It has to be a surprise for at least of few of you readers that Munich, Germany, doesn't just host the world's largest urban park. It also is a surfing hot spot. In fact, it is the birthplace of river surfing.
This is no place for the Beach Boys to sing about. The water of the Eisbach river never gets above 57 degrees Fahrenheit and there's no beach for the California Girls (that they wished you all could see) to strut on. Twenty
tons of water pours out from beneath an urban bridge at 5 meters a second. It
rebounds from a dip in the river bed, creating a wave that a practiced surfer
can dart back and forth on for as long as his skill and stamina allow.
The
evening shots, due to the slow shutter speed, give a sense of the rush of water; the next shot, benefiting from daylight and a photographer's skill I can only dream of, stops the action to display the confidence and poise of a veteran. You can view photos of this quality on Wikipedia.
Wikipedia defines river surfing as the sport of surfing either standing
waves or tidal bores on rivers. In the Munich scenario, we are talking a
standing wave. The sport has been documented in Munich from the early 1970's, supporting Bavaria's capital city's reputation as the place where this sport originated.
The online encyclopedia reports that up to 100 surfers hit the stationary wave daily in Englischer
Garten (English Garden). Most of the ones we saw lasted a few crossings and
then rode too high on the crest and were washed downstream. But a couple
glided back and forth almost effortlessly in the confined space, turning on a
dime to retrace their paths.
Wikipedia reports that Munich
"was the first location that created a true surfing community
around an inland river wave". The encyclopedia reports that there
are approximately 1,000 active surfers who ride the wave,
and up to 10,000 in Munich who have at least given it a try.
Love,
Robert, and
Wilson
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