We needed two starts to get out of Bingen and get past the Lorelei to Sankt Goar, in the middle of the Gorge.
Wir verlassen den Hafen von Bingen sehr früh am Morgen in der Hoffnung, die zahlreichen Ausflugs- und Hotelboote zu vermeiden, die während der Touristensaison das Mittelrheintal befahren. Vor uns fahren zwei Frachtschiffe, denen wir uns anschliessen. Perfekt, die werden uns vor dem Gegenverkehr abschirmen.
We thought an early start would spare us from some of the hotel and excursion boats that ply these waters (and act like they own them). We tucked in comfortably behind two barges and thought we had the ideal slot, with those two big ships in front of us to shield us from oncoming traffic.
Alles scheint gut, bis nach fünf Minuten Fahrt, kurz vor der Einfahrt in das Bingener Loch, ein bekannter Motorenalarm schrillt: "Wasser im Dieselfilter. Fahrt sofort einstellen!"
Five minutes out of the harbor, just before we entered the forebodingly named Bingen Hole, the piercing alarm tone sounded and we saw a familiar warning on the display: "Water in the diesel filter. Pull over!"
Also drehen wir um, was uns einen guten Blick erlaubt auf die Geröllbänke, die an der Mündung der Nahe aus dem Wasser ragen.
Well, pulling over was not an option. We turned around and headed back to the Bingen harbor, passing this intimidating stone breakwater.
Wenigstens wissen wir, was zu tun ist: Motorenaum öffnen, Benzinfilter öffnen, Wasser ablaufen lassen bis Diesel kommt. Das hatten wir ja bereits auf der Rhone einmal. Es ist dies eine der wenigen Interventionen, die man an diesem Motor ohne Computer vornehmen kann.
At least we knew what to do, having had the same warning on the Rhone some weeks ago. Down in the engine room we went, iPad in hand, to drain off a quarter cup of watery diesel from the filter. This is one of the very few things that can be done on this engine without a computer!
Eine halbe Stunde später sind wir wieder unterwegs.
Half an hour later we were back on the river.
Der Assmannshäuser Höllenberg macht uns weniger Sorgen als die Assmannshäuser Felsen, siehe Bild unten.
The hills above Assmanhausen are called the infernal (hellish) mountains. We were more worried about the rocks sticking out along the shore, below.
Dann folgt Burg auf mittelalterliche Burg. Das Mittelrheintal scheint für die lokalen Grafen und Fürsten Gelegenheit geboten zu haben, ihren Nachbaren zu zeigen, dass sie es grösser und besser konnten. Heute ist das ganze Tal ein UNESCO-Welterbe.
These hills are dotted with castles whose origins date from the late Middle Ages, evidently a period of intense competition among the local lords to show that 'mine is bigger than yours.' Now, this whole stretch of the Rhine is a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Schon wieder ein Polizeiboot. Wir haben in den ganzen Jahren unterwegs noch nie so viel Polizei gesehen, wie auf dem Rhein. Aber wir haben auch noch nie solch dichten Verkehr erlebt wie hier. Es macht also wohl Sinn, dass die Polizei Präsenz markiert.
Yet another police boat. We've never seen so many cops on the water in our previous travels. But nor have we seen so much traffic, so many barges and tourist boats, so maybe the water cops are just maintaining a visible presence to keep everybody on their best behavior. Not a bad idea, we'd say.
Doppelpack. Weil die Kurven hier so eng sind, fahren die Schubverbände Seite an Seite, statt hintereinander.
A double-wide barge combination. Maybe they're easier to handle around these tight bends than the more usual end-to-end double barges we've seen.
Die arme Neira findet dies alles wieder einmal gar nicht lustig. Sie leidet sehr auf dieser Reise. Der Rhein ist alles andere als ein ruhiges Gewässer, die entgegenkommenden Frachtschiffe verursachen manchmal heftige Turbulenzen, und sie wird ja schliesslich auch nicht jünger.
Neira's not been enjoying this tour. It could be the turbulence. The river is rarely at rest and sometimes we feel like a rubber duck in a tub full of two-year-olds. Poor dog.
