Surfing in the English Garden, Munich

Surfing in the English Garden, Munich

Before we moved to Scottsdale, I befriended a guy on Twitter. He, at the time, ran the GolfHub Arizona Twitter page and our love for golf became obvious. My first weekend in the Valley we played 18 holes at Trilogy Golf Club at Power Ranch. My buddy Tommy has another love… surfing.

Just look at his tattoos and you will see how much the Hawaiian islands and surfing means to him. Moral of the story, while sitting on a flight from Paris to Rome, I grabbed the latest copy of Ling, an in-flight magazine on vueling. There was an article in there, while short and to the point, about surfing. Not surfing like you think, but river surfing. (I am glad that we made it to Rome… before we took off, the pilot came on the and said, “We have a pretty major problem. We just lost an engine. That is pretty important.” Yes, that seems VERY important. But we made it!)

There is a place in Munich called Englischer Garten. It is a huge park in the middle of town. Think Central Park in New York City. A river runs through the park, and provides a great opportunity for surfers to work on his or her form. The river is called Eisbach. The wave is formed by the Eisbach current and was discovered in the 1970s by adventurous locals. Since then, surfers have strategically placed planks of wood to create larger waves and more challenging surf conditions.

If you are a surfer, you better get in line. The river is only 10 meters wide, and allows only 1 person the chance to surf. If and when you fall, another surfer will take your spot until you return. Oh, and the water is cold. All of the photos I have seen show surfers in wetsuits. Having been scuba diving in some pretty cold water, I can understand the desire to stay warm in icy conditions.

The wave, nicknamed “the perfect wave”, is a population destination for professional surfers from California and Hawaii. They come all year round to experience the Bavarian wave. Be careful though, as there is a sign posted saying, “Dangerous”. Several accidents in the past have prompted this warning.

Like I said, the article was short and sweet, but made me think of my buddy Tommy. Maybe one day he can visit Munich and surf the perfect wave. Hang ten!