Danube water levels 2022 and similar topics - plus tips and info

[rcaruso]

3 hours ago, notamermaid said:

Now this is looking much better. Pfelling has risen overnight to now 300cm.

 

It is raining over the Danube valley this morning.

 

Time to relax about the river's levels? Not sure what is happening further downstream. For now, in Bavaria, things are certainly looking better.

 

notamermaid

 

At Melk this morning very light rain. Sailing Wachau Valley now, just cloudy.

[ural guy]

On board now, in Passau.  Supposed to board in Regensburg.  Pretty drive from Prague, snow along the route.

 

Nice welcome lunch, feels so nice to finally being on ship, using April 2020 credits. Different coffee machines, nice cuppa.

 

Side note: very happy with Raddison Blu in Prague.  Our first 6 days in Czech, we were in nice apartments, but morning coffee was Folgers bags we brought, with something easy for breakfast.  The Blu had a great spread AND an OJ machine that squeezes the oranges.  Staff were super nice.

 

Even with wet cobblestones we were walking 10 miles a day.

[notamermaid]

5 hours ago, ural guy said:

On board now, in Passau.  Supposed to board in Regensburg.  Pretty drive from Prague, snow along the route.

So you boarded in Passau instead of Regensburg becuase of water levels?

 

All good now as Pfelling has risen further: 360cm.

 

notamermaid

 

[ural guy]

Notamermaid.  Correct, boarded in Passau.  They will take people to Regensburg for the tour tomorrow by bus and return them to Passau.  Spouse and I will stay in Passau and explore a bit.

 

We were told we boarded here for safety, I have no idea, just a passenger at this point.  The independent part of our trip is over until we disembark in Budapest, so my thinking part is done!
 

We originally boarded in  Lindau, 3 km’s downtown, and saw Viking sliding into town.

 

Good diner, happy to be onboard.

[notamermaid]

21 minutes ago, ural guy said:

The independent part of our trip is over until we disembark in Budapest, so my thinking part is done!

Indeed. Just relax and let yourself be pampered.

 

notamermaid

 

[rcaruso]

Had snow most of day in Vienna. Went to Tat Haus Christmas Market, very crowded. One more day in Vienna and then to Budapest to end cruise.

[JAG64]

Sailing with APT from Budapest to Amsterdam. Have been told will sail all the way through. Snow in Vienna along with magnificent Christmas markets. Heaps of snow in Durnstein this morning and now sailing to Melk. Awesome cruise. Thanks notamermaid for all your amazing information especially with the Pfelling.

[notamermaid]

23 hours ago, JAG64 said:

Awesome cruise.

Glad to read it. Christmas markets, snow and sailing with APT. I can hardly think of a better combination. APT has the great exclusive events. On the Rhine you will visit Namedy castle,  a fantastic small venue with such a pleasant host. I hope I can go there this year on a day trip.

 

River looking good, Pfelling high enough for pleasant sailing and Passau low enough to get through under the bridge.

 

notamermaid

 

[ural guy]

A bit of a different excursion from Passau,  I took one of the E bikes up a bicycle trail on the Inn river, round-trip it was about 35 miles.  The weather wasn’t great, 42f and some rain, but it was now or not at all.

 

I road over the hydo dam at Inglin,

 

 

then past Burg Weinstein,

 

and Vornach Abbey

 

 

The bike route was very good, ranging from smooth asphalt to peastone to single track.  At times along the river and other times through fields.  A nice break from touring with the audio vox in your ear, rolling along like cattle.

In Sankt Florian I had a good lunch of Cordon Blue and boiled potatoes.

 

And someone along the way had a little Lena.

 

 

I tried to ride the train back, one conductor told me I could pay on the train, but when I boarded that train’s conductor said no, and I got off at next station (no fine).  Not sure what happened, but I got about 6kms closer to ship, so that was nice.

 

 

[ural guy]

When I returned to the boat, the Arma Magna was behind us.  A Viking ship was rafted to ours and Magna about matched both ships width combined. 
 

 

I’m on the River Splendor, Viking to my left, and AMA dwarfing both.

Pretty Passau.

[Canal archive]

Ural guy that last picture is a cracker, I suspect it’s upside down but nonetheless get it printed on canvas, any photographer would be proud of it.

[notamermaid]

3 hours ago, Canal archive said:

Ural guy that last picture is a cracker, I suspect it’s upside down but nonetheless get it printed on canvas, any photographer would be proud of it.

Agree. Looks great as it is, cannot wait to see what it looks like when flipped.

 

notamermaid

 

[ural guy]

Thanks, not sure why that flipping happened.  I’m on my phone, tried reloading, still inverted.

 

I was knackered after the bike, but this was the first sun in awhile so I’m glad it paid off.

[ural guy]

We are in Vienna for almost 2 full days, arriving at noon Wednesday and sailing at 2300 today.

 

The concert at the Mozart House is well worth attending.  It’s in a small space, seats 50ish maximum, and has great acoustics with a domed ceiling.  A string quartet played and my description can’t capture how special it was.  Spouse very happy, I surprised her with tickets
 

Performance space is in an old Convent. Mozart played in the same space.

 

Earlier in the day we visited the Opera house.

