FAO our German correspondents on here!

borebage53

borebage53

Knife & Fork pending
Quite alarmed to see a report from Germany on Breakfast News on the record low levels of water on parts of the River Rhine. The reporter was at a place called Bingen and it looked as if the River was down to a comparative trickle there. Commercial vessels that use the Rhine are having to lighten their loads to enable them to be higher up in the water!
Any on the spot reports from our German based roofers,please?
 
I’m off to Wuppertal tomorrow for a night for Axel’s birthday, for those who have met him. He’s having a big party.

I’ll be in Cologne for the afternoon on Sunday so I’ll tell you then!!
 
DagenhamFox said:
I’m off to Wuppertal tomorrow for a night for Axel’s birthday, for those who have met him. He’s having a big party.

I’ll be in Cologne for the afternoon on Sunday so I’ll tell you then!!
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Cheers mate. The best steak I have ever eat was in a riverside restaurant overlooking the Rhine at Remagen. Didn’t that train we were on cross over the Rhine when we went into Cologne? More snow than drought that day. I’ve seen the Rhine further up at Wesel and Rees where the Allied Army crossed in 1945 and the Lower Rhine at Arnhem.
 
I've read similar reports but I'm generally too far off in Graz, Austria.

Having said that, coincidentally I'll visit friends and family in Bonn and Düsseldorf next week and will have a look at the Rhine then.

The reports do look concerning, and there are low water levels everywhere on the continent, if reports are to be believed. I'm not sure on the details but Northern Italy rationed water in parts and so on. Graz has been very dry too in comparison to previous years (it usually rains a lot in the summer). Many reports on fires in forests, too.
 
swabianfox said:
I've read similar reports but I'm generally too far off in Graz, Austria.

Having said that, coincidentally I'll visit friends and family in Bonn and Düsseldorf next week and will have a look at the Rhine then.

The reports do look concerning, and there are low water levels everywhere on the continent, if reports are to be believed. I'm not sure on the details but Northern Italy rationed water in parts and so on. Graz has been very dry too in comparison to previous years (it usually rains a lot in the summer). Many reports on fires in forests, too.
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Enjoy a few Altbier’s on Bolkerstraße Swabian!!
 
swabianfox said:
Is that in Tyrol? I've never been there or near there.

I've bookmarked a few famous Altbier places 🍻 :) Sadly, I'm not sure we'll make it there since the family event is just outside Düsseldorf in Neuss - I've discovered an Altbier brewery there, too, though.
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The oldest one is Bolten from Monchengladbach, it’s lovely. My favourite is Uerige but really should be Fuchsen. Fuchsen also brews a Pils light beer.

You’ll be able to get Alt in Neuss for sure. Just stay away from Frankenheim it’s the worst of the lot in my opinion. Brewed by one of the big brewers.
 
DagenhamFox said:
[...]
You’ll be able to get Alt in Neuss for sure. Just stay away from Frankenheim it’s the worst of the lot in my opinion. Brewed by one of the big brewers.
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Frankenheim is quite bad, I know that.

Bolten I don't know at all. Uerige is perhaps the one I know and like best (nice and bitter).

Schumacher and/or Schlüssel I tried from the bottle I think (both nice IIRC, not sure if I tried both though), Füchschen I haven't tried yet.

We also discovered this one in Neuss:
imdom.de

Brauhaus "Im Dom" ⋆ Einzige Hausbrauerei in Neuss mit Brauhaus

Die einzige Hausbrauerei in Neuss mit Brauhaus - Mit die älteste Altbier-Brauerei - Gutbürgerliche Küche mit regionalen Produkten
imdom.de imdom.de
This might be our best bet, given the schedule...
 
Gladbach are at home to Herta Berlin on the Friday night. I can put some feelers out for tickets for you if you fancy it and have time? Let me know.
 
DagenhamFox said:
Gladbach are at home to Herta Berlin on the Friday night. I can put some feelers out for tickets for you if you fancy it and have time? Let me know.
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Many thanks, that's very kind of you but I'll have to decline. We're still in Bonn on Friday evening, will stay there for the night and will only travel to Neuss/Düsseldorf on Saturday.
 
borebage53 said:
Quite alarmed to see a report from Germany on Breakfast News on the record low levels of water on parts of the River Rhine. The reporter was at a place called Bingen and it looked as if the River was down to a comparative trickle there. Commercial vessels that use the Rhine are having to lighten their loads to enable them to be higher up in the water!
Any on the spot reports from our German based roofers,please?
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Apparently this is all made up by Deep State so nothing to worry about. Carry on as normal.
 
I'm now back from my trip to Bonn and Düsseldorf.

It was evident the water levels were much lower than usual. The friend we visited in Bonn said he'd never seen water levels as low as they are. I'd say about 1-3 metres lower than usual, judging from marks at bridges, banks and so on. Difficult to say when you don't see it every day. Ships have to lower their loading. That said, there is still plenty of water left. It's not as if the river has disappeared.

We also found time to sample some Altbiers in Düsseldorf early on Thursday: Schlüssel, Füchschen and Uerige! Schumacher was still closed, unfortunately. We didn't manage the brewery in Neuss or Bolten. Schlüssel was my favourite on the day but we were also very pleased with the variety of what was on offer.

The various Kölsch beers we tried in Bonn were all quite bland, unfortunately.
 
Schlussel is the one where the keys to the city were kept. 😁

I quite like Kolsch too, very different. Some of the smaller and less known ones are great.

How is Bonn? I feel I should visit with it being the former capital of West Germany.

And yes I’d agree with that summary of the river. I tried posting a photo but it said It was too large.
 
DagenhamFox said:
[...]
How is Bonn? I feel I should visit with it being the former capital of West Germany.
[...]
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Bonn's old town is quite quaint (small houses, narrow streets). In fact, the whole city feels quaint, a bit provincial and not like a capital at all. The walkway along the Rhine is nice.

When I was still living in the UK I used to go there quite often to see friends of mine. This has been my first visit for at least six years.

Edited to say that both Bonn and Düsseldorf (at least the parts I went to) appear to be much filthier than I remember them.
 
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swabianfox said:
Bonn's old town is quite quaint (small houses, narrow streets). In fact, the whole city feels quaint, a bit provincial and not like a capital at all. The walkway along the Rhine is nice.

When I was still living in the UK I used to go there quite often to see friends of mine. This has been my first visit for at least six years.

Edited to say that both Bonn and Düsseldorf (at least the parts I went to) appear to be much filthier than I remember them.
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I’ve heard the area around Frankfurt station is proper grim nowadays. Almost a no go zone.
 
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