 

German news says, so far the team have not been able to identify the remains as being the first bishop, but the man was 1.75m tall and between 40 and 60 years old when he died. They were surprised to find that the sarcophagus was second-hand, i.e. had been used before!

 

To river levels: no significant change to forecast.

 

notamermaid

 

 

 

[jpalbny]

Interesting! We spent a few days in Mainz about 4 years ago. We went into the Dom but not the church that you mention above. It sure is amazing what you find while digging.

[Mike R 2018]

I've been monitoring this thread for eight months in preparation for our Viking Rhine Getaway that begins on Thursday, following our two-day stay in Amsterdam.  Notamermaid, you and G.M.T. have been very helpful with your information and insights- and for keeping this thread focused.  I'll raise a glass of Reisling in honor of you both as we cruise the middle Rhine next week 😉.  Thank you both.

[notamermaid]

Mike R 2018,

Thank you for your kind words. The Rhine Getaway is a great product to introduce people to river cruising (although I must say again that I think the excursion into the Black Forest could do with some adjustments). If you have not cruised before, be careful, you could get hooked. 😉 

As for the Riesling, yes, plenty of that about in the valley!

 

Have a great time.

 

notamermaid

 

[notamermaid]

Maxau peaked at 675cm this morning, falling now slowly. The river in that section is still on slow traffic status and flood warning level. Slow traffic could be with us into 22 June. Question is, with Summer approaching, will it be downhill with the figures all the way into Autumn from this point? Last year in June Maxau peaked at about the same figure and the river lost centimetres in a steady fashion after that. And those who read along last year will remember what happened.

 

Weather experts say, basically, anything is possible as regards Summer weather, the only consensus is that it will not be a cool Summer.

 

Last year I posted the first drought report by the authorities BAfG dated 29 June on July 5. For this year the good news is, the river downstream at Kaub and Koblenz is doing better than it was last year at this time in June. Kaub is where it really counts for river cruise ships in low water. So here the current figures for all three:

Maxau 669cm, Kaub 315cm, Koblenz 277cm.

 

And the weather now? It is warm to hot along the Rhine with temperatures reaching over thirty Celsius in parts. The heat will be followed by rain from late Wednesday and into Friday in various regions. Next week is likely to see a similar pattern of this weather.

 

notamermaid

 

 

 

[foodpolice]

notamermaid,

 

Thanks for you're continual reporting respecting the Rhine River.  We were one of many who had their late August Rhine cruise cancelled last year.  We are cautiously optimistic that our Rhine cruise for the 1st week of this August will come to fruition.

I remembered that you had mentioned in your previous posts the critical "number" for the Kaub area before the "unmentionable" may happen.  What was that dreaded number?

 

Thanks again.  

[notamermaid]

foodpolice,

I think I put it like this: 100cm at Kaub is a figure we prefer not to see as in dry conditions it can easily go down further. At 90cm one may start to worry as around then a company may decide to stop sailing soon or get ready for a ship swap. That applies to the 135m ships.

 

Need to refresh my memory a bit more...

 

notamermaid

 

[daveil]

Notamermaid,

 

Sounds like our Viking cruise in the second week of July should be OK unless some remarkable change in the Rhine drives the Kaub depth below 100 cm.  What were the levels at Maxau, Kaub and Koblenz last August that cancelled trips or changed them into shuttle bus runs between ships?

[notamermaid]

daveil,

I have had a look at last year's thread. Early on 6 August I reported: Maxau 364cm, Kaub 73cm, Koblenz 68cm. On 4 August, from prudence passenger, we heard about a ship swap on their itinerary. This means it will have happened at between 75cm and 80cm at Kaub. It may or may not have been the first one on Viking.

 

My memory is back on track.

 

Even better than that, July looks much more of a month for smooth sailing now, having compared the figures to last year.

 

Today, Maxau has fallen a bit, but the prediction shows it as falling so slowly that slow traffic could continue into 23 June. Plenty of water still in the riverbed. ☺️

 

notamermaid

 

[notamermaid]

With rain coming soon, the level at Maxau is forecast to stay high-ish and we could see the slow traffic status continue into 25 June.

 

But onto a different subject: the arts.

 

Last night's regional news had a short feature on a new exhibition at the Mittelrhein-Museum in Koblenz. The museum is an old institution in a very modern setting in the town centre: https://www.mittelrhein-museum.de/beispiel-seite/geschichte/?lang=en

The permanent exhibition is interesting, but this new temporary exhibition focuses on those that left Germany and went into exile between 1933 to 1945. The entry is only in German: https://www.mittelrhein-museum.de/deutsche-kuenstler-im-exil-1933-1945/

It covers Jewish artists, but also those who left for other than religious reasons. The exhibition showcases many different artists of various ages, from the young to the established, male and female, well-known and quite forgotten ones as well.

 

From what I saw on television and if you are into art, I would recommend a trip to the Mittelrhein-Museum, the exhibition runs from 15 June to 29 September 2019.

 

notamermaid

 

[daveil]

notamermaid,

 

Thanks for the interesting cultural information on the museum.  Note that Google quickly translates the special exhibition web page into English.

 

daveil

[notamermaid]

7 minutes ago, daveil said:

notamermaid,

 

Thanks for the interesting cultural information on the museum.  Note that Google quickly translates the special exhibition web page into English.

 

daveil

Good to know that Google works so well with this sort of thing. Thanks.

