Rhine water levels 2022 and similar topics

[notamermaid]

Interesting, while I of course know about the POW camps along the Rhine, I do not know many details of what happened around Remagen. If you were sitting around a campfire in the US telling your children the "heroic deeds" you would probably end the subject with "err, we made a few prisoners that lived close by". It is quite natural that some things are augmented and some downplayed - I mean this quite neutrally - so a museum like that in Remagen is very useful to complete the picture. There has been more than one book written about the camps in German language over the decades.

 

Hmm, a darker subject for a river cruise, but I would like to stick with it in a post or two because I have been on another very short trip out.

 

But first the famous tourist vista of Koblenz in the webcam of BAfG, as just captured:

 

The webcam page: https://www.bafg.de/DE/06_Info_Service/03_Webcam/webcam_node.html;jsessionid=418AA2FB8808FEF3637B34C0A028092E.live21301

 

notamermaid

 

[Canal archive]

Thank you Notamermaid on our cruise on the Rhine Moselle our captain told us that if we arose really quite early we would have the opportunity of some really good photo opportunities of the confluence. So about six of us did, chilly morning, cameras plus coffee at the ready, okay expletive deleted we were already well onto the Rhine and it was just dawn. He apologised profusely as he had the message during the night to leave the Moselle as soon as possible because of the rising water levels. He had to do what he had to do so we will just have to do the cruise again, what a good excuse!

[sharkster77]

2 hours ago, Canal archive said:

Thank you Notamermaid on our cruise on the Rhine Moselle our captain told us that if we arose really quite early we would have the opportunity of some really good photo opportunities of the confluence. So about six of us did, chilly morning, cameras plus coffee at the ready, okay expletive deleted we were already well onto the Rhine and it was just dawn. He apologised profusely as he had the message during the night to leave the Moselle as soon as possible because of the rising water levels. He had to do what he had to do so we will just have to do the cruise again, what a good excuse!

Our cruise had a similar invite for viewing the bridge at Remagen--let the desk know and they'll give you a 4AM wake up call if you're interested.  Ummm, we passed on that one!!

[notamermaid]

@Canal archive Do come again. I am naturally biased but there is certainly much to see in the area, so if not a long cruise then perhaps a short land trip with boat excursion. Rome2Rio says it is 8h29min from Bath to Koblenz, longish train journey but you could always fly to Cologne of course.

 

23 hours ago, sharkster77 said:

Our cruise had a similar invite for viewing the bridge at Remagen--let the desk know and they'll give you a 4AM wake up call if you're interested.  Ummm, we passed on that one!!

I would probably have skipped that as well. Getting up at that hour to see something that is not really there (the bridge), but just two black Basalt towers that are imposing, yet not beautiful, is not that appealing on holiday.

 

My valley is again bathed in sunshine and will continue to do so over the weekend. Monday is supposed to be cloudier, with rain very likely on Tuesday. We need that, nature is too dry for March. The river levels have fallen accordingly and gauges now are getting close to showing statistical lows but the Rhine's natural reservoir, Lake Constance is still providing enough water.

 

notamermaid

 

[BAYA]

I know this isn't a water level question, but any tips on what to see in Koblenz? Our Avalon cruise has no planned excursion there but we have free time to explore. Thanks for suggestions.

[notamermaid]

A quick look at the water levels:

Maxau 382cm

Kaub 120cm

Koblenz 138cm

Those are low for this time of year, a bit of a drop to last week, but the weather has turned cloudy, with a bit of rain in the air and rain over much of the valley forecast for tomorrow. Should be perfectly enough for smooth sailing this week. And there is plenty of room for snow melt for later this month.

 

notamermaid

 

[Host Jazzbeau]

On 3/13/2022 at 9:49 AM, BAYA said:

I know this isn't a water level question, but any tips on what to see in Koblenz? Our Avalon cruise has no planned excursion there but we have free time to explore. Thanks for suggestions.

I moved @notamermaid's very helpful responses to a new thread in the River Cruise Ports subforum:

 

[notamermaid]

It is Spring and by the time I finish typing we will have passed Equinox exactly, which is at 16.32 in Central Europe.

 

The weather is mild now, a random look reveals temperatures between 12 and 16 degrees in the Rhine valley today. It is forecast to stay mild and almost dry during next week.

 

Dry is not so good really. What the little rain replenished this week has already been lost again. It looks like this:

Maxau 376cm

Kaub 117cm

Koblenz 136cm

 

That is not worrying but certainly puts Maxau in the statistical low and is not so pleasant when we see that Lake Constance is also showing signs of being quite low for this time of year. Not sure what the effect on the snow melt will be, for now the nights are still frosty in the hills. A level below 100cm at Kaub is still not in the "likely" range of computer calculations, seeing that we will get a little bit of rain during the week, we can assume that the downward trend is slowed by that. We will leave it at that for now and have another look next weekend.

