Danube water levels 2019 and similar topics - plus tips and info

[G.M.T.]

We will have to wait til tomorrow to see which which one went down the fastest:

 

Titanic or Pfelling.

[notamermaid]

This morning Pfelling looks better. As forecast the level has gone up. It is now at 292cm and it looks as if it will indeed reach 300cm by tonight. With more indicated for tomorrow.

 

I have had a look at the graphs and figures of Austria and further downstream. While I cannot relate the info to the depth of the navigation channel and navigation itself, I can say that the Danube is indeed low. So if you hear mention of low water it is certainly justified. Figures are getting plus signs in the forecast, so the experts are seeing the rain adding valuable centimetres in the next 48 hours downstream from Passau as well.

 

On this day when according to Celtic believe the world and the world beyond are closer together than normally and Christianity chose to adapt this to the eve before all Hallows (Halloween) we may choose to join in with the spectacle by wearing costume or eating weirdly designed sweets or get rather bookish and close all the doors, put the candles on and read Walpole's The Castle of Otranto. Or the American classic The Fall of the House of Usher by Poe (my, what a weird guy with a tragic life).

 

But as we are looking towards the Danube in this thread, we shall close all the doors, etc. and read instead about Isa.

 

Isa the nymph is the sister of Loreley. Just like her sister she is fairy-like with golden long hair. A stunning beauty. She lives in her castle at the Jochenstein rock downstream from Passau. She can also sing beautifully. Jochenstein is a difficult spot for sailors but Isa's song was a good warning during navigation. Well things sometimes went wrong and sailors were lulled in by her song and then had to live forever in her castle.

 

One day a young sailor withstood Isa's looks and singing. His mother was so grateful that she had a chapel erected. It is said that Isa's spell was broken and she has not been heard or seen since.

 

Modern sculptors (men of course (grin)) have erected sculptures of Isa. Here is the one at Jochenstein: https://de.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jochenstein 

 

notamermaid

 

[notamermaid]

Yesterday I posted that Pfelling was due to reach 300cm. It did. When I checked earlier this morning I thought there was a computer error as the river level showed such a big rise. But it must be correct. The level is now at 350cm, proving the forecast wrong by actually exceeding over the top end of the error margin! A further rise is anticipated during today, the level should peak during the night. Rain is forecast for today, tomorrow and Sunday in varying amounts.

 

notamermaid

 

[G.M.T.]

On 10/31/2019 at 11:51 AM, notamermaid said:

Isa the nymph is the sister of Loreley. Just like her sister she is fairy-like with golden long hair. A stunning beauty. She lives in her castle at the Jochenstein rock downstream from Passau. She can also sing beautifully. Jochenstein is a difficult spot for sailors but Isa's song was a good warning during navigation. Well things sometimes went wrong and sailors were lulled in by her song and then had to live forever in her castle.

 

One day a young sailor withstood Isa's looks and singing. His mother was so grateful that she had a chapel erected. It is said that Isa's spell was broken and she has not been heard or seen since.

 

Modern sculptors (men of course (grin)) have erected sculptures of Isa. Here is the one at Jochenstein: https://de.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jochenstein 

 

notamermaid

 

As it was such a beautiful sunnyday along the Danube, we went to our favourite fish restaurant in Jochenstein, with our table looking out over to Isa (lovely girl), the real thing is better than Wikipedia anyday:

 

 

[prekteacher1]

Great news aboard the Emerald Star heading from Budapest to Amsterdam! We will be sailing the whole way! We got to Regensberg this morning with no problems and are headed to Nuremberg.  The cruise director said we were past the part where we might have had some issues. The colors along the River Danube have been beautiful. We've had changeable weather but have not gotten wet! We have gotten to the stretch of river that has many locks. What a fascinating way to navigate the rivers!😊

[notamermaid]

It is Monday, a new week on the river, let us have a brief look of what is likely to be in store for river cruisers on the German Danube.

 

Pfelling gauge peaked in the morning of 2 November and has been on its way down since. It is still looking good, at 341cm now, and is forecast to stagnate today and into tomorrow. Later tomorrow we should see a slow rise again. So, no problems with river levels either way. This is likely to continue as the week progresses, as rain and dry conditions alternate during the week. Snow will fall above altitude 1,200m, temperatures are relatively mild, but it will be a little cooler towards the weekend, currently expect between 14 Celsius maximum during the day and minimum 3 Celsius during the night.

