River Levels and German Beer

A word about river levels - cruising on a river is great, but it is very dependent on water levels. This past summer, Europe experienced heat and drought conditions. Therefore the water levels are very low. So low, in fact, that we face the very real possibility of having to pack up, get on a bus, and travel to a location upriver to meet up with a different ship. There is a certain point on the river, the shallowest point, that at this time, looks like we may not be able to traverse in the ship. They are keeping a constant eye on the conditions. An optional excursion that was offered in Cologne was an opportunity to taste local beers. The excursion was to begin at 8:45 p.m. and last until 10:45 p.m. We would visit 4 local pubs, try 4 different kinds of beers, and experience the Cologne nightlife. Then the ship was set to sail at 11:00. When Joe and I were discussing the optional excursions, he was interested in the German Beer tasting. Since I neither like beer, nor usually am up until that late at night, I was not so interested, but I told Joe that if he wanted me to, I would accompany him. So that was the plan. At about 4:00 in the afternoon, they made an announcement that we would be leaving Cologne at 7 p.m. rather than 11. We immediately realized that this meant that the German Beer tasting was cancelled, to Joe's disappointment and to my delight. We learned later that the Viking people who are monitoring river levels called our ship and told them to "GET OUT NOW!" Apparently if we didn't leave Cologne by 7 p.m., there was a good chance that we would be unable to get out due to low water levels, and would be stuck there. Now Cologne is a nice place to visit, but I wouldn't want to stay here, especially with all those stray bombs still hanging around from World War 2.