 

notamermaid

 

Edited March 20, 2022 by notamermaid
Missing word

[Gopherpharm]

Here’s to hoping for rain I guess!

 

I’m currently tracking my ship as it’s on its first trip of the season, the same itinerary we will be on in 2 weeks! Anyone else keep track of their ship for fun??

[Host Jazzbeau]

The program notes for the Mobile Symphony concert that included Beethoven's Calm Seas and Prosperous Voyage pointed out that when this was written – in the age of sail – these were opposites:  calm seas meant being be-calmed and the ship not able to move, consequently a delay that reduced the profit from the voyage.  Same as fair weather = low water in the river.

[Canal archive]

I do it was fascinating watching Scenic Gem when she was delivered to the Seine. Out of Holland across the Chanel/North Sea along the south coast of England then when almost opposite the Mouth of the Seine a sharp turn to port straight across the Channel and into the Seine estuary. All the more interesting because we were on the inaugural cruise from Paris.

[notamermaid]

12 hours ago, Gopherpharm said:

Here’s to hoping for rain I guess!

 

I’m currently tracking my ship as it’s on its first trip of the season, the same itinerary we will be on in 2 weeks! Anyone else keep track of their ship for fun??

A bit of rain would be good for nature now. Tracking ships is fun. I can of course look at the arrows and then see the ship for myself when I am at the river. I have done that a few times, checked a ship and then hurried to the riverbank to take a photo.

 

I use marinetraffic, cruisemapper and vesselfinder. Unfortunately, all appear to not map the signals at Koblenz as they used to do, so I often cannot see real-time info on which ship is docked there by name. On marinetraffic I can often find out via the port info page, though. Vesselfinder works better at Koblenz than the others.

 

notamermaid

 

[Gopherpharm]

I’m watching on CruiseMapper to see where my ship docks at each stop; then I’ll compare where we dock on my trip. I meant to check and see if they docked where the cruise line website says they dock in Amsterdam but I missed it!

[notamermaid]

Talking of Amsterdam docking, perhaps this website is interesting to roam around on: https://www.portofamsterdam.com/en/shipping/passenger-vessels/river-cruise

 

notamermaid

[notamermaid]

The plan was to come back to the subject of water levels at the weekend but I am back earlier as the forecast for Kaub has been adjusted quite a bit. So do we have a problem? Not quite yet but the figure at the gauge has fallen to 103cm and tomorrow's forecast shows 100cm. Saturday may bring a lower figure so the river is on a downward trend that appears now uninterrupted by rain.

 

The air is full of dust and I expect it is no fun for allergy sufferers, with the early Spring pollen in the air (not sure how much there is yet). The sunset was rather hazy last night.

 

Before ships encounter actual problems in the navigation channel, the more tricky bit is docking, i.e. being closer to the river banks. This usually happens to the excursion boats at the smaller landing stages but can also lead to problems for a few river cruise ships, it has been mentioned for Cologne by past cruisers. Not a big deal but could mean your ship docks further away from the city centre.

 

But I believe we are not at that point yet and I hope we will not see it.

 

Let us see what Saturday brings.

 

notamermaid

 

[Gopherpharm]

@notamermaid hoping for rain or snow melt or both! We sail a week from Sunday!

[notamermaid]

It is Saturday and as forecast, the level at Kaub has fallen below 100cm. As I write it stands at 98cm. But the downward trend is slow, that means we have reason to assume that despite no rain over the next three days things should not get much worse. Hopefully... At Maxau, in the tentative prediction for next week, on Thursday to be precise, a rise in the graph comes into view. And indeed the weather forecast for much of the Rhine valley shows rain showers from Wednesday onwards.

 

It will get cooler as well, so April starts with rain and potentially a dusting of snow in the Black Forest!

 

notamermaid

 

[notamermaid]

On 3/10/2022 at 11:51 AM, notamermaid said:

Hmm, a darker subject for a river cruise, but I would like to stick with it in a post or two because I have been on another very short trip out.

 

Koblenz and the Asterstein part 1

 

Three weeks ago now, I went to Koblenz and chose to travel to the other side of it, the right bank where today's suburban districts are. One you will know or have heard of: Ehrenbreitstein. With the fortress at the top. There are several others, actually both forts and suburbs. This fact goes back to the 19th century when the Prussians decided to turn Koblenz into a "Festungsstadt", a fortified town in the "modern" military sense.

 

But first the idea behind my trip. It started some time ago when on a visit to the river bank near the Palace, i.e. not far from where the ships and boats dock, I spotted a building and structures on the opposite hill. I wondered what they are and how to get there. They turned out to be a hotel and near it a war memorial which is near Fort Asterstein in the suburb of, well, Asterstein. In the case of this place the fort named after a general called Aster gave the growing settlement its name. Before 1800 it was just a sparsely populated hill opposite Ehrenbreitstein. That's right, a narrow valley separates the two hills.