 

notamermaid

 

[TMLAalum]

@notamermaidThanks for all the updates. We are now in Switzerland after leaving the Alsace region of France preceeded by the Eifel region of Germany. Rain most all of the days and sadly no federweisser! (Although  we did not die of thirst as there were many other wines to enjoy.) We board our Danube cruise on Thursday. Fingers X'd for no busses or ship swaps!

[notamermaid]

TMLAalum,

No Federweisser? A great pity.

Hope your cruise is great and you get to sample local wines. The river is looking favourable for smooth sailing.

 

A quick update.

At Pfelling the gauge says 349cm, pretty good. Austrian levels are up and Hungary is following suit but according to the authorities is a bit on the low side as of today, the rise will happen tomorrow and the day after. Cannot interpret the Slovakian official pages.

 

Some rain is forecast for the German Danube for today and tomorrow, none for Sunday and Monday.

 

It has been snowing in the Allgäu region in Bavaria. But that is relatively normal for November. What is rather unexpected about the Allgäu and how that is making worldwide (!) headlines I shall report in my next post.

 

notamermaid

 

 

[notamermaid]

Move over Lucy, here comes Udo

 

The Allgäu region is very popular for tourists, with its pleasant towns, nature in abundance and at the foot of the Alps. However, generally speaking,  it is not so much an internationally famous area - Neuschwanstein castle and a few hotspots excepted of course.

 

A few days ago the Allgäu was put on the science map of the world with the announcement of the scientific findings concerning the discovery of what the anthropologists have named Danuvius guggenmosi. Now, "Lucy" is the nickname of a female of the species Australopithecus afarensis and she was a sensation when she was discovered in Africa. Since then, the theory has been "out of Africa" meaning that man evolved in Africa into a human-like upright walking creature and walked into Europe. Fast forward to "Udo" who is the said classified Danuvius (yes, after Danuvius for river-god and hence Danube) and guggenmosi (after the gentleman who originally discovered the pit full of fossils (but not Udo)). Udo (and a few more fossils) is a true paradigm shift as he is several million years older than Lucy and her companions turning the theory that man evolved in Africa first on its head. And it is a new link in the evolution of man. Which opens up another gap to hopefully some time be filled with a link. That is the basics, I hope I have got this right - A-level biology helps but I cannot rule out mistakes...

 

Details I shall leave to the scientists to explain, if you fancy reading up on this: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/new-ancient-ape-species-rewrites-story-bipedalism-180973479/

 

The idea of human-like creatures first walking in the Allgäu rather than Africa, okay to me that sounds quite - errr - mundane. "Kenia" is just a little more glamorous than "Allgäu" (even the island Crete is better, where they had found fossils of around Lucy's age as well). And the name of the site does not help either: "Hammerschmiede clay pit". Oh well. This is what it looks like: https://www.br.de/nachrichten/bayern/fossil-udo-grubenbetreiber-will-fundstelle-im-allgaeu-schuetzen,Rh9qb0Y

 

But do not get me wrong, the Allgäu is great region for a holiday, especially if you are into walking or mountaineering, or winter sports.

 

Now, where does the nickname "Udo" come from? The day of the discovery of part of Udo's jaw - 17 May 2016 - happened to be the 70th birthday of German singer and songwriter Udo Lindenberg and radio stations honoured him by playing lots of his music. According to another German article, Frau Professor Böhme and her assistant listened to the music driving to and from the clay pit, so it "just had to be Udo".

 

notamermaid

 

P.S.: the level at Pfelling has fallen but is still good at 331cm.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[notamermaid]

Let us have a look at the Bavarian Danube and to the days ahead. This lunchtime Pfelling gauge is at 320cm. The most likely scenario for the next two days is a minimal reduction in figures, the level should stay above 310cm. Unlike the Rhine which currently has a buffer of 110cm at Kaub towards the low level figures, the Danube at Pfelling only has a buffer of 25cm, i.e. deduct 25cm and you are only 5cm away from the 290cm which officials give as the figure from which 135m river cruise ships can get problems with the passage. The Danube in Germany also tends to react more to the absence of rain than the Rhine.

 

So, the weather: it is cool with temperatures and weather that is to be expected in November. Passau for example is close to freezing temperatures at night. This means rain during the night could be mixed with snow. Today sees a moderate amount of rainfall downstream from Ulm (good for Pfelling), tomorrow looks similar, but Thursday shows no rain for the Danube in Germany.

 

notamermaid

 

[G.M.T.]

