Surf’s up on Munich’s Eisbach river — the world capital of river surfing

It may be hundreds of miles away from any coastline, but the Bavarian capital of Munich is home to one of the world’s most iconic — albeit dangerous — waves. The Eisbach wave, which sits on the edge of the Eisbach river, has been attracting wetsuit-wearing surfers since the 1970s, including big names like famed American competitive surfer Kelly Slater.

The Eisbach can be intimidating, not just because of the artificial wave itself — which runs in shallow water and can reach up to 4 feet high — but because of everything else surrounding it. 

Like the constant audience of dozens of tourists ogling the surfers from a stone bridge just above.

Then, there’s the surfers themselves: cool, confident, carefree and mostly men — though, with some exceptions. 

“I always felt like, ‘Wow those surfers, they’re so cool,’” said 20-year-old Caroline Leeger.

She spent a long time watching from the sidelines. Then, three years ago she decided to get her own surfboard and dip her toes in the river.

“I felt like, ‘OK, now is your time. You have to start doing it,’” she said.

Here’s how it all works.

Surfers — each one donning a wetsuit and short board — line up on the banks of the river for their shot at the wave. 

Once it’s their turn — everyone goes one at a time at the Eisbach — all eyes are on them, at least for as long as they can keep themselves upright.

Lasse Bauer, 32, said he learned to surf over a decade ago while living abroad in New Zealand. When he returned to his native Munich, an idea sparked as he started coming by the Eisbach river.  

“I went with one of my best friends, and we said, ‘Hey, wouldn’t it be cool to build river waves?’” 

Bauer ended up changing his college major to hydraulic engineering. Today, he works for Dream Wave International, a company that has built two artificial waves in Germany, one in Nuremberg and another in Hanover. 

“It’s just a lot of fun,” said Bauer, who has been coming to the Eisbach at least once a week for the past decade.

The Eisbach river wave dates back to the early 1970s, when a small group of surfers, fed up with the fact that the nearest coastline was over 300 miles away, took matters into their own hands.

Overnight, a wave appeared in the river after the city placed several concrete blocks under the stone bridge to block the strong current. 

Intriguingly, the surfers attached a rope to the bridge and began surfing it. Soon, they realized they didn’t even need the ropes.

But for a long time, Munich officials thought the wave was too dangerous to surf, so this makeshift sport was illegal.

“If we heard the sirens of the police, we had to run away like criminals. But we weren’t criminals, I promise,” said Rufus Amend, another Eisbach surfer.

The city of Munich overturned the ban in 2010.

Today, hundreds of spectators watch him surf, but Amend said he doesn’t even notice them anymore. In fact, he said he’s not thinking about anything once he’s in the water.

“If you’re in the water and surfing, you don’t think about work or school or whatever,” he said.

The river may not provide that same open escape as the ocean, but once he’s on the wave, Amend said, all thoughts just stop — which is the best part of all.