Rhine water levels 2024 and similar topics

[RDVIK2016]

13 hours ago, notamermaid said:

Linz is another large harbour on the Danube. I had expected to see a few ships on the Lower Main. But I can spot no large river cruise ships at Frankfurt Osthafen, Offenbach or Hanau.

 

notamermaid

 

Viking has about 20 boats docked at Freudenau on the downstream side of Vienna. 

[notamermaid]

The snow is disappearing fast and the water levels are rising. So Maxau gauge will return to official flooding level but this is as of now not a big deal, just vigilance. Kaub gauge forecast has changed for the better and it now says that the Rhine Gorge may stay below navigational flood mark I. It is raining and it is one of those grey, boring days that just cannot lift your spirits.

 

notamermaid

 

[notamermaid]

The rain and rising levels do not cause us much concern around here in Germany but the Netherlands are not as relaxed as we are. This article explains the situation, not dire, but not so pleasant:

https://nltimes.nl/2024/01/16/another-high-water-wave-expected-major-dutch-rivers-later-month

 

The Maas is part of the problem. Fortunately at least, the rivers joining the Rhine North of Cologne from the East have got rid most of their flooding, so the impact from them (and others entering the Netherlands further North beyond the Rhine) is reduced.

 

It is early in the year but excitement is growing with me about the new ships - I see headlines and articles - coming to the Rhine and its tributaries this year. We will come back to that. We really need to talk about Carnival ("really? - yes!") 😁🥳🤡.

 

But first we should have some fun with dolphins...

 

notamermaid

 

[notamermaid]

We have had strong winds in the Rhine valley over night, part of the weather that is battling the British Isles and causing problems in the Netherlands. All in all, we are not affected by storms that much in the valley but we can get hurricane-force winds occasionally. For this afternoon and evening, storm warnings are now in place for much of Germany and most of Rhineland-Palatinate is on level 2 (of 4). Strongest storms will hit the Swabian Alps and parts of the Black Forest (level 3). Not a good day for an excursion into the forests. Level 4 is hardly reached, I think I only saw it once briefly last year (not in my area).

 

This is the map I usually consult: https://www.dwd.de/EN/weather/warnings/warnings_node.html

 

River cruise ships are designed to a safety standard that also includes enduring strong winds (I do not know details) and are normally fine. Problems can arise though and those mainly concern currents coupled with wind directions when going under bridges. A heavy storm with a sudden gust of wind hitting sideways can push a river cruise ship. Something we all know from steering a vehicle in a storm.

 

notamermaid

 

 

 

[notamermaid]

The storms have passed, the river levels are okay in Germany so before I get to the dolphins (and the nerdy language stuff) here is a vlog in English by a guy who does both German and English youtube videos - really convenient. He travelled on the paddlewheeler Goethe through the Rhine Gorge. Nice to see some footage from inside the ship, too: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cvi--QMOENQ

And he talks about the river cruise ships he saw along the way!

 

notamermaid

 

 

 

[notamermaid]

So what is it like, river cruising in winter? Cruisecritic went on the early January cruise with Viking on the Rhine: https://www.cruisecritic.co.uk/articles/a-viking-rhine-river-cruise-in-winter?stay=1&posfrom=1

 

notamermaid

 

 

[Novakc]

Thanks for posting this link. The article did a good job of reaffirming my decision to take the "Treasures of the Rhine" cruise. I have been watching the weather from Basel to Amsterdam and I found it much warmer than what we are having.  I still plan to bring my thermal underwear just in case especially for the long walking tours.  We did the "Elegant Elbe" last year in early March and once again, it was warmer than at home. We after definitely looking forward to this trip that I am sure will be memorable.  Yours, Claudia    

[notamermaid]

On 1/27/2024 at 12:09 AM, Novakc said:

The article did a good job of reaffirming my decision to take the "Treasures of the Rhine" cruise.

I find the article very informative and well written. One of the draws of cruising in winter really is the fact that you have some places "by yourself" with fewer tourists and hardly any to no river cruise tourists apart from your fellow travellers. I agree with the author there.

 

Today the Viva One is in Linz, which is between Koblenz and Bonn. That is one of the few ships sailing and the itineraries vary so they are unlikely to be with you in port, i.e. German ships do go to additional ports that international cruise lines do not have as favourites.

 

On a winter rive cruise you need to be prepared for the weather and flooding more than during other seasons. If one is fine with that it can be great.

