So what does an adrenaline freak do on a sunny day in the middle of January in a major European city hundreds of kilometres from the sea?
Go surfing of course!
I had heard about the Munich surfers from a couple of people before coming to the city, but I was surprised at how many people did not know about it here in Munich. I was also curious to see it myself, so I headed out to Haus der Kunst, round the corner from Odeonsplatz U-Bahn, to see if anyone was crazy enough to be surfing in the middle of winter.
I was not alone, and it did not take long to come find them, as a small crowd had already gathered to watch the hardy surfers riding the Munich Wave just below the bridge. Hawaii it may not be, but the guys were clearly having fun and rising to the challenge. There were three taking turns to surf, with another few waiting in the wings.
Although the sun was out, it was not quite warm enough for the almost-naked surfing as in the lead picture of this article, and this is how the January surfers are attired.
Of course, if they surf in January, they surf all year round, and I can imagine it is a fun attraction in the main tourist season and at Oktoberfest for example.
There is a great video explaining the history of the Munich Wave, including some of the characters who brought the phenomenon to Munich, including Dieter the Eater, who was one of the first to discover it almost 50 years ago.
There was not so much craziness yesterday (unless you count the concept of surfing in a big city in the middle of winter), just a few guys enjoying the surf. More of yesterday's pictures below.
There is, of course, a website, which has a lot of information on the Munich river surfing scene. Check it out here!
