Danube water levels 2020 and similar topics - plus tips and info

[steamboats]

I´m not a big fan of the Oktoberfest... But at least we had some Obazdn, Brezen and a Maß beer last night for dinner.

 

steamboats

[notamermaid]

I remember you saying that you are not such a fan. The current arrangement of festivities suits you much better then. Obazda - there can hardly be a more traditional Bavarian dinner .

 

Have fun and stay safe.

 

I hope the Isar has got more water than the Danube: Pfelling is at 240cm.

 

notamermaid

 

[notamermaid]

Rain in the right places has made the river at Pfelling rise fast. The gauge now shows 304cm. A rise to 390cm on Sunday is anticipated. It is much cooler than last week and over the weekend the temperature in Bavaria is unlikely to rise above 15 degrees Celsius.

 

Deutsche Welle has travelled further in the alphabet and under "R" takes us to Regensburg: https://www.dw.com/en/germany-from-a-to-z-regensburg/g-55002129

 

notamermaid

 

[notamermaid]

The few days of rain has done wonders to the level of the Danube in Bavaria. Pfelling peaked at 393cm day before yesterday and is now going quite fast. With the temperature not rising much above 20 degrees Celsius and a bit of rain forecast, it will hopefully stay above the critical level of 290cm.

 

I have said before that when you start digging in Germany you are likely to find either something Roman, Medieval or a WWII bomb. This news item - a small sensation among German archaeologists - went unnoticed by me during the mad rush towards lock down in March. Archaeologists dug near Regensburg in search of Medieval stuff and found something much older and more spectacular. Oh, but they did find something Medieval as well: https://www.dw.com/en/german-archaeologists-unearth-massive-mammoth-tusk/a-52947985

 

notamermaid

 

[notamermaid]

Deutsche Welle's journey through Germany has reached the letter U, for which the go to Ulm: https://www.dw.com/en/germany-from-a-to-z-ulm/g-54068820

 

notamermaid

 

[notamermaid]

October is often still a time with low water levels on the Danube in Germany. Let us have a quick look at how the river at Pfelling in Bavaria has been doing in the last months (31 days):

 

 

End of September (19th to 25th) saw the Danube struggling and staying under the line marked with RNW. Figures above that marker of 290cm are good for river cruise ships. The 135m ships start having problems at 290cm, remember the decision for safe sailing lies with the captain, there is no halting of traffic on the Danube in Germany in low water. Figures from MNW denoting "real" low water (266cm) and lower will also cause problems for the shorter ships, always depending on the individual ship's draft. All through October so far the river has stayed at a slightly low but pleasant level above 290cm. After dry Autumns in past years this is something we feared we might not see. Rain has been more plentiful this Summer and Autumn and mostly spread out well over two months.

 

notamermaid

 

Edited October 20, 2020 by notamermaid
grammar

[notamermaid]

Along the Danube the situation is not looking better than on the Rhine or Seine, etc. Passau have announced that their Christmas market is cancelled, Austria is in a poorer state than Germany - seen as a whole country. Still, Vienna Christmas market organizers are clinging on to the hope that they can stage some sort of markets when the lock down is over. This is the website which says the opening of the markets will be postponed, if you are interested or would like to plan for next year, have a look here: https://www.wien.info/de/einkaufen-essen-trinken/maerkte/weihnachtsmaerkte

You can switch the language to English at the right hand top of the page.

 

Meanwhile, the river in Bavaria is showing good levels, so the last few ships sailing will have good conditions.

 

 

MW means mean water level. This is the gauge at Pfelling which is notorious for low water in Autumn. This year, October has not been too bad, as you can see, the critical level of 290cm which is the line RNW was only reached for a couple of days.

 

notamermaid

 

Edited November 2, 2020 by notamermaid
Spelling

[notamermaid]

Just a little armchair travelling today. A drone flight over Regensburg: https://www.dw.com/en/old-town-center-of-regensburg/av-54015683

 

Due to a rather dry November, too little rain in parts of Germany, the Danube is struggling with water levels again. Pfelling has seen a steady decline and the gauge is now at 287cm.

 

notamermaid

 

[notamermaid]

Found this little video of an enterprising man in Bavaria and his Christmas market: https://www.dw.com/en/german-innkeeper-creates-pandemic-proof-christmas-market/av-55584593

 

@steamboats how are things with you on the Isar?

 

Weather turning winter-ish here, finally. Mild night frosts now in the valley.

 

notamermaid

 

[steamboats]

In Munich there aren´t any Christmas markets. You can get Glühwein here and there.