 

And these are the people who made the chandeliers for this opera house and one in NYC (not 100% sure here).

 

Crunches for days, low carb diet.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Canal archive]

Ural guy is this your phone or a real camera? In “ “

[ural guy]

I phone, it’s been raining so much the real camera has stayed in cabin.  

[notamermaid]

@ural guy where did you take the photo of Saint Elizabeth of Thuringia, in the convent?

 

The Opera House looks grand, a pity I did not have time to go in when I was there.

 

notamermaid

 

[ural guy]

13 hours ago, notamermaid said:

@ural guy where did you take the photo of Saint Elizabeth of Thuringia, in the convent?

Correct.  Her image is inset into the wall with a domed top, not sure if the pic shows that.

 

 

And docked 2 ships from us, our first cruise ship from 2014, the Viking Jarl, on right.

 

 

And enroute to Bratislava, from outside cabin view.

 

Vantage did a great job with Thanksgiving dinner.  I cleaned 2 plates worth.  Lots of walking in Schonbrunn Palace Gardens to make up for.

 

 

13 hours ago, notamermaid said:

 

 

 

[ural guy]

Bratislava and breakfast in cabin.  Finally have sun after a long strech of rainy days.

 

 

one of my favorite statues.  Partisans seem to have the squarest of jaws.

 

 

Took an E-bike back up stream to Slovakia’s border with Austria, the Morava River.  A few statues along the bike trail,  

 

 

 

and then 12ish kms out of town is Devin Castle.

 

 

and a lighthouse.

 

[ural guy]

The river confluence was also border between Soviet sphere and west.  There were several memorials for those who tried and did not make to the west.  I am posting these with no political commentary, and ask others to refrain.

 

Merely trying to show what can be found so close to the ship, accessible via good bike paths.

 

 

A heart made with barbed wire, recreation of one crafted in 1989 from just removed barbed wire.

 

 

maybe 10kms up the Morava, an old gun bunker, and more memorials.

 

 

 

 

 

There were also tank barriers closer to the river.  All this was offset with a nice playground with workout equipment.  I passed several playgrounds with very nice looking mini gyms, along with bike repair stations.

 

 

Crossing the river is this neat bridge, with a summer Hapsburg palace a few kms away, Schloss Hof.

 

 

 

A huge place, the grounds are highly rated.  I wonder how many gems like this could help to spread out the cruise ship crowds.  We sailed with numerous couples who were on this section of the Danube for the fifth time, options would be nice.

 

 

 

 

The bridge is part of a peace trail that is being worked on, utilizing the green corridor left by the former border no-go zone.

 

Another view of castle.

 

 

 

[Coral]

@ural guy Loving your pics! Brings back memories!

[notamermaid]

Let us have a quick look at Pfelling gauge. The water levels of the rivers are on the way down. Whereas the Rhine has got plenty of water to get through many days without rain, the Danube is a little more prone to problems - even this late in the year. It need not be the case always but this year in December we see it potentially going towards a brief low water situation. Now at 321cm, the trend is for 315cm to be reached by Tuesday. That is still 25cm above the critical level, so the level may well stay okay. Logically, much precipitation does not mean the level will rise accordingly. It is quite cold now and much rain can come down as snow in the South of Germany. Both rain and snow are forecast in varying, overall not huge, quantities in the German Danube basin for next week. I think Tuesday will give a clearer picture.

 

Time to have a look back at how November went.

 

notamermaid

 

[ural guy]

Stayed in Budapest an extra night to avoid returning the Sunday of Thanksgiving weekend.  Last afternoon went to Gellert Baths, which was director across from docking spot.  Facility is gorgeous, vibe is awful.  Selfies and cameras allowed in thermal baths, everyone chatting despite signs not to, not worth it to us.  Pretty building though, from cabin.

 

 

Castle Hill

 

and Parliament.

 

 

Bohem Art Hotel, amazing location, 3 minute walk from our docking.  Leave bags and easy Metro ride to the Zoo.  A great end to the trip.  The animals are well displayed and enclosures are decent sized.  Buildings are all unique designs.

 

 

This was in one of the animal houses.

 

 

lots of playgrounds

 

 

 

Best exhibit was wallabys  with emus together, and you walk along a sidewalk through the fenced in area.  We arrived just after they opened, and the critters were curious.  Very cool, a great breaks from crowds and cathedrals.  The entire zoo is very well landscaped and i think it would be cooler in summer.

 

 

and when you exit, you can watch the ice skaters.

 

 

and the castle behind Hero’s Square.

 

 

 

[notamermaid]

Pfelling gauge: the level is quite stable now, after that relatively fast drop on 4th December. Daily fluctuation, as always, overall we can see it staying well above 300cm for now, i.e. better than anticipated. Current level 321cm. No real change forecast.

 

notamermaid

 

[notamermaid]

The Danube at Pfelling in November:

The month started with enough water but the level was too low to make us at ease. Too little rain meant that the level fell indeed again and 12 November brought the gauge down to the dreaded 290cm. Ignore the two computer glitches where the blue line sparks downwards. After a few days rain finally reached Pfelling and saw a fast rise to a level over the mean water line. Since then, the level has been high enough and fell only gradually till the end of the month.

 

notamermaid