Daily Archives: July 1, 2009

One of the acronyms picked along the way was ABL (Another B!@@$y Lock).

The first lock after Budapest was exciting but the novelty soon wore off, especially when you go through them at night.

The first lock, Gabcikovo, was quite large and could easily fit two vessels side by side

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As the journey continued the locks got narrower so the occasional bump in the night was not uncommon

Overall there are around 68 Locks to traverse.  This is necessary due to the varying level of the rivers.  Between  Budapest and Passau you traverse 206m in altitude and between Passau and Vienna you traverse another 103m.  By time you get to Amsterdam you have dropped back down and are 5m below sea level.

The Danube is second longest river (2860km) of Europe.  It runs through 10 countries from the Black Forrest to the Black Sea.  120 tributaries feed this river and 100 bridges span over it.  The river drops about 680 metres over its length making it useful for hydro-electric power.

 

Ports visited on my journey on the danube were: 

• Budapest  (Hungary)
• Bratislava  (Slovakia)
• Vienna  (Austria)
• Duernstein  (Austria)
• Melk  (Austria)
• Linz  (Austria)
• Passau  (Germany)
• Regensburg  (Germany)

Main – Danube Canal

From early times, leaders considered how to build a waterway that would join the Rhine and the Danube in order to connect the North Sea with the Black Sea.  The first attempt was made in the 8th century by Charlemagne, the so-called Fossa Carolina).  It failed due to incessant showers but the attempt know as Karlsgraben still exists today.  Between 1845 and 1945 a link was created between the main and danube rivers to provide building materials for Ludwig I during the construction of his Liberty monument.  Maintenance efforts ground to a halt in 1941.  Todays Main – Danube Canal was begun in 1959 and was designed to handled the 1250 ton Euro class ships.

Ports visited on my journey on the main – danube canal were:

• Roth  (Germany)
• Nuremberg  (Germany)

Main River

The Main has a length of 524 km.  It flows through the German states of Bavaria, Baden-Wurttemberg and Hesse.

Ports visited on my journey on the main – danube canal were:

• Bamberg  (Germany)
• Wurzburg  (Germany)
• Miltenberg  (Germany)

Rhine River

The Rhine has a length of 1320 km.  Annual flow at the mouth is 69300 billion litres.  It rises in the Swiss Alps to 3353 m above sea level.  It flows north, passing through Switzerland, Germany and Netherlands.  It borders on France, Germany, Switzerland and Luxembourg.

Ports visited on my journey on the rhine river were:

• Mainz  (Germany)
• Rudesheim  (Germany)
• Rhine Gorge / Passage of Loreley Rock / Passage of Coblence  (Germany)
• Cologne  (Germany)
• Amsterdam  (Netherlands)