Rhine water levels 2024 and similar topics

[Canal archive]

Just a thought in the past it’s been the snow melt that’s been the saving grace for the water levels will it work this year!

Edited April 23 by Canal archive

[notamermaid]

8 minutes ago, Canal archive said:

Just a thought in the past it’s been the snow melt that’s been the saving grace for the water levels will it work this year!

Will it work this year, yes, that is the big question. So far we are doing well. Slow snow melt with the occasional good day of rain in May and June would serve us well for July and August. Lake Constance is well filled and above the long term mean.

 

notamermaid

 

[Canal archive]

🤞🤞

[notamermaid]

A new development in the Iffezheim lock incident. The captain of the ship has now been formally accused of endangering ship traffic due to having drunk alcohol. If the court accepts this will be a proper court case. The ship has been confiscated so as to potentially cover the cost of the lock repair should the owner (and insurance) of the ship not pay for the damages. The damage to the lock gate is estimated to be over 2 million euros.

https://www.swr.de/swraktuell/baden-wuerttemberg/karlsruhe/schleuse-iffezheim-schiff-primavera-beschlagnahmt-100.html

 

notamermaid

 

[Novakc]

Your mention of water level of Lake Constance brought back such fond memories of spending four day in Friedrichshafen more than a few years ago.  On another trip, we spent a few days in Stein am Rhein which we also enjoyed. Your recent mention of Rhine Falls brought to mind that I didn't know about it!  Maybe this is a reason to return to this area and experience it.  Thank you so much for all your great insights. 
Yours, Claudia    

[notamermaid]

Thank you for your kind words.

13 hours ago, Novakc said:

Your recent mention of Rhine Falls brought to mind that I didn't know about it!

Here is the Rhine Falls website: https://rheinfall.ch/en

Unfortunately, the webcam is currently off and undergoing repairs.

 

It is snowing above 400m altitude today in various places around Germany, i.e. this morning. This has moved now to 700m altitude as the temperatures have gone up in the last five hours. We have had a rainy and blustery morning with a bit of hail here in the valley. I put my winter coat on, temperatures are in the single digits.

 

It has snowed on the Nürburg, the castle of Nürburgring race track fame.

 

notamermaid

 

 

 

[notamermaid]

In post #249 I mentioned "Mill Day". There are actually two such special days when mills are in the focus of the public eye. The first one is 11 May, that is in Switzerland, the "Schweizer Mühlentag" 2024: https://www.muehlenfreunde.ch/de/schweizer-muehlentag/2024/

An interactive map shows you where the mills are.

The second one is 20/29 May, the "Deutscher Mühlentag" 2024. https://www.deutsche-muehlen.de/muehlen-erleben/deutscher-muehlentag

Here one can look in the database, click on search Deutscher Mühlentag 1: https://milldatabase.org/search/germany

I find this one intriguing, it is a ship mill, meaning on the river: https://milldatabase.org/mills/germany-schiffsmuhle-ginsheim

The replica shows you the technical construction of 1900. http://schiffsmuehle-ginsheim.de/boat-mills-in-ginsheim/

 

notamermaid

 

[Canal archive]

The eminent engineer John Rennie wrote this in his notes during his survey of the Kennet & Avon Canal ‘the miller at Crofton notes there is only enough water to enable the mill to work 12 hours a day’. There were several mills in that area and 12 hours a day wow. He improved and extended Crofton into a steam driven water supplier for the canal still operating today and occasionally for the job it was originally intended to do. I’m told by todays engineers it’s the oldest in the world.

[notamermaid]

There are some fantastic canal systems in England. A pity that they are not wide enough for a river cruise ship of a commercially viable size like, say 60m by 8m. Or are they? Wondering about the depth of them.

 

Talking of depth. The engineering skills and the coming steam engines brought exciting times to the Rhine 200 years ago. I mentioned Lord Byron, then William Turner. Those painters and writers of the time (several more besides those two) were the last to travel by conventional methods. Soon after from 1817 onwards and then with more (figurative) speed in the 1820's new and faster modes of transport changed the landscape and the river forever.

 

notamermaid

 

[notamermaid]

A brief interlude. The Ahr valley was hit by catastrophic flooding in July 2021. I remember the evening well. It was weird - I posted here on Cruisecritic about the expected rainfall, after having been shopping in a torrential downpour. For geography: the mouth of the river Ahr is at Sinzig, that is in the Lower Rhine valley, a bit before Bonn. The next day I got a phone call from a dear person living far away, asking me if I was okay and if I had read the news yet. I was oblivious at that moment. It hit hard and to this day I have not been up the valley far, I cannot bear it.

 

135 people lost their lives during that evening and night. A few days ago, the court case against the authorities was closed for good. The relatives of the victims are not giving up.

 

Apparently a boat with 135 silent figures on board is supposed to sail from Remagen to Mainz to hand a letter to the state government on Saturday. I do not know what it will look like and do not have the name of the vessel.

