Surfing in Munich…On A River

Before I head to any city, I like to do my research and find out important details like where to get the best Bloody Mary, as well as what quirky things there are to do there. During such research, I was surprised to find out that surfing in Munich – on a river in a park no less – is totally a thing.

It sounded nuts to me. Call me clueless, call me a surfing novice, but I honestly had zero idea that you could do that, and to be fair to me, Munich isn’t exactly known as a surfing capital of the world. I mean, sure, surf in the sea, but on a river? I searched for some photos and the whole thing looked so cool that I decided to check it out when I was in town (this has nothing everything to do with men in rubber suits, I assure you).

So back to the surfing. It takes place on the Eisbach – a small, manmade river in the Englischer Garten. In fact, even the waves are manmade – there are two of them, one for the daredevil experts and the other for novices. After I had my whole ‘Winter in Munich‘ epiphany, I headed to the daredevil one to check it out.

Surf’s up!

It wasn’t hard to find the exact spot, as it’s near to the Haus der Kunst art museum, on the edge of the park. What a sight to behold – in almost sub-zero degree temperatures, these men (and one lady!) were surfing on the river. Each person took their turn to ride the wave, which, as you’ll see from the video below, is no easy feat. I momentarily found myself wishing that I could do something as masterful as that, but I then remembered that these people are getting wet in ridiculously cold weather; I’ll stick to wrapping up warm, drinking glühwein and reading my Kindle, thanks.

I videoed the best guy out of the bunch, and I was utterly mesmerised by his skill – describing it in words won’t do it justice, so check it out!

Munich may not exactly be a quirky city, but as I detailed in my guide of things to do there, it certainly has its quirks – and this is one of them. The guys had an audience of enthusiastic tourists and their camera phones the whole time we were watching. The best spot to catch the action is on the bridge that overlooks the wave.

I was stood there a lot longer than I thought I would be, especially considering the cold temperatures.  Rubber suits aside, it’s honestly worth a look if you’re in town.

The Video

Surfing in Munich – The Essential Info

• The best spot to see the surfers is near the Haus der Kunst museum, as seen on the map below.
• While wet rubber suits are appealing, in the summer you get to enjoy topless surfers instead. Choose your vice.

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Have you ever seen river surfing before? If so, where?