Surfers who ride the wave of the Eisbach, a small canal, have become a major tourist attraction in Munich. For years the sport has been prohibited on the river. But state and city officials may soon move to lift the ban.
Two cyclists in shorts and flip-flops weave their way through the rush-hour traffic along Prinzregenten Street in Munich, with surfboards under their arms. A woman in a convertible whistles at them. At the same time, a group of surfers makes its way across the Hofgarten behind the Bavarian governor's office, and more young surfers are just emerging from the Lehel subway station, one already wearing a wetsuit.
Germany has coastline along both the North and Baltic Seas, and yet its best surfing is found in southern, landlocked Munich.
The Eisbach, a small canal, flows through the city's famous English Garde
the canal surges over a bulge in the streambed, creating a standing wave a good meter (three feet) high.
A Major Tourist Attraction
clipped from: www.spiegel.de