AnhaltER1960

Thanks for the update. However, Viking has removed the Elbe from it's webpage for the past couple weeks.

Now back on. However, it was a surprise they removed that warning at all. They had it on for weeks, wehen they still could sail, but didnt flag when all ships were grounded.

It is "Rien ne vas plus" on the Elbe right now. Viking were the last ones to sail, as they heve two ships in the Elbe, who do not leave the river and therefor can avoid some really shallow parts around Magdeburg. The Elbe Princesse, who did not complete her sailing on the Elbe in June, will certainly have difficulies towards the end of the month, when she is scheduled to sail the Elbe again.

If only I had bought more than one pair of Luther socks!

You can get them on the internet. Simply to google.

 

I see that shorts are not option for dinner and just read a articles that Europeans don,t wear shorts (https://www.ricksteves.com/travel-tips/packing-light/packing-tips-clothes) (https://adventureswithsarah.net/packing-shorts-europe/)

I do not know, when Mr. Steves last spent some time in a pedestrian zone of a German city on a warm summer day. However, shorts or hot pants became increasingly popular in the last two or three years, esp. women u30 are wearing them.

They still are not appropriate attire to visit a church. But apart from that - you would not be the only one wearing them in town.

With water levels currently and probably for the next 10/14 days no issue, at least for the viking ships on the Elbe (still not sure, what the Elbe Princesse is doing), it is time to look at some cultural events.

On Saturday, June 30th there will be a night of museums in Dresden. All Dresden museums will be open from 6 pm until 1 am Sunday morning. There will be special events in the museums (often live music, interactive programmes etc.) and special bus shuttles serving all venues. More infos here https://museumsnacht.dresden.de/de/foreign-visitors.php

We leave in a week and received "final" documents from our TA today.

No mention in the email or on My Viking about any changes.

I'm hoping for the best regarding water level!

@ HokiePoq, as your trip is (almost) over now, of course we are curious, how your cruise went on. I hope you could enjoy it.

We were on the Idi on the Rhine from May 9-16 and did not encounter any water level issues. It was a wonderful trip. Enjoy!

Did an easy bet. Even Viking have removed their warning of low waters of the Elbe from their website.

Again this shows, how volatile river levels and certainly the Elbe can be. I wish all Elbe cruisers a pleasant journey. The lower temperatures for the time being will also make city tours more conveniant.

Another wave coming down the Elbe, which now just has reached Dresden. Apparently there was some rainfall in the Czech Republic.

@ Vinelvr (if you can read that): I dare the forecast, that you will be sailing, at least most of the planned route. Enjoy the trip.

We are taking the June 12th Elbe river cruise with Viking. We have been advised that the river is low and we may not be sailing. They will bus us from docked ship to docked ship if necessary. They have not cancelled the trip.

Which way are you travelling ? Pague - Berlin on the Astrild or Berlin - Prague on the Beyla ?

Only looking at the Dresden readings comes too short. The had been rainfall in Bohemia last night, lifting the water table at Decin and Schöna (Czech-German border) by almost 2 feet within the last 12 hrs. Depending on further rainfall it might be yet again only a short peak, which will reach Dresden tonight and early morning tomorrow. There also has been some rainfall in Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt, keeping the water levels there stable, however still fairly low.

This week Viking ships are cruising almost as normal. The Viking Beyla has started cruising in Bad Schandau downriver to reach Wittenberg on Wednesday (so missing out only a couple of miles between Decin and Bad Schandau from the standard itinerary). The Viking Astrild today left Wittenberg upriver for Dresden with the option to sail beyond Dresden still open.

I am not aware how the Elbe Pricesse is doing this week, as she has an Elbe cruise on the plan this and/or next week.

Hard to predict. April and much of May had been far too dry, bringing the water table down to a critical level. Heavy rainfalls in the Czech republic last weekend rose the water table by three feet (!) within hours. But that was not sustainable, with the water table coming back down after three days.

You can see this in the graphs http://www.dessauwetter.de/dw/de_pegel_2013 ,showing the water levels at several stations from Schöna on the German-Czech border downriver at Dresden, Riesa and so on until Magdeburg. There you see this peak making its way down. [Please note, the graphs in this link are updated permanently, so you can see the described situation only for the next weeks].

From what I can say, Viking ships had been cruising between Dresden and Wittenberg. However, sailing between Dresden and Decin was suspended on some cruises. The decision to sail beyond Dresden is usually postponed to the last minute; they might even not know how far they can sail upriver, when they leave Wittenberg. There had been more rainfalls in the region in the last two days and more in the forecast. But they come as thunderstorms, so very locally and it is not clear, how much they will affect the water table of the Elbe. With some chance, the water levels will at least not fall for the next one or two weeks, thus leaving the navigation situation unchanged.

Viking has two ships on the Elbe, Astrild and Beyla and they do move as described. CroisiEurope sail Elbe plus some canals, eg. to Berlin and they have difficulties to get into the Elbe near Magdeburg, must be some shallow bits there. The last sailing of the Elbe Princesse II from Prague turned into some bussing with the Elbe Princesse picking up the party at Wittenberg to allow at least some sailing towards Berlin.

Question on tipping,

For bus drivers and guide host are American dollars acceptable?? Any info on tipping would be greatly appreciated....

By tipping you show your appreciation of a service delivered. To show courtesy to the serviceperson, of course first choice is to use the local currency (at least in a hard-currency country like the Eurozone). However, I never saw anybody rejecting USD.

