Of Locks and Blocks - more problems with my email system

I have talked about the 68 locks our ship will have encountered by the end of our journey, but have not yet shown you any photos of them. 

As we went from sea level in Amsterdam to mountainous Bavaria, our altitude was increasing, so the ship had to be raised in each lock. After that, we have been travelling downwards again, so the ship is lowered each time. Some locks raise or lower the ship by about 10 m, but others have raised or lowered it by 30 m!  When we are in a lock, the sides of the ship are within a hand’s length from the concrete sides of the lock, and it becomes very dark. This is not for the claustrophobic. But it is amazing how quickly and silently the water level changes, and soon you are on your way again. The volumes of water involved are amazing. 

We have travelled along three rivers and one canal on this journey. For a long time we were on the Rhine river, then not long after Rudesheim, we entered the Main river. After Nuremberg we entered the Main-Danube canal, and then around Regensburg we entered the Danube river. By the way - the Danube is not blue! But it is wider and its current is far swifter than the rivers downstream from it. Apparently no-one can swim in it because the currents are too strong. We are not surprised it is prone to flooding, though much is being done to prevent that. 

The system of locks we have passed through has been a joint venture of many countries. Billions of euros would have been invested, I should imagine, given all the infrastructure required and the ongoing maintenance costs. The canal joining the Main river and the Danube river would have cost an enormous amount too. Surprisingly, some of this canal is located on top of bridges. Imagine sitting on a ship floating across a bridge, with traffic underneath! But that is what happened in some spots. 

Talking about locks brings me to the subject of ‘blocks’. I am referring yet again to the IT issues I am dealing with, just so you understand why I am not replying to your emails right now. 

I am still being blocked by my two Apple devices from sending emails, making phone calls and sending texts. This is putting me in an impossible situation. Apart from not being able to contact family and friends or professional colleagues or my travel agent by those means, if I get separated from one of my guided tour groups I cannot contact anyone. I cannot make an emergency call if in trouble.

When in Vienna yesterday, I found out about a company of IT whizzes who are trouble-shooters for companies. They did everything they could to solve the email issue, which appeared to result from a ‘port’ from my internet provider (netspace, which is now part of iiNet) being blocked, but no matter what they did to reprogram the computer, it kept reverting back to the same unworkable settings. They said that Apple presents very weird problems unlike any other computer systems, and this was one of them. For a few minutes it worked, but back on the ship it did not! So this still has not been fixed.

Then they rang Vodaphone on my behalf, which cost an arm and a leg. Vodaphone does not seem to understand that if you cannot make a call using your phone, you cannot call their call centre with your own phone! After I eventually convinced the Indian-sounding man in the call centre I was the genuine customer, they said they would fix their block on my phone, for which they agreed there was no justification. I tried it today. It still did not work! 

The IT people were singularly unimpressed with Vodaphone.  They said the system of fixing faults is far better in Austria. They do not have call centres in places like India - they run their own. And they fix the problem on the spot - they don’t just say it will be fixed. 

So everyone, please excuse my lack of replies to your emails. I am utterly frustrated and disappointed about this. I see fellow passengers enjoying sending texts, while I look at my silent, useless iPhone in despair. All I can use it for is as a camera. After I leave the ship, I will keep working on solving this problem, I assure you. (I gave up on connecting via Skype long ago. That is an Apple problem too.)

Zooming into our first lock.

The actual view of the lock as we approached it. Ships travel on the right side of the river. 

Going under the 'gate'.

Looking back at the gate.

Waiting for the ship to continue rising to the top. This was a shorter lock.

The water rushed in via the bottom of the gate ahead of us. 

When the ship reached the same level as the river in front if the lock, the gate started to rise. 

Out we went!