Das hat Neira gerade noch gefehlt: zwei tieffliegende Jets röhren über uns hinweg.
Two of these bats outta hell flew over us, giving Neira yet another source of agitation.
Die Fahrrinne ist in diesem Abschnitt gut markiert; hier kommen neue Tonnen des Weges.
The navigable channels are very well marked out on the Rhine and here's one of the workboats that set the cans and buoys that guide us.
Fotografin am Werk.
As you might imagine, my hands are on the wheel these days. That task falls to Aila and we can all be grateful!
Wenn man flussabwärts kommt, sieht die mittelalterliche Burg Pfalzgrafenstein aus wie ein grosses Schiff. Macht Sinn, denn die Burg wurde errichtet, um die Einnahme des Schiffszolls in der Zahlstelle in Kaub zu überwachen. Darüber die Burg Gutenfels.
We'll spare you the names of all the castles we passed but for this one, the 14th century Burg Pfalzgrafenstein, near Kaub, which actually looks like a ship from the upstream angle.
Die Rebberge sind hier unglaublich steil.
Incredibly steep vineyards here.
Im allgemeinen haben sich die Boote auf diesem Streckenabschnitt an das jeweilige rechte Ufer zu halten. Ausnahmen sind aber zugelassen, wie dieses Arbeitsboot aus St. Goar mit der Blauen Tafel zeigt. Wir weichen entsprechend aus.
In general in this section of the river, boats pass each other on the right, but this workboat put out its blue board and we got out of the way.
Rechts im Bild eine Wahrschau. Die drei waagrechten Lichtbalken zeigen an, dass derzeit keine grossen Schiffe flussabwärts fahren. Die Wahrschau wird von einer Revierzentrale aus geregelt, wo Wahrschauer 24 Stunden am Tag den Schiffsverkehr im Tal beobachten. Die Wahrschau ist nur für die flussaufwärts fahrenden Schiffe von Bedeutung, denn die müssen Platz machen, wenn ein talfahrendes Frachtschiff im Anzug ist.
From the Dutch word for Warning, the Wahrschau signals regulate the traffic around the tight, sometimes blind, curves in the river, 24 hours a day. They tell the traffic heading upstream if the route ahead is empty or has one or several vessels 110 meters long or longer coming downstream. Think about it. The ships going downstream, like Plan B but way bigger, can't really stop because the current is too strong. Only the ships going upstream can back off the power and hold their position until the downstream traffic passes. Yet another simple, pragmatic system that seems to work.
Ah, die sagenumwobene Loreley. Hier ist der Rhein 160 Meter breit und bis zu 25 Meter tief, das ist die engste und tiefste Stelle des schiffbaren Rheins. Die gefährlichsten Felsen wurden zwar weggesprengt, doch lauern immer noch Sandbänke und Felsen unter Wasser, und es gibt Strudel, die den nichtsahnenden Skipper genau in diese Felsen treiben. Die Fahrt durch die Loreley-Passage ist immer noch mit einem gewissen Risiko verbunden.
The legendary Lorelei, a steep slate formation that is a catch-all for all manner of mythic powers. The hypnotic echoes ripple off the rock face and send sailors to their death. Naturally, such seductive force must be emitted by a woman, so poets through the ages have spun their songs of the siren of the rock. It is a dangerous stretch of water, to be sure. In 2011, a barge carrying 2400 tons of sulphuric acid ran aground here. We are glad to have it behind us.
Zwei Kilometer weiter kommt Sankt Goarshausen in Sicht. Am anderen Ufer liegt unser Hafen.
And a couple of km later, Sankt Goarshausen comes into view, right across the river from our destination.
Zwischen Sankt Goarshausen und dem gegenüberliegenden Sankt Goar ist die Fahrrinne für ein kurzes Stück gute 200 Meter breit. Hier herrscht plötzlich dichter Verkehr: es kreuzt eine Fähre, Ausflugsboote kommen und gehen, und Hotelschiffe oder leere Frachter, die flussaufwärts in der engen Fahrbahn hinter einem langsamen Frachtschiff stecken geblieben sind, nutzen die Gelegenheit zum Überholen.