Wittenberg will be celebrating "Luther's Wedding" on the second weekend in June, commemorating the wedding between Martin Luther and Katharina von Bora in 1525. That is is year the weekend from June 8th to 10th. It is one of the largest public festivities in Germany with an attendance of around 100.000 people during the weekend. Parades in historical costumes, medieval music, markets, plenty to see, taste, smell, hear.

Sauer-kraut, can we expect to buy tix on the spot or should we prepurchase? After finding my preferred route/time, I don't see a button saying "purchase." Do I have to register under My Bahn to buy tix online?

Ritaly, I'll report back after our June 4 adventure!

You can buy tickets for regional trains as well on the spot - there is no advantage in buying them beforehand. Price does not vary and they do not sell out. There are vending machines, which also "speak" english as well as staffed counters on the bigger stations (but allow some time, as there can be waiting lines).

Fare is 14,50 Euro one way, 27,80 Euro return for one pax. If travelling with 2 or more people, it will be the "Schleswig-Holstein-Ticket" at 29 Euro plus 3 Euro for additional travellers (Mo-Fr from 0900 hrs, weekend all day).

To buy tickets online you have to register beforehand with credit card or other means of payment.

Some rainfall in Saxony and the Czech Republic yesterday with some more predicted might help to ease the situation a bit. At least the Viking Beyla today in Wittenberg set sails for her upriver cruise as planned. Elbe Princesse apparently chose to stay in the safe waters of the Elbe-Havel Canal near Magdeburg and not to proceed into the Elbe. Still hope that all passengers will have a decent cruise, and sorry for the weather, but the rain is essential now.

Lack of rain in the area has brought the Elbe water levels down to a degree, which will be affecting (or even does by now) cruises on the Elbe.

First ship, which had to rearrange their schedule was the MS Johannes Brahms, thought also with 120 cm having the deepest draft. But now also Viking warns that their cruises started May 13th and starting May 18th with both ships Astrild and Beyla will be affected by low water levels (https://www.vikingrivercruises.com/my-trip/current-sailings/index.html#noscroll ). Also the Elbe Princesse is currently not sailing the Elbe as scheduled.

Needs some rain in Bohemia soon, it is a bit early in the year to have these low water levels.

Another option is the Göta Canal in Sweden, connecting Gothenburg and Stockholm. Vintags cruise ships, the youngest of the fleet being 85 yrs old,

https://www.gotacanal.se/en/cruises/grand-sweden-cruise/

Since this year is the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation...

Martin Luther posted his 95 theses October 31st 1517, so the big anniversary was last year.

The cruise companies on the Elbe have sufficient experience on low water levels now and either dont sail at all in the critical months like Saga/Johannes Brahms or CroisiEurope/Elbe Princess or place their ships strategically that they can be used as hotel ships like Viking does with the ships staying in port and only the passengers moving. So no issue with hotel capacities.

Water levels of the Elbe have been well in the comfort zone so far this year. Meaning that all schedules cuises took place as planned and probably will do in the near future.

The Viking Beyla has completed her downriver cruise arriving in Wittenberg yesterday, doing the full cruise as scheduled. Same with the Viking Astrild a couple of days earlier.

So, despite relatively low water levels, cruising on the Elbe was well possible and looks like to be in the upcoming weeks, considering the recent rainfalls.

Nicely situated on a hill overlooking the harbour is Ekebergsrestauranten, easy to reach by tram from the city center. It has made it to wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ekebergrestauranten .The views are spectacular.

At Aker Brygge there is on the shoreline to the harbor the fish restaurant Lofoten, popular with locals and visitors alike, walking distance from the city hall. Both places are not cheap, but that is nothing in Norway.

There are only standard locks on the Rhine, no lift locks. Hub is roundabout 10 mtrs, some a bit more.

In fact, the Rhine is spectacular in the Middle Rhine Valley between Mainz and Koblenz, ok, until Bonn. This is one day out of four/five days with the other parts pretty boring canal or behind dykes.

More interesting are

* Danube

* Douro

* Elbe.

But as far as landscape is concerned, look out for combined cruises on the Main, Rhine ans Moselle, as they take in the Middle Rhine valley and mountaneous terrain, often with vineyards, plenty of castles ans picturesque villages on the banks of the Main and Moselle. Cruises typically go from Nuremberg to Trier or Luxemburg.

I would appreciate if ihose who raised concerns before their cruise wold kindly give feedback, how (or if) their cruise was affected in the end. This could also help to jugde, which water levels really do the cut.

For the time being I do not see hazards for the upcoming cruises as the water levels look stable and there is the occasional rainfall in the area.

With water levels low, but stable and finally some rainfall in Saxony and Boehmia on this Thursday and more expected the next days, things are looking better on the Elbe. The Astrild has left Wittenberg sailing upriver, also the Beyla is moving and heading towards Wittenberg (though I dont know, if she started at Decin -which would be the regular schedule- or further downriver).

Dr. Millmoss must be in the country by now. I wonder how they are getting on.

 

notamermaid

From what I read in #60, the journey Dr Millmoss had booked, starts today (Aug 27th). Start is in Prague. First sailing would be from Decin to Dresden on Day 4 of the journey, that is next Wednesday (30th). Sailing is scheduled to end in Wittenberg Sat., Sep 2nd.

With the current water leves, dry weather in the region, I dare to predict, there wont be much sailing on the river. But lets see.

I have seen guests on Viking ships using a scooter. Bord crew incl the PD as well as the bus drivers have been helpful in assisting. They even used the ships crane to move the scooter ashore/aboard. It certainjy depends on the mobility of the passenger, how they can move aboard. The gangway to the ship is tricky, as they can be steep. Also they are narrow, not allowing two people walking next to each other, so assistance can be given only from behind or from the front. Scooters wont do the gangways anyway.