River Cruising Water Cooler

[notamermaid]

Too little snow in the valley to take nice photos, so that will have to wait. Much snow and intermittent rain has raised the river levels all over Germany. We could reach mild flooding status on the Rhine for example. The Moselle in France is rising to alert level and at Maxau on the Upper Rhine  we may reach flooding and suspension of river traffic towards the end of the week. Something we are used to in winter, by the way.

 

So, instead of snow photos for the time being, here is a report on the star cities of Europe, quite literally star-shaped. One of them is close to Strasbourg - Neuf-Brisach, opposite Breisach. Designed by Vauban like quite a few others, this has been on my list of places to visit for some years. Vauban's designs are UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

 

https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/star-cities-europe-architecture/index.html

 

notamermaid

 

[notamermaid]

@steamboats I see Munich is covered in lovely snow. Just snow in the hills around me. Looks like we all will be getting the "dreaded sudden thaw".  I hope the Danube and Isar will be kind of okay, the temperature being a little cooler in general with you than it is here. The snow melt will make the Rhine rise fast and the masses of rain forecast will make it worse. There is a slight risk the river may even get so high at Kaub that the traffic will be halted in the Rhine Gorge, where the river is normally the lowest. Not looking forward to the scenario. Koblenz has already erected the flood barriers in anticipation.

 

notamermaid

 

 

 

[steamboats]

We got about 30 cm which is pretty much for the city.

 

And by tomorrow it´s supposed to start to rain... This will make some nice floodings.

 

steamboats

[Canal archive]

Snow gone (lots of upset dogs and children) temperature up to 10 deg positively balmy! CA

[Daisi]

We got about 15cm last night, nice big fluffy snow that I've spent the last bit watching the squirrels running through.  It's warmed up quite a bit also, feeling like -12.  Now if only we can get the sun out so we don't have the damp....

 

[sharkster77]

A "coating to 2 inches" predicted turned out to be a very solid 4 inches of snow here!

[steamboats]

Melting set in in the evening... If it freezes again overnight there will be a pretty slippery morning tomorrow.

 

steamboats

[notamermaid]

4 hours ago, steamboats said:

Melting set in in the evening... If it freezes again overnight there will be a pretty slippery morning tomorrow.

 

steamboats

Yes, treacherous roads. Be careful.

 

River level could rise by 2m in 25 hours at Maxau Friday into Saturday. That is flooding of the not so pleasant type. Middle Rhine valley will be affected from late Saturday.

 

notamermaid

 

[Host Jazzbeau]

[steamboats]

7 hours ago, notamermaid said:

Yes, treacherous roads. Be careful.

 I´m high and dry... on the right side of the Isar river which is app. 30 m above.

 

And there are no waters anywhere close to my home.

 

steamboats

[Canal archive]

Jazzbeau now don’t forget the pillaging. 
Would you believe it Viking ⚓️ are still advertising heavily on U.K. TV. (Cannot find a Viking related emote. CA

[sharkster77]

5 hours ago, Canal archive said:

Jazzbeau now don’t forget the pillaging. 
Would you believe it Viking ⚓️ are still advertising heavily on U.K. TV. (Cannot find a Viking related emote. CA

The ubiquitous ads on PBS Masterpiece for Viking have been reduced to Torstein Hagan talking about watching VikingTV on the web until 'we can travel again'.  Very scaled back.  Not seeing the usual 'ship approaches Budapest on a perfect day' scenes.

[notamermaid]

That must be the difference in outlook towards Spring and Summer I expect. While Americans/Canadians will be unlikely to book any travel for that time, UK watchers may still feel confident about booking. Just my feelings from a marketing point of view.

 

Mind you, with the latest deliberations in the EU, Britain might be in for a tough time trying to get to Europe.

 

It may be easier to book the Nile ... But who knows how the authorities will react there.

 

There is of course now the looming question: will companies require vaccines, just like Saga has announced? Then UK folks over 60 stand a good chance from late Spring.

 

Here we are in the midst of winter still and wary of what will come next, travel ban? Or stick to the new regulations of not letting in people from high variant risk countries?

 

notamermaid

 

[Daisi]

We did the weekly run to the Post Office to pick up the mail yesterday.  Although I haven't have brocheurs from any line lately (probably since last spring), there was 3...1 for Scenic, Emerald Waterways, and Viking.  

 

Got the fire going when we got home, so they made good kindling.... 🙂

[Canal archive]

Oh makes me wish I had an open fire. CA

[Host Jazzbeau]

8 hours ago, Canal archive said:

Jazzbeau now don’t forget the pillaging.

 

[notamermaid]

On 12/22/2020 at 11:44 PM, jpalbny said:

Check the white balance settings. There are other ways to adjust the color but try there first. 

