Rhine water levels 2019 and similar topics

[notamermaid]

Hello HoneyJan,

That is interesting. Are you going on a short Christmas market cruise that is only on the Main?

 

Busy weekend ahead at work for me, if I could get another vote for a thread on  the Main over the weekend, I think I could be persuaded to start it on Monday ☺️ .

 

River figures looking pleasant this morning. In reaction to rain Maxau could get close to the mark l again, currently it is not forecast to reach it, in the graph peaking just below it.

 

notamermaid

 

[jpalbny]

I'd be happy to read more about the Main. Along that river, we have visited Frankfurt-am-Main, Mainz, and Würzburg and enjoyed all of them. We have also been to Bamberg (close to the Main but not quite).

 

So, the Main holds nice memories for us - in fact, my profile picture is Chris and me on the Alte Mainbrücke in Würzburg! Consider this a confirmation vote.

[HoneyJan]

Taking Uniworld’s Classic Christmas Markets which begins in Frankfurt and ends in Nuremberg! 

[notamermaid]

4 hours ago, HoneyJan said:

Taking Uniworld’s Classic Christmas Markets which begins in Frankfurt and ends in Nuremberg! 

That sounds really good. I like Frankfurt Christmas market and the museums in Frankfurt are amazing. Ending in Nuremberg with a meal of Nürnberger Bratwürste, would love to do that. I could just get the train back home the following day. Oh, oh, I am already planning! Better get ready for work.

See you all later. (Dashes away).

 

notamermaid

 

[daveil]

Notamermaid,

 

What is the European press reporting on the collision on the Danube?  It would seem to me that common sense has the Viking cruise ship (3 to 4 times bigger than the tour boat) having the nautical right of way on the river given the smaller ship's greater maneuverability.  The initial report I read had the tour boat turning in front of the Viking ship but now they've detained the Viking Captain.

[dqueenbay]

jpalbny we loved our trip on the Main, last year on our Amsterdam to Budapest tour. It was so lovely and quiet, and we loved all the 'berg' towns, including Wurtzberg and Bamberg, along the way. Would love to go back someday!

 

[notamermaid]

What a week it has been. Too much tragedy on the rivers.

 

Not intending to add insult to serious injury, but I had to stay longer at the office today due to a leak in the air conditioning hence I am a little late replying. I work in tourism which involves Sunday office work and I thought: "heat is no problem today for me, I have got the luxury of air conditioning". Just my luck, it was faulty today. 🙁 I got home - hot and annoyed - only to read of the Venice accident involving the River Countess. That immediately put my own petty little problems into the right perspective.

 

In the news along the Rhine is the tragedy of a small inflatable boat capsizing near Strasbourg and three people drowning, one of them a six-year-old girl and a person trying to rescue those in the water. One adult from the boat survived. A four-year-old girl is still missing. Disbelief, not just with me, but those who know "their" river. How can one be so irresponsible and take children in a boat on this mighty river? Another person drowned near Düsseldorf a couple of days ago.

 

Temperatures today by the way exceeded 30 degrees Celsius in quite a few places along the Rhine, in Rhineland-Palatinate Koblenz topped the list with 32.2 degrees. Tomorrow will be hot and sultry with downpours later in the day.

 

16 hours ago, daveil said:

Notamermaid,

 

What is the European press reporting on the collision on the Danube?  It would seem to me that common sense has the Viking cruise ship (3 to 4 times bigger than the tour boat) having the nautical right of way on the river given the smaller ship's greater maneuverability.  The initial report I read had the tour boat turning in front of the Viking ship but now they've detained the Viking Captain.

 

daveil,

 

shock and bewilderment. People wondering how safe excursion boats are. Captains being puzzled as to what might have gone wrong with all the modern equipment, communication and digital help. Discussions about mass tourism on the rivers.

 

steamboats has already posted quite a bit in the respective thread and I have added a German article. One more to follow from me with a bit more time.

 

Oh, nearly forgot: river levels all in normal range. At least a bit of good news...

 

Have a good week everyone.

 

notamermaid

 

[notamermaid]

It is hot. Currently, a place in Saxony-Anhalt is topping the temperature list with 34.6 degrees. The afternoon is not over yet... Thunderstorms are inevitable and hit parts of Germany last night. There was even a tornado in Bocholt, a town North East of the lower Rhine area! Typical damage of roof tiles flying about and also a car. Just one woman with minor injuries, luckily.

 

Very sadly, the body of the four-year-old girl in the inflatable boat accident has been recovered from the water. The death toll of river accidents has risen.

