River Cruising Water Cooler

[notamermaid]

Which reminds me... Hi in German with the proper spelling and the German word pronounced a it should be is "Hai" and it means "shark".

 

@Daisi I enjoyed the snow and we got some more yesterday, almost a mini storm. So it is still on hills and on the ground almost down to the waterfront in some places. Great to look at, I hope the current few river cruisers are enjoying it. Weather reports unfortunately now say that we will get more snow and really icy conditions with the temperatures dropping. I am sure you have even more wintry weather though.

 

notamermaid

 

 

 

[Daisi]

@notamermaid, yes, we finally got winter. It's on the cool side, -7C, but will warm up back to 0 by next week. The creek has frozen so the ducks have left for the river as it stays open in spots year round. We also have some snow now, got about 30cm between Friday -Sunday, so it's white now.

 

I heard from cousins in the Netherlands that they even got some snow. 🙂

[notamermaid]

2 minutes ago, Daisi said:

I heard from cousins in the Netherlands that they even got some snow. 🙂

Now that is certainly newsworthy. Joking aside, we all assume that the Netherlands is very flat, which it is, but there are some real proper hills close to the Belgian and German borders. Up there many live at a higher altitude than me here and are bound to have more snow than me. Not saying where I am but parts of Limburg province are over 100m high with the highest hill being 322.4 metres. If anyone is interested: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Limburg_(Netherlands)

 

notamermaid

 

 

[Daisi]

They are closer to the Belgium border, but then, for me, they aren't far from Limburg either. 🙂

 

[notamermaid]

Just saying hello to report that I have enjoyed another glorious sunset. Our snow is still on the ground. It is lovely. I am finishing off the last biscuits and other goodies from Christmas. Our temperatures will rise so the snow will go soon. It may be the last proper snow for this winter but we can get some up to and at Easter in a year when the Feast Day is early.

 

notamermaid

 

 

[gnome12]

2 hours ago, notamermaid said:

Just saying hello to report that I have enjoyed another glorious sunset. Our snow is still on the ground. It is lovely. I am finishing off the last biscuits and other goodies from Christmas. Our temperatures will rise so the snow will go soon. It may be the last proper snow for this winter but we can get some up to and at Easter in a year when the Feast Day is early.

 

notamermaid

 

 

This is a year where Passover and Easter diverge. Easter Sunday is March 31, while the first Passover Seder is Monday April 22 with the holiday running to April 29 or 30 depending on location and beliefs. 

[notamermaid]

That is quite a gap in days. On my river cruise on the Danube there was a lot if snow still as it had actually snowed over Easter. It was interesting to do the transition from winter to spring in a different area of Europe. I literally left in winter conditions and returned to find early spring in Passau.

 

notamermaid

 

[Host Jazzbeau]

5 hours ago, notamermaid said:

That is quite a gap in days.

The Jewish calendar is based on lunar months, while the 'Common Era' calendar is based on Roman months.  Neither matches the solar year, so CE adds Leap Days but the Jewish calendar inserts an entire extra month every two or three years.  This is apparently one of those years.  PS – I don't know any of this.  I looked it up:

https://www.rayfowler.org/writings/articles/determining-the-dates-for-easter-and-passover/

[notamermaid]

Ah, yes, the lunar calendar. Easter is based on the full moon occurrences and the subsequent holidays follow in a constant order and number of days. I left after Easter to go onto my river cruise so happened to be in Hungary on the Orthodox Easter and was in a church there. An interesting different perspective.

 

The high time of Carnival not far away now, we actually call it the "Fifth Season" jokingly.

 

notamermaid

 

 

[gnome12]

1 hour ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

The Jewish calendar is based on lunar months, while the 'Common Era' calendar is based on Roman months.  Neither matches the solar year, so CE adds Leap Days but the Jewish calendar inserts an entire extra month every two or three years.  This is apparently one of those years.  PS – I don't know any of this.  I looked it up:

https://www.rayfowler.org/writings/articles/determining-the-dates-for-easter-and-passover/

I was sure that I posted this answer but it disappeared. The Jewish calendar runs on a 19 year cycle, and, if I remember correctly, 7 out of the 19 years have a leap month. (So your every 2 or 3 years makes sense.) And passover begins on the 15th of a lunar month, so generally at the full moon. That is why Easter, which always falls on the first Sunday after a full moon, and Passover are usually very close together, or about a month apart. 

[pontac]

On 1/20/2024 at 5:43 PM, Host Jazzbeau said:

The Jewish calendar is based on lunar months, while the 'Common Era' calendar is based on Roman months.

 

By co-incidence I read a book* review in the Sunday Times yesterday (21 Jan) that said it was Julius Caesar who reorganised the Roman calendar from a lunar cycle with an extra month added when needed to keep in step with the solar year to the system we use now which adds a leap day every 4 years.

 

The word Calendar comes from Calends, which was the first day of the new moon in Rome. (the Ides was the 15th day, or full moon).

 

* Our Moon: A Human History by Rebecca Boyle 

[Host Jazzbeau]

15 hours ago, pontac said:

 

By co-incidence I read a book* review in the Sunday Times yesterday (21 Jan) that said it was Julius Caesar who reorganised the Roman calendar from a lunar cycle with an extra month added when needed to keep in step with the solar year to the system we use now which adds a leap day every 4 years.

 

The word Calendar comes from Calends, which was the first day of the new moon in Rome. (the Ides was the 15th day, or full moon).

 

* Our Moon: A Human History by Rebecca Boyle 

And then later they realized that was slightly too many leap days, so the Gregorian calendar [what we use] drops the leap day in each year that is a multiple of 4 (except for years evenly divisible by 100, but not by 400).  That's almost exactly right, and the remaining errors are now fixed by adding a leap second to the atomic clocks around the world as needed.