 

I am sure you will have a great time.

 

A brief note on water levels. They are at a normal winter high but going down. It is not clear yet how February will progress but for the coming week we will have little precipitation and the levels will go down further. That will be a good baseline for when the levels do rise - inevitably - at some point in February or latest March.

 

notamermaid

 

[notamermaid]

A bit of other news from the valley. At Koblenz an unusual accident occurred. A work boat, one that is used at construction sites along the river, capsized. The crew were saved. And the smallest Viking ship has been busy again - I spotted her - sailing steel constructions along the river. It is the Viking Orvar, a tug boat that belongs to Viking.

 

Staying in Koblenz, sad news is coming from the brewery. It is closing down tomorrow as no investment firm could be found to take the company over. If you happen to know Mr. Anhäuser or Mr. Bush, or  otherwise a beer fan with lots of money to spare, hurry...

 

Near Koblenz, farmers' protests continued with a meeting in Neuwied and a slow protest ride over the bridge there. It must have looked quite unusual from the barges and tankers passing under it. It looks as if the protests will continue so there is a chance (or risk, depending) that the few river cruise passengers will be affected in a minor way, like due to road blocks or demonstrations in towns. Especially as the French farmers have kind of joined in. Still, it looks well organized and not too chaotic.

 

Even less impact we can expect from the river itself. The levels along the river are still going down, so from those base lines - partly around the long-term mean even - there is a lot of room for water.

 

notamermaid

 

 

[Host Jazzbeau]

2 hours ago, notamermaid said:

Staying in Koblenz, sad news is coming from the brewery. It is closing down tomorrow as no investment firm could be found to take the company over. If you happen to know Mr. Anhäuser or Mr. Bush, or  otherwise a beer fan with lots of money to spare, hurry...

Be careful what you wish for: if they took it over, the first thing they would do is ruin the beer.

[Darwould]

Just a "hello" to notamermaid and the rest following this thread.   We are going on the Scenic Jewel April 10 - 24 from Amsterdam to Basel.  It is our first European River Cruise... and we of course are wondering about the river levels, amongst other things... One thing for sure is we will find out during the cruise, like it or not!.   notamermaid... I'm wondering where you live on the river, and why you got interested in continuing to monitor the river levels and post all this useful information?.    Alan (Darwould)

[Canal archive]

Alan this was our second cruise with Scenic and it was in April no water level challenges but Amsterdam was bitterly cold some of their canals were only just off freezing but by the time we approached Basel it was balmy weather so layers of clothing then you can get unpeeled. There are several outstanding points that I remember, if your interested in engineering the Delta works are not to be missed and the Moselle is beautiful. Looking at the itinerary it is somewhat different, I could do the trip again but then Scenic keeps changing things. Enjoy I’m sure you will, say hello to Calgary for me have flown out from there once.

[notamermaid]

8 hours ago, Darwould said:

I'm wondering where you live on the river, and why you got interested in continuing to monitor the river levels and post all this useful information?. 

Hello to you. Call my area the Middle Rhine valley and I would say that Koblenz is part of my "shopping turf".

 

I work in tourism part time, but not the river cruising sector.

 

It all started with a river cruise in 2013 and I had always liked river trips. I went on the Goethe paddle steamer with my grandparents many years ago as a child. Other short trips followed. I kind of started informing people here about river levels and the weather in some posts and the Rhine water level thread was borne out of that as the info was appreciated. Then the Danube and the Elbe followed in subsequent years. 2015 was a bad year and cruisers were eager to find out about the situation on the Rhine so the idea that I would do this stuck, with 2018 being the worst "river cruising year" in history. What can I say, people were highly appreciative of the infos I gave and the fact that all was in respective threads made it easy for people to find and exchange their experiences on the river even on an hourly rate when it got really bad. Decision making processes for sailing or not sailing, e-mails, announcements by the captains... But also the fun stuff.

 

So, it all stuck and it is still enormous fun to talk to people. 🙂

 

Have a great cruise.

 

notamermaid

 

Edited January 31 by notamermaid

[notamermaid]

11 hours ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

Be careful what you wish for: if they took it over, the first thing they would do is ruin the beer.

Is it that bad? Well they would have a hard time ruining it, what stands between us and them is the Reinheitsgebot, the German bulwark of a purity law, jawoll!! Keep our beer clean.

 

I would more see the problem on the marketing or economics side, i.e. the ruin...

 

 

Good news comes from Iffezheim. The lock gate repairs have started.