 

With the rising temperatures more and more people will be swimming in the Rhine again. The authorities have issued warnings. There are some safe spots and in Basel especially cooling down in the river has become popular, but caution is always a good idea. This river is never tranquil.

 

Well, apart from in the old meanders and adjoining flat muddy areas that is. This is where the mosquitoes breed. There is an organisation that keeps the population low with a biological agent. They also use three helicopters to spray the area, but two of their helicopters were unusable in May, so now they say that the mosquitoes will be greater in numbers this year.

 

notamermaid

 

[sbjornda]

5 hours ago, notamermaid said:

so now they say that the mosquitoes will be greater in numbers this year.

 

Do Rhine mosquitoes carry any diseases to worry about? Here in Saskatchewan we have a growing concern with West Nile Virus; in neighbouring Manitoba there is also long established Western Equine Encephalitis. Just wondering if we should be bringing insect repellent with us. The last cruse, Amsterdam to Budapest, we barely ever laid eyes on a flying insect, and no mosquitoes. The upcoming cruise is Amsterdam to Basel with side trips down the Maas and Mosel, departing July 31st.

 

Thanks,

Sterling

 

[notamermaid]

Not that I know of, although they do say that a new type has come to Germany, called Asian tiger mosquito. They are still rare and carry a virus. Our native mosquitoes are fairly benign. If you are worried, bring some insect repellent. One can get inflammation around the bite, but that does not happen that often. Depends on the individual really. More of a concern are ticks that can carry diseases. They are not near the water and cannot fly, they are normally at knee to head height on branches in forests and in long grass.

 

notamermaid

 

[daveil]

30 days before our cruise and I hope the Rhine water levels and weather forecast will be good!  Would rather not deal with mosquito's as they've been a pest here in the Chicago area the last few days after all the Spring rain we've had.

[sawtooth]

We are on the last full day of our cruise from Amsterdam to Basel.

We are docked in Breisich and will not be going to Basel by boat.  They will take us by bus tomorrow.

The water level is too high to make it safely under the low bridges.  

The new boarding passengers will be bussing from Basel to board the boat to Amsterdam.

[notamermaid]

15 hours ago, sawtooth said:

We are on the last full day of our cruise from Amsterdam to Basel.

We are docked in Breisich and will not be going to Basel by boat.  They will take us by bus tomorrow.

The water level is too high to make it safely under the low bridges.  

The new boarding passengers will be bussing from Basel to board the boat to Amsterdam.

Sorry to hear that. I have read of the problem with a bridge at Basel several times but I cannot figure out where it could be and if this an old unusually low bridge.

 

Have a safe journey home.

 

notamermaid

 

[daveil]

On Google, I found an image of the Mittlere Brücke, or Middle Bridge in Basel showing it in 2013 with "high flood waters".  I'd assume that bridge was used because it most clearly showed how high the waters were, implying it probably has the least clearance for river traffic.

Edited June 8, 2019 by daveil

[Roland4]

5 hours ago, daveil said:

On Google, I found an image of the Mittlere Brücke, or Middle Bridge in Basel showing it in 2013 with "high flood waters".  I'd assume that bridge was used because it most clearly showed how high the waters were, implying it probably has the least clearance for river traffic.

 

Ran into the same problem on Crystal Bach at the end of a Christmas Markets cruise in December 2017. We had torrential rains all day and when they got to that bridge clearance was iffy. They ballasted the ship and dropped down everything that could be dropped on the Sun Deck (at 4:00 in the morning!!) and just snuck under with, according to the Captain, inches to spare!

[notamermaid]

Thank you, you two. Mittlere Brūcke I have had a look at via the German list of Rhine bridges on Wikipedia. I knew that page to be very comprehensive but now I was able to put this into context with river cruising. It is the old bridge of Basel close to the town centre. When it was rebuilt it was renamed as at the time it was the middle bridge crossing the Rhine. One either side another bridge had been built in the meantime. Its stone arches are a challenge for river traffic.

 

Added: water levels, Maxau 575cm, Kaub 251cm, Koblenz 232cm.

The rain that is forecast will make the river rise further - bad news for the bridge probably - but flooding is not predicted.

 

notamermaid

 

Edited June 9, 2019 by notamermaid
Added information

[sbjornda]

17 hours ago, daveil said:

On Google, I found an image of the Mittlere Brücke, or Middle Bridge in Basel showing it in 2013 with "high flood waters".  I'd assume that bridge was used because it most clearly showed how high the waters were, implying it probably has the least clearance for river traffic.