 

notamermaid

 

 

 

[Darwould]

We finished our Amsterdam to Basel Scenic Jewel cruise on the 24th April with  no water problems...I noted Kaub marks on the wall were down a couple of meters from flood marks as we went by.   

Only water issue was Strassbourg Canals were too high for the tour canal boat to go all the way round the town as water was too high to allow travel under some of the bridges...   thanks for your updates...  

Alan

 

[Canal archive]

Notamermaid I’d say that’s as close to a fitting tribute as is possible, trying to get reparation or recognition in these situations is always fraught with difficulties and the ‘little man’ wins rarely. I do remember this happening as it was widely covered an awful awful disaster.

[notamermaid]

@Canal archive it is hard, the relatives believe those family members could still be alive. They think something is not right... I read a headline saying "... the mayor put his car out of harms way in good time..." Read into it what you will, I admit that it baffles me to this day why happened what happened. I live on the Rhine where we know of the danger and the towns, also all other relevant authorities, have detailed emergency plans. They know what to do at what height of water, as a citizen you can download all the relevant stuff down to your particular street.

 

The ship was due to arrive at Mainz at 1800 hours local time. I think I got it wrong, they are not going to the offices directly. It is Saturday evening after all. Will try and find some news coverage.

 

notamermaid

 

[1of4]

23 hours ago, Darwould said:

We finished our Amsterdam to Basel Scenic Jewel cruise on the 24th April with  no water problems...I noted Kaub marks on the wall were down a couple of meters from flood marks as we went by.   

Only water issue was Strassbourg Canals were too high for the tour canal boat to go all the way round the town as water was too high to allow travel under some of the bridges...   thanks for your updates...  

Alan

 

I think you left Amsterdam the same day we did on the Scenic Jade. We are looking at a sailing from Amsterdam to Basel in 2025 or 2026 if I get bad news about my ankle. We were told that water isn’t an issue on this route onboard the Jade but it sounds like it could be. Were you told anything onboard about water levels?

[Darwould]

12 hours ago, 1of4 said:

 Were you told anything onboard about water levels?

At one of the sessions chatting about the whole trip and future available trips, our tour Director Alex opened the floor for questions and I asked about water levels.  This was toward the end of the cruise, and there had been no mention before.   He did say that the Scenic Jade is paired with the Scenic Jewel in the schedule so these sister ships are programmed on later cruises this year on opposite sides of a problem area for low water so that the guests in both can be swapped by bus across the low water level area to continue their respective trips if that is required.  We saw the Scenic Jade three times on our trip, so it appears Scenic doesn't anticipate water level problems in the early part of the season. 

The other question was why the ships are registered in Malta when owned by an Australian company... and the answer was if they were registered in Australia the labour cost due to more restictive labour laws would be much higher increasing the cruise cost to passengers.  .

Alan  

[Canal archive]

You might note that Scenic vessels are amongst the shallowest drafted of river cruise ships.

[1of4]

3 hours ago, Darwould said:

At one of the sessions chatting about the whole trip and future available trips, our tour Director Alex opened the floor for questions and I asked about water levels.  This was toward the end of the cruise, and there had been no mention before.   He did say that the Scenic Jade is paired with the Scenic Jewel in the schedule so these sister ships are programmed on later cruises this year on opposite sides of a problem area for low water so that the guests in both can be swapped by bus across the low water level area to continue their respective trips if that is required.  We saw the Scenic Jade three times on our trip, so it appears Scenic doesn't anticipate water level problems in the early part of the season. 

The other question was why the ships are registered in Malta when owned by an Australian company... and the answer was if they were registered in Australia the labour cost due to more restictive labour laws would be much higher increasing the cruise cost to passengers.  .

Alan  

Thank you, very helpful. 

[notamermaid]

The pairing of ships appears to be standard now on the Rhine, I mean several companies do that if they can. It really helps to keep the itineraries going and is good planning economically. I will give Viking credit for starting that procedure - until some one proves to me that another company has done it for longer than them.

 

The swapping works best in situations of low water as that is when the shallow part in the middle of the Basel to Amsterdam itinerary is bridged with the help of a coach ride. Flooding is more an issue further upstream or in both or all three major sections of the Rhine (potentially also creating problem on the Lower Rhine in consequence).

 

A note on CroisiEurope: I do not know how much they plan for low water but if they do not prepare for a ship swap it may be because they hardly ever have to. All their ships are 110m long or shorter. While this cannot be put into figures, we know that gives them a small advantage over the longer ships with the usually deeper draft. This has proven more than once to be just that little bit less of a problem and made that their ships sailed while others could not. Likewise, this advantage applies to other companies that sail partially or complete with "small" ships.

 

Talking of which: Kaub gauge is at 253cm and "perfect".

 

notamermaid

 

[notamermaid]

About the "protest boat" for the Ahr valley victims sailing to Mainz yesterday. I have found a video. And I feel the need to post it. Here it is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z72cKBrfe-o

A silent, sad boat of a different kind. Hopefully, it had the desired impact in Mainz.

