High Water!

[Trig2018]

I know this is premature but with all the low water problems currently on the Danube, I have a question regarding high water. We are going from Passau to Budapest via Bratislava next April and I wondered if anyone knows how many bridges that route involves?  This will be our first river cruise and I'm getting a bit paranoid!

[TravelerThom]

Passau is at approximately Km 2230 of the Danube and Budapest is at Km 1646. There are way more bridges than I wish to count, but https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_crossings_of_the_Danube

has what is supposed to be a complete list of them.

 

i have done all of this route, some of it three times. I don’t recall any bridges that were low enough to require closing the sun deck (versus say the Main River were the sun deck is closed much of the time, or the notorious bridge in Lyon which often closes access to the Soane during high water). 

[Trig2018]

Thank you for putting my mind at rest.

[jklc123]

We were on that route in late May 2010 and had to leave Durnstein earlier than planned due to rising water and concern about getting under certain bridges. We saw campers packing up along the shore and woke up in Bratislava (not on the itinerary at that time) instead of Vienna, and were bused to Vienna for just one day there while the Beatrice proceeded downriver. We met her and sailed on to Budapest where an extra day and more excursions were added. This was our first river cruise and we were hooked! We did learn about out being flexible due to Mother Nature. We had missed ports entirely on two ocean cruises due to bad weather so it wasn't a new concept. Now we, too, are watching water levels as we are booked on the SS Maria Theresa in late December.

[jklc123]

Trig -- I guess my post doesn't put your mind at rest!

 

[Trig2018]

Actually, you pointing out the times ocean cruises miss ports is a valid point.  It's happened to us more than once when you are at a tender only port and its too rough for the tenders. Also we missed Catalina Island once due to dense fog.  So I do feel better about unexpected things happening on a river cruise. Hopefully we'll be ok.....

[G.M.T.]

5 hours ago, Trig2018 said:

I know this is premature but with all the low water problems currently on the Danube, I have a question regarding high water. We are going from Passau to Budapest via Bratislava next April and I wondered if anyone knows how many bridges that route involves?  This will be our first river cruise and I'm getting a bit paranoid!

It's  not the number of bridges that would be a problem, it is the actual clearance  that one should be paranoid about.

[Trig2018]

I do realise that.  I just wondered how much of a problem it may be as compared to the low water situation at the moment.

[G.M.T.]

25 minutes ago, Trig2018 said:

I do realise that.  I just wondered how much of a problem it may be as compared to the low water situation at the moment.

It's high tide in Passau, little room under the bridges:

 

 

[Trig2018]

Thanks for the reassurance.

[TravelerThom]

On 10/19/2018 at 4:44 PM, Trig2018 said:

I do realise that.  I just wondered how much of a problem it may be as compared to the low water situation at the moment.

High water need not impede your trip as shown by these photos from 1979.

http://nowthatsnifty.blogspot.com/2010/06/tow-boat-sucked-under-bridge-survives.html

 

Tow Boat Sucked Under a Bridge - Survives

 

These are real pictures of an incident that took place at Rooseter Bridge on the Tombigbee River in southwest Alabama in 1979. The photos were taken by a photographer for the Linden Democrat-Reporter.

Scenario plays out like this. The captain was dropping 2 of his 4 barges through the east span of the Rooster Bridge, with the intent of running around through the lift span, and then catching the barges below. The captain underestimated the current and got too close the the bridge. He wasn't able to avoid a collision. Through a series of complicated events (read about them here), he was turned sideways, sucked under the bridge, and popped out and righted on the other side, with the boat still running. He was even able to meet up the the barges he had already sent through.

 

Don’t try this at home!