 

Interesting - when I've been tracking Scenic's ships on that route they appear to dock close to the Three Countries Corner, which is downstream from the Mittlere Brücke. Now I'm curious. Thanks for digging that up.

 

Sterling

 

[notamermaid]

6 minutes ago, sbjornda said:

 

Interesting - when I've been tracking Scenic's ships on that route they appear to dock close to the Three Countries Corner, which is downstream from the Mittlere Brücke. Now I'm curious. Thanks for digging that up.

 

Sterling

 

I must say that my inquisitive mind is wondering about this, too. Basel has also got a relatively new harbour area and I cannot figure out yet who docks where and what the point might be as regards water levels when the part upstream from the bridge is cut off from the other part. Looking forward to learning more from you sailing, now or in the future.

 

notamermaid

 

[jpalbny]

Dreiländereck is definitely downstream from Mittlere Brücke so that bridge should not be the issue. In fact the other docking locations that I found (St. Johannspark and Klybeckquai) are also downstream. There must be another low bridge north of Basel.

[Roland4]

1 hour ago, jpalbny said:

Dreiländereck is definitely downstream from Mittlere Brücke so that bridge should not be the issue. In fact the other docking locations that I found (St. Johannspark and Klybeckquai) are also downstream. There must be another low bridge north of Basel.

 

Speaking to my Better Half about this, she reminds me the Captain said this was actually at the last lock before Basel. It's a good memory, it's just short! Sorry for the confusion!

[notamermaid]

Rain in Switzerland - with a bit of snow melt - and in the Upper Rhine valley has made the river rise. Maxau is now at a level that means river traffic has to go more slowly for safety reasons. A further rise is anticipated during the night and into tomorrow that could take us to mild flooding status.

 

The figures: Maxau 626cm, Kaub 255cm (no problem there), Koblenz 231cm (no problem there either).

 

notamermaid

 

[notamermaid]

21 hours ago, jpalbny said:

Dreiländereck is definitely downstream from Mittlere Brücke so that bridge should not be the issue. In fact the other docking locations that I found (St. Johannspark and Klybeckquai) are also downstream. There must be another low bridge north of Basel.

 

20 hours ago, Roland4 said:

 

Speaking to my Better Half about this, she reminds me the Captain said this was actually at the last lock before Basel. It's a good memory, it's just short! Sorry for the confusion!

Got it now!

Mittlere Brücke is too low for river cruise ships, low ships can pass under it with difficulty. I interpreted it wrongly.

 

Sure must be that bridge further downstream. Thank you both for clarifying this.

 

notamermaid

 

[Fourmiler]

Cautiously optimistic that river levels will be ok for an August 24 Rhine cruise.

[notamermaid]

In the High Rhine region there is a flood warning of level 3 now, level 5 is the highest. This means moderate danger in an area reaching from roughly the city of Chur in Switzerland to the Rhine outlet of Lake Costance (Untersee) near Stein am Rhein. This will result in another wave of water reaching the Upper Rhine valley. Maxau gauge has reached flood (warning) status - which triggers a warning information system for the Rhine - and will stay high. This could mean that ship traffic will be slow until and including 17 June. A river closure is not forecast.

 

The figures: Maxau 659cm, Kaub 274cm, Koblenz 246cm.

 

Now for something more joyous. If you have never been to the Rhine before, you will want to come after having seen those webcams. Trust me they are better than Viking adverts (okay, apart from the food and drink that the protagonists in those ads consume) . In order of appearance: The historic excursion boat RMS Goethe, Ehrenbreitstein fortress with view over Deutsches Eck, Oberwesel in the Upper Middle Rhine valley and view from Drachenfels hill above Königswinter in the Lower Middle Rhine valley. Click on the front page for choosing the webcam: https://www.romantischer-rhein.de/service/webcams/

or watch "the film": http://webtv.feratel.com/webtv/?cam=3300&design=v3&c0=0&c2=1&lg=de&s=0

 

Enjoy.

 

notamermaid

 

[Host Jazzbeau]

53 minutes ago, notamermaid said:

In the High Rhine region there is a flood warning of level 3 now, level 5 is the highest. This means moderate danger in an area reaching from roughly the city of Chur in Switzerland to the Rhine outlet of Lake Costance (Untersee) near Stein am Rhein.

 

On our Rhine cruise one of the post-cruise sightseeing stops was the Rhine Falls, where they have power boats that try to fight the current and get you very close to the falls.  Will this flooding make that more exciting, or stop the boats from operating?