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... And what about the Christmas market cruises?

notamermaid

By notamermaid,
in River Cruising

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cruisr

cruisr

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I am tripled vaxxed now and have no qualms at all going to Europe and visiting the markets that are open.  Leaving after Thanksgiving.  Covid will be with us forever in one form or another.  I choose to travel and enjoy life rather than stay home.

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notamermaid Excellent Advice! Rare

notamermaid

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@cruisr Good to hear you are relaxed about it and happy to come. Whatever happens with the markets, the lights will be great. You may get some snow, who knows... It may well snow in Würzburg on 25th and 26th November. Along the Rhine it is a little too warm, but it could snow above 600m above sea level, which you would climb to in an excursion to the Black Forest.

 

Are you coming on a river cruise or land trip this time?

 

notamermaid

 

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malcliz

malcliz

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33 minutes ago, steamboats said:

Austria will announce a full lockdown for the whole country later today. It will be a full lockdown for 10 days starting by Monday (including closure of schools). There´s an option to extend the lockdown for another 10 days.

 

steamboats

What will the river boats do that are sailing in Austria now like the Crystal Ravel that we were on last week? 

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notamermaid Excellent Advice! Rare

notamermaid

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5 hours ago, malcliz said:

What will the river boats do that are sailing in Austria now like the Crystal Ravel that we were on last week? 

That is a good question for CC people to find the answer to by asking the companies directly. As public life will be shut, I reckon it is either "go for a walk in Vienna past closed shops" or "sail through the country without stopping". The latter would be the more logical one as river cruise ships are hotels essentially, i.e. the hospitality trade. One would need to look at the exact wording in the regulations.

 

As a side note, a very important one: a sad day for democracy as a Western democratic country, or seen politically a "Rechtsstaat" in German, has turned to the measure of compulsory vaccination for all its eligible citizens. A desperate move that the Austrian government is well aware of that it should be the last resort.

 

notamermaid

 

Edited by notamermaid
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steamboats Great Review Rare

steamboats

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More bad news for you (and me):

 

Bavaria will go into a lockdown starting Nov 24th til Dec 15th. All Christmas markets are cancelled!!!

 

In those counties which have a 7 day number over 1,000 there will be a complete lockdown (except for schools which stay open). But shops, restaurants, sports, culture... has to close. Currently along the Danube river it´s just the county of Passau (not the city itself!) which is over 1,000. But Vilshofen is located in the county of Passau.

 

In the rest of Bavaria there are quite a few restrictions like bars, clubs, discos have to close. Regular restaurants have a curfew at 10 pm. Almost all other venues have 2G (but you all need to be vaccinated anyway). Limited numbers of spectators for sports events and more which won´t affect you as tourists.

 

steamboats

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notamermaid Excellent Advice! Rare

notamermaid

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2 minutes ago, Second seating said:

I think our land trip to Belgium for Christmas Markets is biting the dust!

Second seating

Not yet. Brussels wants to go ahead with the Christmas market: https://www.brusselstimes.com/belgium/194264/brussels-christmas-market-plans-to-go-ahead-despite-new-measures/

 

I guess the states of Hesse and Baden-Wurttemberg will see a high number of Bavarian number plates next week...

 

Please do not bring Covid to Rhineland-Palatinate, we are still doing okay (not really, but just compared to Bavaria and Austria).

 

notamermaid

 

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notamermaid

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3 minutes ago, KLRDUKS said:

If Austria goes into "full lockdown", what does that mean for trains? We will be going from Budapest, through Austria, to Switzerland for our 2nd of Back to Back cruises. 

Public transport is hardly affected by this generally speaking but to make sure of regulations and whether your train may be the odd one cancelled, do keep an eye on this and see what ÖBB announces. If this is part of your cruise package I would speak to the cruise line.

 

notamermaid 

 

 

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steamboats

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Public transport shouldn´t be affected.

 

Here in Germany they just implemented the 3G rule for public transportation. But as you´re all vaccinated this won´t be a problem.

 

Slight correction, shops don´t close in Bavaria. Just a limitation of the number of people which are allowed in a shop (depending on the size of the shop).

 

steamboats

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notamermaid

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The last word has not been spoken on Thurn und Taxis, as Regensburg district authorities need to impose a ban (they actually gave the go-ahead earlier today) and the fact that it is private grounds may play to the organizers' advantage. German newspaper:

https://www.allgaeuer-zeitung.de/bayern/trotz-söders-ansage-weihnachtsmarkt-bei-thurn-und-taxis-soll-öffnen_arid-347959

 

notamermaid

 

 

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notamermaid

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Lawsuit - I kind of expect them too. Interesting move and understandable. They certainly have the money to do it. But there is the revenue from the stalls and the turnover for the market vendors to think of. One may rightly ask: why can supermarkets that are indoors stay open but an outdoor market of stalls cannot?

 

notamermaid

 

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notamermaid

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Saxony more or less follows the example of Bavaria and closes venues. It has also cancelled Christmas markets. But in top of that tourists are not allowed in hotels, etc.

 

Does that put and end to river cruises? Not sure. They are hotels.

 

notamermaid

 

 

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notamermaid

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4 minutes ago, sjde said:

Do you think they'll actually close once they've opened?

 

Forgive my geographic stupidity,  but are there any major towns on the Rhine or Danube in Saxony? 

Not stupid, believe me, I would be challenged to put Colorado on a North American map. The only river for cruising in Saxony is the Elbe. Along the Elbe, the city that has the greatest draw for tourists is Dresden. It has one of the oldest Christmas markets in Germany, many say the oldest.

 

Federal and state level give framework and regulations but it is up to lower administration to enforce rules. The rules can be challenged by the public and institutions in a kind of "deal with this fast at short notice" court hearing. I guess this is what Thurn and Taxis in Regensburg will do with their market. If the authorities say so, a market can be closed once it has been opened. A hygiene plan is drawn up for every major event, if this does not find approval, an event is not allowed. I can see this happening in several places potentially. Several small markets have already been cancelled not because of high infection rates but because the organizers could not meet the demands of the authorities for a "safe event".

 

notamermaid

 

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texasmomoftwo

texasmomoftwo

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Notamermaid, I am glad you forgive geography questions.  I am from Texas 🙂 So you probably could pick out my great state on a map... but maybe not.  Anyway, what do you think the chances of the Rhine Christmas Market cruises going in early- mid December?  We are scheduled Dec 10 to fly to Switzerland....and then hop on the Rhine for Christmas Markets.  Would love your input

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