Surfing is typically a sport reserved for ocean access, but in Germany, river surfing is totally a thing.
The German city of Munich is easily a few hundred miles from the closest bit of sea, but that’s not stopping locals from getting their surf on. The Eisbach is a relatively narrow channel of the Isar River, and has been used for river surfing since the 70s. It was illegal until recently, so river surfers had to be relatively secret. A sort of incognito surfer set popped up and stayed active until the ban was lifted in 2010. River surfing is now a sport growing in popularity with locals and internationals, giving way to a small submarket of river-ready surfboard modifications.
[ via ]
“The first attempt to stand up and surf on a river occurred in Germany on 5th of September 1975. Two brothers from the small Bavarian town of Trostberg headed to Munich to search out a surfable wave. The Pauli brothers had previously tried to surf rivers before the epic trek to Munich. However, their early attempts had been less successful and required the use of a tow line to ride.
On the 5th of September the Pauli brothers, Arthur and Alexander, were the first to surf the Flosslaende on the Iser River in the heart of Munich. They accomplished this without the use of a rope.
Within a short period of time word spread throughout Munich that there was indeed a surfable wave in the city. The local scene began growing from that point. Because the river wave happens to be near a local campsite traveling surfers began having a crack at the wave, Australians, South Africans and Americans are counted amongst the pioneers of the Flosslaende river wave.” [ via ]
Pretty cool, huh?