On 11/10/2019 at 10:20 PM, notamermaid said:

A few days ago the Allgäu was put on the science map of the world with the announcement of the scientific findings concerning the discovery of what the anthropologists have named Danuvius guggenmosi.
 

The idea of human-like creatures first walking in the Allgäu rather than Africa, okay to me that sounds quite - errr - mundane. "Kenia" is just a little more glamorous than "Allgäu" (even the island Crete is better, where they had found fossils of around Lucy's age as well). And the name of the site does not help either: "Hammerschmiede clay pit". Oh well. This is what it looks like: https://www.br.de/nachrichten/bayern/fossil-udo-grubenbetreiber-will-fundstelle-im-allgaeu-schuetzen,Rh9qb0Y

 

It is thought this is the original Bavarian man, why because he was still wearing his Lederhose and still had whats in the photo below hanging around his neck.🍻

 

The human like creatures are still around, especially at chucking out time at the Oktoberfest.🙈

 

 

[matadams4u]

Arrived in Budapest today and there don’t seem to be any issues with water levels.  I am posting trip updates on the 2020 Viking Danube Waltz thread.  

[notamermaid]

On 11/12/2019 at 5:02 PM, matadams4u said:

Arrived in Budapest today and there don’t seem to be any issues with water levels.  I am posting trip updates on the 2020 Viking Danube Waltz thread.  

Thank you for your comments on the roll call. It sounds as if you have had a great start to your cruise.

 

The river past Passau is doing better, with rain having fallen in Austria. But also Pfelling is able to keep the level above 300cm with a slight rise indicated on Sunday.

 

There has been much snow in the mountains of Austria and the Alpine region of Italy. But snow is also coming closer to the Rhine valley with the lower mountains now also seeing frost at night.

 

But more on that later in the Rhine thread.

 

notamermaid

 

 

[RDVIK2016]

On 11/12/2019 at 10:17 AM, G.M.T. said:

It is thought this is the original Bavarian man, why because he was still wearing his Lederhose and still had whats in the photo below hanging around his neck.🍻

 

The human like creatures are still around, especially at chucking out time at the Oktoberfest.🙈

 

 

 

G.M.T. , I am not sure I agree that your evidence proves this was the original Bavarian man.  The Bavarians I know would be more likely to say "I mog Di".  Maybe this fossil guy Udo was a Zugeroaster (or as they say in Maine: someone "from away").  Anyway thanks for your earlier recommendation of having a meal at the Hacklberg brewery (see the photo).  We had driven up from Salzburg and stopped at Brauerei Hackelberg before turning in our car at Sixt near the Bahnhof (I missed the entrance to their parking area once and had to drive back around). We had already been to Lindau to drop off our luggage at Viking Ingvi.  After turning in the car we walked to the parking area on Untere Donaulände near the St. Paul parish church.  There each Viking boat had a shuttle bus or two and we caught a ride back to the boat docked at Lindau. I forget where I got info on the shuttle schedule, but we did get to the bus on time and it all worked out great. 

[SuiteTraveler]

Last week I was on the Crystal Ravel and we were told ours was the first cruise in weeks that would go to Budapest and when we were there, not only did we make it, but I also saw a Viking ship there and several others whose brands I'm not familiar with.  Also it rained last week which I'm sure helped.

[RDVIK2016]

19 minutes ago, SuiteTraveler said:

Last week I was on the Crystal Ravel and we were told ours was the first cruise in weeks that would go to Budapest and when we were there, not only did we make it, but I also saw a Viking ship there and several others whose brands I'm not familiar with.  Also it rained last week which I'm sure helped.

SuiteTraveler, actually on October 28/29 we (Viking Ingvi) were rafted in Komarom, Hungary, with four other ships - a five ship raft!.  For a while during that two day time period we were the fourth ship from the dock and Crystal Ravel was rafted on our outboard side.  Photos: (1) four Viking wheel houses, (2) Cryslal Ravel on outboard side; across the river at Komarno, Slovakia was a an AMA (?) ship.  

[djh1959]

3 hours ago, SuiteTraveler said:

Last week I was on the Crystal Ravel and we were told ours was the first cruise in weeks that would go to Budapest and when we were there, not only did we make it, but I also saw a Viking ship there and several others whose brands I'm not familiar with.  Also it rained last week which I'm sure helped.

That is interesting because we spent the week before last in Budapest (not on a river cruise, just independent travel) and there were many river cruise ships there.  I saw at least ten different ships over the week and also saw them sailing in and out.