 

Temps went down to the frosty side over here too and we expect -7°C. I saved the last raspberry and ate it. There are still 2 left but those are still green.

 

steamboats

[notamermaid]

As I do not have a garden, there is not much space to grow things. Personally I only have potted herbs and strawberries. My neighbours have cut all the vine, the last tomatoes went to their kitchen a couple of weeks ago and it all looks quite barren now.

 

I expect it snowed during the night in your area. We had snow in the air but it was just a tiny bit too warm, so it just covered the cars with icy raindrops.

 

With no reason to travel, I am not getting out and about much. But visiting a stall with a bit of Christmas stuff somewhere in the valley is a must. I will look for one this week.

 

notamermaid

 

[notamermaid]

Things have changed since I last posted in this thread and not for the better.

 

@steamboats did you get to experience a Christmassy shop at all? I think Bavaria closed down shops and stalls (if they ever opened) before we did. I know there were no Christmas markets proper but in Cologne for example they did displays and gluhwein huts for takeaway.

 

I expect it is snowing with you or will do tomorrow. Tried to see some snow in the hills today but it was not enough to even call it a dusting. Pouring rain and annoying sleet instead.

 

notamermaid

 

[steamboats]

@notamermaid there weren´t any markets over here. Some restaurants and outlets did sell Glühwein but this was stopped in November. First no alcohol on the streets past 9 pm. Then here in Munich no alcohol in the downtown area and certain named areas. When they found out that now Glühwein was sold right at the limits. Then they changed it to the whole city.

 

So all Glühwein I had this year was at home.

 

steamboats

[notamermaid]

 

On 12/28/2020 at 8:42 AM, steamboats said:

So all Glühwein I had this year was at home.

All rather bleak, I actually left my bottle of Glühwein untouched, I (and us as household(s)) could not find an opportunity to "celebrate".

 

Munich must have looked splendid - if one ignored the empty squares I suppose - in Christmas lights. I saw some lovely photos online.

 

Time to wrap up this thread for 2020 and move on to a hopefully better year. A quick look at the last 31 days of the river at Pfelling:

The huge amount of rain just before Christmas finally got the Danube to a decent level. The river was unseasonably low in November and into December and was below the kind of threshold figure of 290cm for many days. The Danube at Pfelling struggled till Christmas, the spike put it over the line of medium level and should now keep it at a decent level in January. Not that it is of any use to river cruisers...

 

All in all the year has been much better than 2018 and a little better than 2019, but the Danube in Bavaria remains a liability and area of concern for unimpeded cruising in several months of the year - mostly due to the area around Pfelling in low water and in flooding a low bridge in Passau, with days in Spring likely to cause an official closure to varying extent. The Danube past Budapest has partially different seasonal problems that I am not familiar with beyond what authorities hint at in the general literature.

 

Remains for me to say:

 

A big thank you to all for following along and contributing to this thread. Hope to speak to you again in the thread for 2021.

 

notamermaid

 

[Host Jazzbeau]

8 minutes ago, notamermaid said:

A big thank you to all for following along and contributing to this thread. Hope to speak to you again in the thread for 2021.

 

notamermaid

A BIG 'thank you' to you for maintaining this thread (and the others like it) again this year!  Even though nobody was cruising, it's great to have a continuous record now over several years to help remember and to try to predict the future [futile, I know, but it seems part of our nature to try...]  I hope you will set up the threads again for 2021 – and of course we all hope they will be even more useful next year as sailing resumes!

[steamboats]

12 hours ago, notamermaid said:

Munich must have looked splendid - if one ignored the empty squares I suppose - in Christmas lights. I saw some lovely photos online.

 

Actually I haven´t been closer to downtown than my office and that only once a week. I missed my strolls over the markets this month.

 

steamboats

[notamermaid]

3 hours ago, steamboats said:

 

Actually I haven´t been closer to downtown than my office and that only once a week. I missed my strolls over the markets this month.

 

steamboats

That is sad. And today, New Year's Eve, is going to be boring. But there is no way I am not celebrating. Perhaps walk round the block so I do not gather accidentally while standing around, could be some young people coming near my street, trying to avoid the eyes of the police patrol. Perhaps someone bought fireworks before the sales ban. And there is always "Dinner for One". At least that is "the same procedure as last year".

 

Have a good 2021, health and happiness, steamboats.

 

notamermaid

 

[steamboats]

I simply tried to avoid any crowds in larger shops or the pedestrian zone area.

 

It´s enough that I have to use public transportation to get to work.

 

steamboats

 

Happy New Year to all of you!