 

notamermaid

 

[sharkster77]

4 hours ago, notamermaid said:

Is it that bad? Well they would have a hard time ruining it, what stands between us and them is the Reinheitsgebot, the German bulwark of a purity law, jawoll!! Keep our beer clean.

 

I would more see the problem on the marketing or economics side, i.e. the ruin...

 

 

Good news comes from Iffezheim. The lock gate repairs have started.

 

notamermaid

 

Oh yes, once you taste the various craft brews now available in the US, you wonder why you drank Budweiser et al.  A late dear friend of mine was taken to a craft beer fair by his son, and his conclusion at the end was, to paraphrase "why have I wasted my time drinking the $#!! my father and uncles drank!"  Here in New England we have lots of Sam Adams, which is mass produced but infinitely better than Budweiser, Miller, etc., etc.

[notamermaid]

Okay, if Sam Adams has some money in the kitty, perhaps he could, I mean while the butts are still in the yard and the copper is still warm...

 

Oh, and: Personenschiffahrt Merkelbach in Koblenz ceased to operate their business at the end of 2023. The ship " MS Deutsches Eck" is currently in nearby Vallendar, not sure what will happen to it.

 

notamermaid

 

[RDVIK2016]

14 hours ago, notamermaid said:

Is it that bad? Well they would have a hard time ruining it, what stands between us and them is the Reinheitsgebot, the German bulwark of a purity law, jawoll!! Keep our beer clean.

 

.....

 

notamermaid

 

The brewer that sharkster77 mentioned, Sam Adams, back in the 1980's satisfied the Reinheitsgebot with its Boston Lager and could sell it in Germany. The owner and founding brewer, Jim Koch, has since criticized the purity law as a kind of "artistic censorship" of brewers. I don't think the current label of Boston Lager claims that it satisfies the German Reinheitsgebot.

 

Already in the mid 1500's other ingredients other than just barley, hops, and water were permitted until today the Vorläufiges Biergesetz incorporates many changes to the original. It remains the case, though, that very high standards are maintained. Heck, where would even the Bavarians be if they could not have their wheat beer and if we had to depend on placing the brewery next to a bakery to get the benefit of the yeast cells floating around in the air.  As Haidling says "Mir kannst no a Weissbier bringa !"

 

RDVIK

Edited February 1 by RDVIK2016

[RDVIK2016]

Notamermaid,

I have been meaning to ask, if any major cruise lines among those that cater to English speakers includes a visit to the Drachenfels in an itinerary.  It seems like visiting Koenigswinter, a trip up the Drachenfelsbahn, seeing the Drachenfels ruin and/or the Schloss Drachenburg would be very nice.

RDVIK

 

[notamermaid]

8 hours ago, RDVIK2016 said:

Notamermaid,

I have been meaning to ask, if any major cruise lines among those that cater to English speakers includes a visit to the Drachenfels in an itinerary.  It seems like visiting Koenigswinter, a trip up the Drachenfelsbahn, seeing the Drachenfels ruin and/or the Schloss Drachenburg would be very nice.

RDVIK

 

Good question. I talked to a representative of Schloss Drachenburg at the Koblenz tourism fair a few years back and she said that Viking had had the Schloss on an itinerary but stopped. She kind of indicated that companies "rotate" or "change" excursions for a new experience, meaning variety year on year or at least every few years. Which as a side note makes me wonder why Viking sticks to the not-so-much-loved-as-it-is-too-touristy Black Forest excursion...

 

Anyway, yes, the Schloss has been visited, also by Scenic I believe, but I do not know of current itineraries. Perhaps if I get round to it I will ask a lady or a guy from the Schloss if I notice that the enterprise is again having a stall at the fair.

 

This is the Drachenfels hill area: https://www.der-drachenfels.de/

 

For those interested - amazing virtual visit of Schloss Drachenburg online available: https://www.schloss-drachenburg.de/index.php/de/entdecken/virtuelle-schlosstour

 

Drachenfels and Drachenburg are doable excursions from Remagen and Bonn, Cologne being a bit far but still okay, but Königswinter has its own dock so it is easily accessible if a company wishes to make it so.

