Hang Ten in Munich

National Geographic Executive Vice President of Digital Media Mark Bauman just is back from a trip to Munich, where he uncovered a Bavarian brand of surfing in the heart of the city.

As I pulled into the city of Munich last week, I was a bit surprised to see a stocky dark-haired German in a wetsuit with a short board under his left arm. Munich may be better known for Oktoberfest, its notorious concentration camp, and the murder of 11 Israeli Olympic athletes in 1972. But it also has a shockingly vibrant surfing scene, as I recently discovered.

Still curious about the wetsuit-clad Bavarian after two days of business meetings and a few too many wheat beers, I gently asked my hosts whether I had been hallucinating: Was the gentlemen with the surfboard that I thought I saw merely the result of the fatigue-plagued 6 a.m. drive from the airport? They quickly tossed me into the back seat of a BMW, and introduced me to the standing river wave on the Eisbach, where dozens of Bavarian surfers carve, hang ten, and try out such difficult maneuvers as aerials, 360s and floaters.

The Eisbach, or "Ice Brook," is a tributary of the Isar River that begins where two underground canals meet. Rows of concrete blocks, which were thrown into the river to weaken the flow of water surging up from underground, are situated alongside wooden boards wedged into the canal by surfers. The combined effect are waves that would get any adrenaline junkie stoked. And this is all just a few minutes from Munich's beautiful city hall (a nice piece of Gothic architecture complete with its own giant glockenspiel) -- and the city's famous 419-year-old Hofbrauhaus, providing the kind of great beer that brings memories of Oktoberfest all year round. Like the Hofbrauhaus, Munich offers travelers a taste of the light and of the dark. Oh yeah, and beer-house pretzels big enough to surf on.

Photo: Julien Narboux via Flickr

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Comments

[John Ur]

I want to know if Mark tried out the wave himself!

[Matt]

I got a chance to try this out while traveling in southern Germany, and let me tell you, it ain't as easy as it looks.

There's also a spot a little further down the river where those not so athletically inclined can simply jump in and let the current scoot them swiftly a couple hundred feet downstream. It gets the adrenaline pumping, but requires much less coordination.

[Jim Benning]

So glad you guys are writing about the Eisbach. Great spot. Some time back we dug up some video of it, complete with very German pop music:

http://www.worldhum.com/weblog/item/surfing_the_eisbach_california_culture_in_bavaria_20080114/

[Emily]

Wow, I had no idea river surfing was a sport. Thanks for sharing, Mark! Turns out there's a World River Surfing Association (see www.surfrivers.net. There's also a guy that runs a company called Serious Fun Riversurfing (www.riversurfing.co.nz), with operations in New Zealand, Uganda, and Zambia.