 

notamermaid

 

[gnome12]

1 minute ago, notamermaid said:

Good to know that Google works so well with this sort of thing. Thanks.

 

notamermaid

 

I don't think daveil said it translated "well", just that it translated. I have had some really good translations, and some that I couldn't decipher at all. 😉

[notamermaid]

13 minutes ago, gnome12 said:

I don't think daveil said it translated "well", just that it translated. I have had some really good translations, and some that I couldn't decipher at all. 😉

I did get it, I was trying to say it works technically well. As regards being able to understand the content, yes, google has produced some hilarious stuff for me in the past as well. From German into English. Grin... Often I have been able to reassess it, like "oh yeah, that is what is meant". Unfamiliar languages into German, hmm, wonder if would be able to figure everything out?

 

notamermaid

 

 

 

[DougK]

Does anybody know what's going on with the Scenic Opal? It was supposed to end one cruise and start another in Basel today, but it looks like it stayed in Strasbourg last night instead. I don't think high water in Basel should have been an issue, since it looks like other ships have been coming and going to Basel. It doesn't personally affect me, but I'm just curious...

[daveil]

23 hours ago, gnome12 said:

I don't think daveil said it translated "well", just that it translated. I have had some really good translations, and some that I couldn't decipher at all. 😉

gnome12 is correct.  While the Google German to English translation is decipherable, it's about what you'd expect to hear from someone speaking in their 2nd or 3rd language, not their primary language.

 

daveil

[basenji56]

Watching the water levels.  We leave on Viking on July 3rd from Amsterdam to Basel.  Thanks for all of the people sharing information.

 

Michael

 

[notamermaid]

Looks like traffic around Maxau will return to normal (from slow) in the early hours of the 25th. With little to no rain forecast the river will loose centimetres quickly. As I have posted before, this is no problem. This morning I read a report that BASF (the chemical plant at Ludwigshafen) is confident that we will not see as much of a drought this year as we did in 2018. BASF relies heavily on barge and tanker transport. They made a loss in turnover of 250 million euros last year. For this year the company has got itself prepared by securing ships for transport that have got a lower draft.

 

Looking ahead, I am a bit more worried about the temperatures for next week. A heatwave will come upon us that might push Germany close to a new temperature record. It was reached in the Summer of 2015 in the town Kitzingen in Franconia at 40.3 degrees Celsius. Eek, do not want that... I live on the top floor and have no air-conditioning.

 

So if you are travelling next week, drink plenty of water and put suncream on while on the sundeck. You might actually prefer the lounge, sipping a cocktail. That's the life. Enjoy.

 

notamermaid

 

[daveil]

Notamermaid,

 

Based on your posts, I have been watching the water levels on the BfG website.  While the Rhine gauges are all in the green, there are many gauges on the Elbe that are orange, below the minimums.  Is this a typical difference between the two rivers?

[notamermaid]

55 minutes ago, daveil said:

Notamermaid,

 

Based on your posts, I have been watching the water levels on the BfG website.  While the Rhine gauges are all in the green, there are many gauges on the Elbe that are orange, below the minimums.  Is this a typical difference between the two rivers?

More or less, yes. The two rivers are quite different at times as regards actual water levels. It depends a little on weather, but the more crucial difference is that the Rhine has more "reserves" through snow melt and Lake Constance as a kind of natural reservoir. At the moment it is the case that Lake Constance is discharging its surplus from the recent flooding along the Alpine Rhine into the border regions along Basel and the Upper Rhine valley. Soon this water will be gone and the Lake will offer the normal amount of water to the regions downstream. Then we rely mostly on rainfall to keep the level up. Later in the year the two rivers may resemble each other more as regards low level.

 

On the Elbe there are no such extensive glaciers in the upper reaches and when the river gets low in the Czech Republic the country retains some water it needs in the reservoirs. However, the Elbe is fed well by snow and snow melt, its source is in the Riesengebirge (Giant mountains) at around 1400m above sea level, just not so far advanced into the year. The Rhine's source is at 2343m above sea level. That is the Toma lake which is regarded as the source of the Rhine. A slight oddity as it is not a spring but a lake, I have read an article referring to this and calling the Rhine "a river that falls from the skies".

The fluctuation in level on the Elbe is higher than on the Rhine, not in figures necessarily but in the reaction to rain or the lack of it in their respective basins throughout Summer and Autumn and changing from year to year. There was a terrible flood some years ago - a very specific weather situation with high amounts of rain over a prolonged period - when the Rhine on the other hand was just a little on the high side.

 

To be precise, the figures are not at or below the minimum when on orange, but on statistically low levels for their respective river at that gauge seen over an average of so many years.

 

To help others new to this, here is the website we are referring to: https://www.bafg.de/EN/06_Info_Service/01_WaterLevels/waterlevels_node.html

 

AnhaltER1960 explained the Elbe situation quite a while back but I cannot find the post. I hope I have been able to get all the information correct from memory.

 

By the way, the figures for the Rhine are still above the mean: Maxau 630cm, Kaub 309cm, Koblenz 280cm. With no rain forecast the level at Maxau will soon drop below 600cm which is still high enough to see a good level in the Middle Rhine valley into July.

 

It is currently 32 degrees Celsius in Mannheim, forecast to reach 40 there on Wednesday, with virtually no rain forecast for the whole of Germany for the next five days.

 

notamermaid