My apologies, I never thanked you for the tip after I had tried it out and it worked. Yes, I have my normal camera back! Happy!

 

So here are couple of shots from a very recent trip into the Eifel hills. The Christmas decorations were still up. Not sure why we chose that route but there was a bit of time still in the day although it was dusk already, so a detour took us deep down into the hills past Andernach. I do not recall ever having been there and the other village names had never even heard of. This village is called Kell. Here is the church:

 

I find the church interesting as it looks like "we have run out of space, let's add a bit here" times two or three. Also, the lights had just come on, I think that is why one street lamp is still green - just a second or two behind the others. In the next photo that shows the little square all are orange:

 

The stone of the middle part of the church is typical for the area. You can see it again in this shot:

 

Weird photo? Exactly. Sitting in the car we suddenly saw this creature. It turned out to be a female peacock. I reacted fast and took the photo of the image in the side mirror. A man was just walking past with his dog so I asked him if the pheasant is normal for the village. He confirmed that she lived there but there used to be two, the fox had got her partner. Really sad.

 

On leaving the village we took a wrong turn and ended up on a hillside dead end. The place where your satnav tells you "barren featureless desert". But the view was lovely. We found our way back to the main road and ended up near Maria Laach lake from where it was easy to re-program the machine and find our way home.

 

Next, finally, snow photos! From the Lahn valley, actually the hills overlooking the Lahn valley.

 

Rather than posting standard places I want to show you a few places you are likely to never see on a river cruise. Like Kell. And the Lahn river that is too small for river cruise ships.

 

More tomorrow.

 

notamermaid

 

 

Edited January 28, 2021 by notamermaid
grammar

[Canal archive]

No picture but just on the edge of Salisbury Plain there is a village with signs at various spots saying ‘Beware of the Geese’ and there is a flock of up to twenty wandering wherever they will. CA

Jazzbeau that brings it right up to date, pillage at will. 

Edited January 28, 2021 by Canal archive

[gnome12]

12 minutes ago, Canal archive said:

No picture but just on the edge of Salisbury Plain there is a village with signs at various spots saying ‘Beware of the Geese’ and there is a flock of up to twenty wandering wherever they will. CA

We have Canada Geese all over the place here in Toronto and vicinity. They are in many parks and fields, and they can be quite vicious, as well as leaving goose poop all over the place.

[Host Jazzbeau]

19 minutes ago, Canal archive said:

No picture but just on the edge of Salisbury Plain there is a village with signs at various spots saying ‘Beware of the Geese’ and there is a flock of up to twenty wandering wherever they will. CA

Jazzbeau that brings it right up to date, pillage at will. 

 

Only twenty?  We have a small college campus in our neighborhood that gets regular visits from a flock of over 200.  I'm glad I don't play the outfield!  Curiously they seem to leave the soccer [football] field alone – DW thinks the fencing and trees make it seem too small for easy take-offs and landings.  They could use a resident fox (or ten)!

[Ritabob]

Trivia time (useless information)...a Canada goose poops every 8 minutes.  They are a nuisance in our parks and waterfront.  

[notamermaid]

Couldn't someone invent a nappy for Canada geese? We would be happy in our region as well. I am not sure which one it is but we have these geese, they are Nile or Canada variety. I cannot remember which but they are so bad around here that a few years ago they had to close a swimming pool and park in Koblenz temporarily for deep cleaning. 10 years ago they were just a curiosity now they are in every major village and town along the Rhine embankments.

 

notamermaid

 

[Canal archive]

Luckily these are white geese but we also have loads of Canada geese on the canals. Their poop is so dangerous when we’re jumping on and off our narrow boats many of us have crocked ankles because of it.

oh and it’s only a small village. CA

[Host Jazzbeau]

I've been encouraging @jpalbny to keep praising the Christmas goose tradition.  I have a whole bag of golf clubs available to borrow for anyone who wants to set a festive table!

[notamermaid]

9 minutes ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

I've been encouraging @jpalbny to keep praising the Christmas goose tradition.  I have a whole bag of golf clubs available to borrow for anyone who wants to set a festive table!

Ah, yes I remember. Too far to send a club but I will bear the idea in mind come late October in preparation for Saint Martin's feast day on 11 November.

 

I nearly got a pheasant with a golf ball once, a few years ago in Kent, England. They have a small golf course near Folkestone where the birds sometimes roam coming from nearby "rearers", if that is what the people are called that breed them for shooting and eating. Missed the bird by 10cm or so. Which is actually closer than I got to the holes most of the time. I have only ever played golf four times! I am still very much a beginner.

 

notamermaid