[pully8]

5 ships rafted! That's a lot of people in one spot. Wonder why not familiar with the port mentioned.

Will look it up. The most we have seen is 3 rafted but usually only short term. 

[G.M.T.]

7 hours ago, RDVIK2016 said:

G.M.T. , I am not sure I agree that your evidence proves this was the original Bavarian man.  The Bavarians I know would be more likely to say "I mog Di".  Maybe this fossil guy Udo was a Zugeroaster (or as they say in Maine: someone "from away").  Anyway thanks for your earlier recommendation of having a meal at the Hacklberg brewery (see the photo).  We had driven up from Salzburg and stopped at Brauerei Hackelberg before turning in our car at Sixt near the Bahnhof (I missed the entrance to their parking area once and had to drive back around). We had already been to Lindau to drop off our luggage at Viking Ingvi.  After turning in the car we walked to the parking area on Untere Donaulände near the St. Paul parish church.  There each Viking boat had a shuttle bus or two and we caught a ride back to the boat docked at Lindau. I forget where I got info on the shuttle schedule, but we did get to the bus on time and it all worked out great. 

So glad you had a great trip and thank you for support thr local econonmy.

[SuiteTraveler]

8 hours ago, djh1959 said:

That is interesting because we spent the week before last in Budapest (not on a river cruise, just independent travel) and there were many river cruise ships there.  I saw at least ten different ships over the week and also saw them sailing in and out.

The crew on the Crystal Ravel specifically told us that they had not been able to go to Budapest for the past 3 cruises.  They said they were happy to announce that our cruise WOULD go to Budapest and everyone clapped.

[Coral]

10 hours ago, SuiteTraveler said:

The crew on the Crystal Ravel specifically told us that they had not been able to go to Budapest for the past 3 cruises.  They said they were happy to announce that our cruise WOULD go to Budapest and everyone clapped.

I sailed last year on November 20th (RT Vienna and we did not go to Budapest). The previous trip started there or visited there on the Mozart. I asked a few of them (I boarded early and they were still on the ship) if they were disappointed on how Crystal handled it and they said no - they then said "Crystal put us up at the Ritz". They were smiling.

Edited November 17, 2019 by Coral

[RDVIK2016]

17 hours ago, pully8 said:

5 ships rafted! That's a lot of people in one spot. Wonder why not familiar with the port mentioned.

Will look it up. The most we have seen is 3 rafted but usually only short term. 

pully8, Komárom doesn't have much in the way of port facilities on the Hungarian side - it just consists of one berthing dock in an narrow industrial area squeezed between the river and a rail yard.  Over on the Slovak side of the river is the other part of the city where they call it Komárno.  There is more of a port basin over there.  The only reason we were all docked there is that we could not get to Budapest on the river.  The ships successfully did a lot of coordination so the passengers on all those boats could disembark and get onto buses without chaos ensuing.  Buses had to be brought in for up to 900 passengers from 5 boats all going on day time excursions.  

[pully8]

thanks for your reply and explanation.

did they say why the ships could not dock in Budapest?

was it river level related or other reason?

it looks a fair way to Budapest from that place.

understand about the non sailing around in the dark in Budapest related to the accident and multiple fatalities this year, we have been advised illumination cruise will not take place.

[RDVIK2016]

7 hours ago, pully8 said:

thanks for your reply and explanation.

did they say why the ships could not dock in Budapest?

was it river level related or other reason?

it looks a fair way to Budapest from that place.

understand about the non sailing around in the dark in Budapest related to the accident and multiple fatalities this year, we have been advised illumination cruise will not take place.

The ships could not get to Budapest because of low water.  This thread of 21 pages so far is clear about where the low water issues are on the Danube - mainly Pfelling. I do not know where the problematic areas are between Bratislava and Budapest.  I would think they would try to get use to Estergom if possible and if enough docking space is available there.  That would be a bit closer to Budapest and Estergom itself would be interesting to visit. 

 

Interestingly a couple of boats from Nicko cruises were able to reach Budapest at the same time we were docked at Komárom.  Those boats are a bit shorter and with shallower draft than those of the Viking and Crystal lines.  

 

Does anybody have a link to a site in English or German discussing the water levels on the Hungarian parts of the Danube? 

[notamermaid]

This is it: http://www.hydroinfo.hu/mobil/en/hydroinfo.php

 

notamermaid