This is one of those harbors entries where you have to have your eyes open, and four eyes are definitely better than two! There are the barges, the excursion boats big and small, police boats, working boats and a ferry. We found an opening and threaded our way across to the far shore so we could enter the cut to the harbor going upstream.
Wir überstehen das alles unbeschadet und biegen in den Stadthafen von Sankt Goar ein.
We made it!
Und da liegen wir nun, direkt unter der Burg Rheinfels.
Here we are, with Burg Rheinfels above. Nice.
We thought an early start would spare us from some of the hotel and excursion boats that ply these waters (and act like they own them). We tucked in comfortably behind two barges and thought we had the ideal slot, with those two big ships in front of us to shield us from oncoming traffic.
Five minutes out of the harbor, just before we entered the forebodingly named Bingen Hole, the piercing alarm tone sounded and we saw a familiar warning on the display: "Water in the diesel filter. Pull over!"
Well, pulling over was not an option. We turned around and headed back to the Bingen harbor, passing this intimidating stone breakwater.
At least we knew what to do, having had the same warning on the Rhone some weeks ago. Down in the engine room we went, iPad in hand, to drain off a quarter cup of watery diesel from the filter. This is one of the very few things that can be done on this engine without a computer!
Half an hour later we were back on the river.
The hills above Assmanhausen are called the infernal (hellish) mountains. We were more worried about the rocks sticking out along the shore, below.
These hills are dotted with castles whose origins date from the late Middle Ages, evidently a period of intense competition among the local lords to show that 'mine is bigger than yours.' Now, this whole stretch of the Rhine is a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Yet another police boat. We've never seen so many cops on the water in our previous travels. But nor have we seen so much traffic, so many barges and tourist boats, so maybe the water cops are just maintaining a visible presence to keep everybody on their best behavior. Not a bad idea, we'd say.
A double-wide barge combination. Maybe they're easier to handle around these tight bends than the more usual end-to-end double barges we've seen.
Neira's not been enjoying this tour. It could be the turbulence. The river is rarely at rest and sometimes we feel like a rubber duck in a tub full of two-year-olds. Poor dog.
Two of these bats outta hell flew over us, giving Neira yet another source of agitation.
The navigable channels are very well marked out on the Rhine and here's one of the workboats that set the cans and buoys that guide us.
As you might imagine, my hands are on the wheel these days. That task falls to Aila and we can all be grateful!
We'll spare you the names of all the castles we passed but for this one, the 14th century Burg Pfalzgrafenstein, near Kaub, which actually looks like a ship from the upstream angle.
Incredibly steep vineyards here.
In general in this section of the river, boats pass each other on the right, but this workboat put out its blue board and we got out of the way.
From the Dutch word for Warning, the Wahrschau signals regulate the traffic around the tight, sometimes blind, curves in the river, 24 hours a day. They tell the traffic heading upstream if the route ahead is empty or has one or several vessels 110 meters long or longer coming downstream. Think about it. The ships going downstream, like Plan B but way bigger, can't really stop because the current is too strong. Only the ships going upstream can back off the power and hold their position until the downstream traffic passes. Yet another simple, pragmatic system that seems to work.
The legendary Lorelei, a steep slate formation that is a catch-all for all manner of mythic powers. The hypnotic echoes ripple off the rock face and send sailors to their death. Naturally, such seductive force must be emitted by a woman, so poets through the ages have spun their songs of the siren of the rock. It is a dangerous stretch of water, to be sure. In 2011, a barge carrying 2400 tons of sulphuric acid ran aground here. We are glad to have it behind us.
And a couple of km later, Sankt Goarshausen comes into view, right across the river from our destination.
This is one of those harbors entries where you have to have your eyes open, and four eyes are definitely better than two! There are the barges, the excursion boats big and small, police boats, working boats and a ferry. We found an opening and threaded our way across to the far shore so we could enter the cut to the harbor going upstream.
We made it!
Here we are, with Burg Rheinfels above. Nice.