 

We decided to approach from Koblenz itself and crossed over in the South via the Südbrücke, the modern bridge, with the help of the sat nav, which took us through the suburb and into a cul-de-sac, right at the hotel. I do not recommend going this far as there is only a small car park and turning is awkward. But that also means it is right at the hill with spectacular views over the valley:

It was a cool day and the clouds late in the afternoon easily reminded you that Spring was only a promise. The landscape was still quite barren but this also meant you could see through trees and bushes. This is towards the peninsula "Oberwerth" South of Koblenz. Actually, it is another suburb. This next photo shows the river downstream with Deutsches Eck in the far right. The tiny building with the blue roof is the Pegelhaus, which measures the water level:

 

Looking almost straight down, you see the Pfaffendorf Bridge and the Palace:

 

Admittedly, looking onto Deutsches Eck from Ehrenbreitstein is far more brochure-worthy but I enjoyed this different view. After taking this in we went to look for the fort and monument, with absence of tourists and only accompanied by locals on Sunday strolls. Imagine our surprise when we spotted a derelict plane balancing on a slope and an amphibious vehicle (?), right there in the forest:

It turns out that these are the training grounds of a college for units of the fire brigade focussing on help with catastrophic incidences.

 

Along the path we got to the local cemetery with this altar scene:

And there to the right is the monument!

 

Now we still needed to find the fort. We did. I will explain about that in part 2, plus: a view across to Ehrenbreitstein.

 

notamermaid

 

 

 

[Gopherpharm]

Documents uploaded to airline. Now we wait for boarding passes! Will be on the Rhine in one week!!!

[notamermaid]

9 hours ago, Gopherpharm said:

Documents uploaded to airline. Now we wait for boarding passes! Will be on the Rhine in one week!!!

I can read your excitement. ☺️

 

Kaub steady at 97cm. And rain with river level rise is still predicted for Wednesday/Thursday.

 

notamermaid

 

[Gopherpharm]

3 hours ago, notamermaid said:

I can read your excitement.

Kaub steady at 97cm. And rain with river level rise is still predicted for Wednesday/Thursday.

 

Forecast has rain in Amsterdam when we arrive Thursday, but I’m thinking since that’s downstream it doesn’t impact levels at Kaub, right? It would just be local rain that would raise water levels at Kaub (or upstream run off from rain or snow melt)?

[notamermaid]

To have an impact around Kaub, best thing is to have rain South of Rüdesheim, i.e. upstream from the Rhine Gorge. That is where the large tributaries are. The Main and the Neckar will give that water. And it should work out fine as the rain is widespread from Thursday so will cover the whole South half of Germany. It may also rain in the Vosges mountains, have not checked. That should all give a bit of a rise in all rivers, not just a 12 hour run-off at Kaub.

 

This geography is also the reason I post Maxau gauge information. What is visible in the graph for Maxau for Thursday will have an effect at Kaub later of course. What is not reflected at Maxau is the Neckar river with its mouth at Mannheim and the Main river as it meets the Rhine at Mainz. But weather patterns along the lower Main are similar to the Rhine so rain in Mannheim and a bit up the Neckar very often means rain in Frankfurt and Mainz, too. Not always but this week very much so. Maxau gives us what happens in the mountains and Basel and Lake Constance with the High Rhine.

 

So, in short, with Maxau gauge rising and rain to the East of the Rhine along the Neckar and the Main, things are looking promising.

 

On the downside: bring gloves and raincoat. But, my, that is not really a downside when you can sail "my river" for a week and see the sights and riverscape. ☺️ Oh, and Amsterdam isn't bad either...

 

Fun fact: Amsterdam did not used to be the main port to sail to for river cruises. Only since a large canal has connected the city with the Rhine/Waal. Rotterdam, at the Mouth of the Rhine, is still the biggest economic port, as a barge or tanker you would sail Rotterdam to Basel for example.

 

notamermaid

 

 

Edited March 28, 2022 by notamermaid

[Gopherpharm]

@notamermaid  thanks for the great explanation! I am very hopeful that water levels will be good for us. 
 

We have raincoats and hats and all kinds of layers packed so we can stay toasty! I’ve been back and forth about bringing my packable down coat, it doesn’t take up too much room.  It may be a last minute decision. 

[BAYA]

3 hours ago, Gopherpharm said:

We have raincoats and hats and all kinds of layers packed so we can stay toasty! I’ve been back and forth about bringing my packable down coat, it doesn’t take up too much room.  It may be a last minute decision. 

Have a great cruise. I hope you don't need that down coat. We embark from Basel on April 5th. I won't be packing any down clothing!

[notamermaid]

8 minutes ago, BAYA said:

Have a great cruise. I hope you don't need that down coat. We embark from Basel on April 5th. I won't be packing any down clothing!

Oh yes, your cruise is coming up as well. Had forgotten the date. So you and Gopherpharm will pass each other on the river.

 

Have a great cruise.

 

notamermaid