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On a summer Saturday, surfers line up within sight of a city bus stop for a shot at riding a wave. Yet this is Bavaria, in Germany; the nearest ocean is 400 miles away . So where are they going? Here on Munich’s Eisbach stream, the surf is always up.
The Eisbach wave is artificial. Concrete blocks, placed under the water to calm the river a bit as it emerges from an underground channel, form a permanent three-foot swell as the water rushes up and over them. The water is only four feet deep, but the current can slam surfers into the concrete-lined banks with a force comparable to a nine-foot ocean wave.
Riding the wave is officially verboten. That may change soon if city authorities add surfboards to ordinances governing boats. Though police chased surfers off when they discovered the Eisbach in the 1970s, these days the swell is an institution. Cops turn a blind eye. Tourists far outnumber surfers, often taking pictures from the bridge above. “It’s unique that someone can surf in the middle of the city,” says surfer Maik Dengel. “It’s Munich’s own little curiosity.” —Andrew Curry
A typical ride on Munich’s urban wave lasts about a minute.
Photograph by Peter Kneffel, Picture-Alliance/DPA.
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