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A loaded barge entering a lock on the Neckar River.
Very cool to watch the machinery in action. |
While camping in the Black Forest mountains, I met a Dutch freighter Captain. He told me a story about how he sailed a 500 foot long ship to Nuremberg. He entered the Rhine River from the North Sea in The Netherlands and turned east on the Main River. Then he turned south on the Main-Danube Canal at Bamberg (known as the Venice of Germany because of the canals) which goes to Nuremberg. This trip is over 900 kilometers, which is over 580 miles. I measured it using Google Maps, but I bet because of the bends in the river it is closer to 1000 kilometers.
After thinking about the length of this trip, I thought about the Main-Danube canal. That name means this canal connects the Main River to the Danube, which goes through Germany, Austria, Hungary, Croatia, Serbia and Bulgaria, Romania, Moldova, and Ukraine to the Main River which joins the Rhine River. The Rhine flows into the Atlantic. Its possible to sail from the North Sea to the Black Sea. Canals like this allow landlocked cities and countries to become major industrial centers. Wow!
These rivers and canals work using heavy duty locks. A ship sails into the lock from downstream. The doors close and the lock operate opens the gates to allow water into the lock chamber. The boat rises and the doors open so they can sail out of the lock. Next to the lock is a dam device which helps control the river's water level. The gears and machinery to operate these machines are enormous. We get a kick out of watching ships go through the locks.
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| Small river cruise |
A major tourist business in Europe are Rhine River cruises and Danube River cruises. Take one or two weeks for a vacation, or just a 2-4 hour dinner cruise. The Rhine is famous for its Rhine A'flame tours, where the castles are lit up as if they are on fire. The castles also shoot off fireworks as the boats sail past. The castles are amazing without the fireworks too.
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