 

Are we confused yet?  🤣  Thank God I don't have to figure this out for myself – my computers, iPhone and watch all do it automatically.

[Canal archive]

I was told some years ago, (when still gainfully employed) by a, for want of a better expression, space flight scientist that the only time the calendar conundrum could be a challenge was on re-entry to earth’s atmosphere by a space flight vehicle. Something to do with the exactness required. I should imagine that this has been overcome by now as I was working on it in the very early days, exciting times.

[Host Jazzbeau]

1 hour ago, Canal archive said:

I was told some years ago, (when still gainfully employed) by a, for want of a better expression, space flight scientist that the only time the calendar conundrum could be a challenge was on re-entry to earth’s atmosphere by a space flight vehicle. Something to do with the exactness required. I should imagine that this has been overcome by now as I was working on it in the very early days, exciting times.

I was just reading a book review of A City on Mars: Can We Settle Space, Should We Settle Space, and Have We Really Thought This Through? which points out that a Mars colony would have to be 100% self-sufficient from the get-go, because resupply flights from Earth would take 6 months – if the planets are aligned at their closest points, but there can be 2-3 years between such alignments.  Leap seconds aren't going to solve that problem!

[Canal archive]

Absolutely I started in the industry before the first manned flight (that’s giving my age away somewhat) At the start of computers being involved and yes before then it was almost the era of the abacus. Now you can understand why a technical illustrator was heavily involved, as I said exiting times.

[notamermaid]

It has been a busy weekend for me and while tourism is very off season, the travel shows are coming up and we have Carnival soon. That will be a busy and exciting - mad - time in the Rhineland.

 

This coming weekend I hope to be at the tourism fair in Koblenz. I do not need to go as part of my job, I will be a private individual, but one can never quite get rid of the tourism employee mindset while walking around the stalls.

 

The German agency of CroisiEurope will be there again and I expect to pick up a few brochures for the excursion boats along the Rhine.

 

notamermaid

 

 

 

[notamermaid]

I was looking at some info on the canals in France - you know, you can turn off from the Rhine at Strasbourg and head West via the Rhine Marne Canal with a small boat. CroisiEurope sails there. It is very interesting I find and I will write a bit about it in the Rhine thread some time. The big draw on the Canal is the Arzviller boat lift. I have been there on a land trip and did find it technically interesting. It replaces locks. That section with the locks is now almost empty of water and partly abandoned. But there are some residents in the old lock keeper buildings and the cycle path looks nice. I thought this may interest you @Canal archive:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=REWioYKjadk

 

notamermaid

 

[Canal archive]

Wow what a restoration project, thank you Notamermaid fascinating!

[notamermaid]

Glad you like it.

 

I am looking into this at the moment. A very different river, a very different area, but also commercial shipping history. Divers found a shipwreck in the Trave at Lübeck. The archeologists have now presented their findings. Can only find German reports. This is article from last year in English: https://www.dw.com/en/german-archaeologists-unearth-400-year-old-shipwreck-in-baltic/a-66401704

 

Fascinating to read is the fact that the citizens of Lübeck have funded this. Well done!

 

notamermaid

 

 

[Canal archive]

A bit like the Mary Rose sunk in the 1500s and raised from the Solent now on display in Portsmouth dockyard, very interesting. At the time even King Charles dived on the wreck.

[pontac]

On 1/13/2024 at 3:35 PM, pontac said:

To change the subject, I have this advert for Ama Waterways at the top of this forum:-

 

 

 

Did no one at the ad agency or  Ama Waterways actually read it before approval?

 

Maybe someone at AmaWaterways reads this forum....

 

......because there's a subtle difference in the advert today

 

[notamermaid]

Good. 👍

 

notamermaid

 

[pontac]

The rivers are to become even more crowded. From an email just received from Viking:

 

 

To meet strong demand for our European river voyages, we are pleased to welcome an additional 10 Viking Longships in 2025 and 2026. These beautiful ships will sail our popular itineraries on the Rhine, Main and Danube rivers, while two additional Viking Longships will join the fleet on the River Seine. 

[notamermaid]

More Vikings on the rivers, eeeekk!! I thought the car park in Cologne Niehl was full in winter... Oh well.

 

I went to the tourism fair in Koblenz yesterday and guess what was popular - the stall of an agency specializing in cruising. They had several catalogues of river cruise companies. It may have helped that they had a tombola, I mean lottery tickets that cost 2 euros each. So not free, but it is always a draw (excuse pun) to offer such things at a stall.

 

I really enjoyed seeing the guy dressed up as a Roman senator. It was to do with the Roman frontier running through the forests behind Koblenz (and further to the Danube). Other nice conversations, too.

 

I did not see Viking of course as they do not trade in Germany, not even Vikings or modern Scandinavians, but there were some soldiers, princesses and clowns and other weird people. Then I realized that there must be a carnival meeting, what we call a Sitzung, in the conference hall as well. Exciting!! 🥳 If you like Carnival that is. If one of the Viking ships, the Alruna or the Tialfi, is in Cologne or Mainz on Thursday or next Monday they will be in for a shock I fear. I wonder if the crew/hotel staff decorate the ships in Carnival splendour (perhaps not the confetti...) and have a show or something. Dressing up as a sailor is always popular in Rhenish Carnival. 😉

 

A bit more about it all in the Rhine thread.

 

notamermaid

 

 

 

 

[Canal archive]

Just getting my brain scrambled, I thought it was about time I tried to understand American Football. Not doing to well so far but only a few minutes in. A drop of Bushmills helps.