 

notamermaid

 

 

Edited February 1 by notamermaid
added info about dock

[notamermaid]

It is already February so we will look at what the river did in the first month of this year. But before we get to that, more importantly, let us have a look at what is happening at Maxau gauge. The figure now is 582cm. That is a good level in winter and it will go further down towards the long-term mean. So, Maxau being a good indicator for things to come we can assume that the river's levels will be very good right until 8 February. And the probability chart for Kaub tells us that the Middle Rhine valley should stay below flooding level - here meaning navigational flood mark I - until 12 February.

 

And good news is coming from the biologists. The weather having been so wet in winter the grounds are saturated and the ground water level has risen. Rhineland-Palatinate, generally already a relatively dry state with precipitation below German average, has been too dry in recent years. While the wet conditions have not fully replenished what was lost, animals favouring or even relying on wet ground have been doing well recently. Also the flora typical for these wet grounds has recovered.

 

notamermaid

 

 

[RDVIK2016]

On 2/1/2024 at 5:54 AM, notamermaid said:

 

Drachenfels and Drachenburg are doable excursions from Remagen and Bonn, Cologne being a bit far but still okay, but Königswinter has its own dock so it is easily accessible if a company wishes to make it so.

 

notamermaid

 

 

notamermaid

To call upon the orthographic aspect of your admitted language nerdiness I have a question about how I wrote Königswinter. I had spelled it Koenigswinter. Normally I would have used the umlaut, but my American English keyboard requires me to type ALT 0246, so five key strokes vs. two for oe. I know the orthographic reforms of the 90s were controversial and for a long time thought that the infrequent use of the two-letter combinations was more resistance to the reforms than anything else. I guess I was wrong about that.

RDVIK

[notamermaid]

You got me there... I have not been a fan of the changes and do have a few struggles with them. It is actually an interesting aspect - how to write place names. Koblenz used to be Coblenz for example. At one point or other in time places agree on one single spelling. Then it is fixed. Königswinter is Königswinter always as far as I know. The problems arise in the modern internet world where the umlauts are given a hard time. Also spelling with capitals is a problem of course. KÖNIGSWINTER works but it can get tricky in certain contexts and scripts. The address of the town is this, you see the "problem": https://www.koenigswinter.de/de/touris.html

 

notamermaid

 

 

 

[RDVIK2016]

6 hours ago, notamermaid said:

You got me there... I have not been a fan of the changes and do have a few struggles with them. It is actually an interesting aspect - how to write place names. Koblenz used to be Coblenz for example. At one point or other in time places agree on one single spelling. Then it is fixed. Königswinter is Königswinter always as far as I know. The problems arise in the modern internet world where the umlauts are given a hard time. Also spelling with capitals is a problem of course. KÖNIGSWINTER works but it can get tricky in certain contexts and scripts. The address of the town is this, you see the "problem": https://www.koenigswinter.de/de/touris.html

 

notamermaid

Thank you! You reminded me that I have seen that URL issue elsewhere, e.g. bad-koetzting.de for Bad Kötzting in my old stomping grounds. One place name I have thought curious was Flossenbürg which seems never to be written with "ß" but always with "ü", and now that you mentioned it I looked and they do use the "ue" in their internet address. (hadn't registered with me before) It was a quasi-pilgrimage for me to go to the KZ Flossenbürg site because it was the site of the execution of Pfarrer Dietrich Bonhoeffer (by the way - always "oe" and not "ö"). And they say that (daß/dass) German is easy to spell correctly. *grins*

RDVIK
 

[notamermaid]

It is February, time to have a look at how the river did in January. In high water, which we have had recently, Maxau is an important marker and usually the place that is among the first to get to flooding status and when the level rises further to have a river traffic ban announced for the stretch of river it lies in. That is around Karlsruhe.

 

Maxau gauge:

 

We see the river being high, shown by the level crossing the M_I line (navigational flooding level I). The middle of the month shows a brief drop close to the mean. No river traffic ban. Kaub in the Rhine Gorge is the bottleneck in low water.

 

Kaub gauge:

 

You see that the second peak is much lower. This can happen when the rivers joining between Karlsruhe and Bingen do not carry a high volume of water. Overall, the river was high but without causing problems of note for river traffic.

 

Basically, plain sailing for the few river cruise ships that are now on the river.

 

notamermaid

 

 

 

 

[notamermaid]

@RDVIK2016 I have been to the tourism fair. Unfortunately, Schloss Drachenburg did not have a stall. CroisiEurope (the agent) where there, as expected. But I also saw several catalogues and offers of other river cruise companies courtesy of a regional travel agent.

 

More on my afternoon in Koblenz another time.

 

notamermaid