Surf’s up… in Munich?

Catching a wave in the heart of Europe

All photos © copyright Matthew Brace

Pretty much every day of the year a hardy band of Munich residents squeeze into wetsuits, wax surfboards and ride a standing wave in the heart of the city.

This inland surf break has been created on the Eisbach, a side stream of the main Isar river which flows through the city from the Alps en route to join the Danube.

On each visit to this fabulous city, I walk to the stretch of the Eisbach that runs through the Englischer Garten to watch the surfers. On busy days, they queue up in orderly lines at the entry points either side of the stream. Each surfer does his or her thing on the board for a couple of minutes and then gives way to the next. Some perform tricks, others are happy just to stay upright. Nobody seems to judge anybody else and everybody is welcome.

Watching them can be therapeutic. I’ve never seen any aggression or territorial bravado, which can be unfortunate traits of some coastal surf breaks around the world. Instead, they seem to have made this a very inclusive place to catch a wave. The Eisbach surfers reflect their city: unhurried, polite and civilised.

At Christmas one year, some friends and I sipped glühwein from flasks and watched them don their hooded drysuits and jump from the frosted shore into the ice-cold water. The next summer, on a baking hot day, we lay in the shade of a tree a little downstream with a picnic of local delicacies and wine from the magnificent Dallmayr foodhall. One of the surfers drifted with the current after her stint and lingered in the water near us to stay cool for a few minutes before going back for another ride.

Next time you’re in Munich, book in some therapy time with the Eisbach surfers.