 

notamermaid

 

[notamermaid]

To a happier topic. The Upper Middle Rhine valley is known for its spectacular landscape including all the castles. So there is a Lower Middle Rhine valley, right? Right. It is also full of hills and has several castles but it is not as dramatic as the Upper part. I have already mentioned the Drachenfels rock of Lord Byron fame. There are several interesting places between Koblenz and Cologne, technically/geographically not fully correct as the Lower part, but I refer to the two cities for the general idea of where to find it on the map. One port in that section is Remagen. The town is most famous for its (destroyed) bridge. Almost all international ships just sail past, but tonight the MS Inspire is docked there:

 

In my screenshot of marinetraffic.com I caught the Arosa Silva which happened to be signalling nearby earlier. What is interesting to note is that the Inspire is 135m long. That means she is not allowed to dock at the KD pier which is only designed for ships up to 110m long. That one is to the right of the Inspire in this photo.

 

More on the Inspire and Remagen in another post.

 

notamermaid

 

[fshagan]

6 hours ago, notamermaid said:

There are several interesting places between Koblenz and Cologne, technically/geographically not fully correct as the Lower part, but I refer to the two cities for the general idea of where to find it on the map. One port in that section is Remagen. The town is most famous for its (destroyed) bridge. Almost all international ships just sail past, but tonight the MS Inspire is docked there.

 

This is a potentially sensitive topic, and I want to be sensitive to the people we are visiting. Both my wife and I had fathers who were infantrymen in WWII, and part of the reason for the trip is to see the areas our fathers talked about. One is Remagen, and the crossing by allied troops there.

 

We are intending to be discreet about it and not mention the stories. We will be on Viva cruises that have very few Americans (60/40 German to UK, Australian, etc. passengers). How discreet should we be in seeking out sites?

[notamermaid]

7 hours ago, fshagan said:

We are intending to be discreet about it and not mention the stories. We will be on Viva cruises that have very few Americans (60/40 German to UK, Australian, etc. passengers). How discreet should we be in seeking out sites?

Oh that is an interesting topic. I mean, how to talk to people with a different background in history. Basically, when I speak I naturally am the one on the "loser's side" while you (on this forum) are on the "winner's side". So, yes, a bit of carefully breaching the subject I would say is good. In conversations that are standard on river cruises like "where are you from", "are you interested in anything special", your main reason for travelling can soon become clear. Overall, with so much time passed, almost anyone is laid back about it. Sometimes to Germans, Americans can appear very friendly but a bit direct. But no sweat, not a big deal. Americans and Canadians are seen as friends (and liberators if you look at history) mostly. All good. Remagen has the history museum, meaning the peace museum, so that will be an outing or a topic certainly if you dock in Remagen. No need to be that discreet really, just do not rush into a conversation. On land, I cannot see a problem really. People in Remagen will remember things but if you photograph discreetly I see no problem. Perhaps not mention your relatives' names to random people where the battle sites were just in case. But the odds are very low that you will meet anyone with "resentment". Just saying, you know, my father was a soldier and ran into a problem decades later in a foreign country. Overall, feel free to honour your fathers' time in my country.

 

If you would like to contact the peace museum, here is the link: https://bruecke-remagen.de/friedensmuseum/?setlang=en

At the museum they may well be interested in your stories in a professional way.

 

Which reminds me, I have a photograph of a sign that American soldiers painted on the wall in Andernach. It is still there to see, preserved by the authorities. I will post that again, did it about two years ago.

 

notamermaid

 

[Canal archive]

In France in my late teens touring we stopped to ask for directions and I was spat at by an elderly lady, this was seen by a Gendarme and he apologised to us and said she had been a collaborator. It has always been interesting chatting to young east European Scouts from ex communist countries some of their stories make your hair curl. Although some of the most interesting has been chatting about family war experiences with my husband’s German work colleagues.

[notamermaid]

A friend of mine had an unpleasant incident in Paris many years ago. The old gentleman was really annoyed with her - we assumed he had a flashback of bad memories with Germans. It was weird for us youngsters. To be honest, there are a couple of people of the Allied Forces that is better that I have never met them, you know, some things hurt. But passing time helps. The capture of the bridge at Remagen is seen as a shortening of the war and reduced misery as a consequence. Generally speaking the American Forces are held in good esteem and I see no reasons to try and hide why you are visiting Remagen and look at the plaques or other places you may visit.

Do check out the plaques at the bridge head in this short video of travellers on the MS Grace: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Euq_5qa5jeU

 

 

notamermaid

 

[Host Jazzbeau]

I was studying in France in 1967, when DeGaulle was pulling France away from the Pax Americana and the French students our age were attacking us over Vietnam.  At one point a friend and I hitchhiked to Basel (to say we had been in Switzerland).  We were picked up by an older couple in a Citroen DS21 Pallas (the most expensive car in France at the time) and when they learned we were Americans we got the entire history of WWII featuring the Americans as saviors!  They gave us their visiting card and said if we were ever in Strasbourg they would take us to dinner.  That was a very pleasant surprise and a lasting memory that France isn't Paris and no generation speaks for an entire country.