When you think of Munich you probably think of Oktoberfest and frothing Steins, and loads of cleavage of course hanging out of those lovely drindl’s. Â Well if you are like me you also think of river surfing. Â One of the more famous spots to river surf is in Munich. Â Nowadays upwards of 100 surfers a day hit the standing wave situated in the English Gardens known as the ‘Icy Brook’ or Eisbach.
I surfed it back in 99′, well attempted anyway. Â It is really tricky and can be treacherous since about 20 tons of water flow down it every second. Â It was cold, shallow, and since the water was moving so quickly it was tough to get out if you fall off in the wrong spot. Â Expect a few dings on both board and body your first time. Â According to recent reports you can get as many as 25 people waiting in line for a shot at it. Â When I surfed there it was a long wait and there were only a 4-5 guys on it. Â The locals ripped it up and for many of them, this was the only type of surfing they ever did.
Back then it was illegal which I didn’t realize, but supposedly at times you had to keep an eye out for coppers while you rode the waves. Â When I was there it was raining and cold and only a few guys on it and they didn’t seem worried about much of anything. Â Anyway, now it’s officially legal and even the mayor has chimed in saying that he thinks its good for the city’s image. Â Win Win! Â The cool thing is that now that the city plans to embrace its surfing image they might put up/create a few more standing waves in the city that river surfers could ride…could be interesting to see if other cities follow suit.
Read the full article I read and paraphrased from here.
Eisbach from chris knorr on Vimeo.
Bluebird Surf 