notamermaid

As we are talking about Vienna: there may be more obvious sights that you are likely going to look at while in the city. But why not check out the zoo? It has an interesting history and a fabulous setting with some beautiful architecture. Here is a documentary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zj18gj6cksk&list=PLAocIS-jUf43o_1sY5kyJu4KfaV9Km9bo&index=85 notamermaid

There is some really nice footage in this. I did not know just how many wine cellar are in Traben-Trarbach! I have been into four. One of the things they cover in the narration is the replica of the wine ship found carved as a tombstone for a Roman wine merchant. Found at Neumagen-Dhron they called it Stella Noviomagi. Noviomagus Treverorum is the Latin name of the town. You can book a seat for one of the sailings or even hire the entire ship. Website in German only unfortunately: https://www.neumagen-dhron.de/weinschiff-stella-noviomagi/ notamermaid

Thank you for your kind words. 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

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

Ah, yes, Schnitzel Wiener Art is also made with chicken. A small restaurant nearby where I live offers that. Turkey I guess works also but I assume it could get a bit dry. Still, a good chef can do wonders... The tourism website suggests trying these: https://www.austria.info/en/things-to-do/food-and-drink/top-austrian-dishes I like Linzer Torte, have actually never tried the Knödel. I absolutely loved the apple strudel the pastry chef made on my river cruise. Baked to perfection, not too sweet, with a light vanilla sauce. My favourite dessert on the cruise. notamermaid

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

River levels. The level at Maxau did stay below 600cm. The level at Kaub went to 314cm and is now stable. All good. A bit exciting: will it snow in my state tomorrow? We had a bit of hail yesterday and it is cold for this time of year for sure. No snow in the valleys but we may see a bit in the Eifel region. Snow guaranteed in North Rhine-Westphalia. The state has - perhaps surprisingly - fairly high mountains. They are a nearly two hour drive from Cologne. There is snow in the South of Germany of course, in the mountainous parts of the Black Forest. notamermaid

Have a great cruise. Quiet a few sweet delicacies to try along the Danube, especially in Austria. Whereas Sachertorte originates from Vienna, nobody knows for sure who invented the Donauwelle. In Vienna, Wiener Schnitzel is a must. Food nerd fact, but an important one: "Wiener Schnitzel" is made with veal whereas "Schnitzel Wiener Art" is made with pork. It has to be made clear in a restaurant menu which you are getting, veal or pork. notamermaid

On Sunday I had a trip out into the Eifel region. A cold day, but the reward was some lovely cake and - a reminder of a special day in local history. If old machinery, technical details and history is your thing then mark "Day of Mills" in your calendar for your river cruise or land trip. More on that soon. notamermaid

The Ems is a river that like most starts with a tiny whole. Here the stream just a few hundred metres from its source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ems_(river)#/media/File:Ems_nahe_Quelle.jpg River cruise ships can sail on the Ems, but that is only possible since modern man has altered the river. For the transport of the ocean ships the river is artificially dammed so much that ships of a draft of up to 8.50m can use it. This thing does it: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emssperrwerk#/media/Datei:Flug_Leer_nach_Emden_2010_252.JPG Would love to see that - flat land, sheep, all quiet and then this massive monster of a ship is coming past. notamermaid

Making waves - Danube waves Okay, one wave actually. The Donauwelle is a cake with a wavy pattern and containing cherries. Have a look at the photo and try it when you are sailing on the river if you like: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donauwelle Of course you could bake it yourself, there are recipes on youtube with full instructions. notamermaid

I use this map: https://www.pegelonline.wsv.de/gast/karte/standard and via this website you can get to the countries you need: https://www.doris.bmk.gv.at/en/fairway-information/water-levels/international-water-levels Hope this helps. Have a great cruise. notamermaid

From Romantic poets to modern day infrastructure. We have talked about it before, but here is a short bit of info on the next stage of repairs at Iffezheim lock. Last year a gate was hit by a ship, check the footage in the video in this article. The engineer is using his little 100g hammer he says to hear the difference in sound in the concrete which occurs when there is damage. Currently the chamber is dry so they are doing all kinds of maintenance including dismantling the gate chains. Fortunately they have suffered only little damage. Work is on schedule and the chamber ready in November. https://www.swr.de/swraktuell/baden-wuerttemberg/karlsruhe/rhein-schleuse-iffezheim-reparatur-schiff-unfall-100.html notamermaid

It is cold in Germany with the clouds bringing rain from the Baltic. A return of snow brought by "Väterchen Frost" from the Baltic (and Russia). This so far has not made the river rise, most of the rain has stayed over the Rhine while the snow is retained in the Vosges mountains. These will then drain their water mostly into the Moselle when the temperatures rise. Here is a webcam of Metz, the square at the Cathedral: https://metz.fr/decouvrir-partager/webcams/place_armes.php notamermaid

It has been a cold day with gusts of wind and rain, a mix of sunshine and clouds. But the air was clear and visibility good which of course is good for taking photographs. Snow may return to my state on Wednesday but only to the high hills. It snowed this morning in the Eifel region which has mountains of over 600m. The Hunsrück, that is South of the Moselle and West of the Rhine, contains the highest mountain in Rhineland-Palatinate with 816m. It has also snowed in the Vosges mountains which you can see from Strasbourg and Colmar. The highest summit is the Grand Ballon with 1,424m. notamermaid