I saw this cool sight in Munich today. It was a hot summer day and I felt the coolness from the water as I stood watching from the bridge above. It was a pleasant relief, and a fun sight!

The waves on the Eisbach river at the entrance to the Englischer Garten  attract surfers and onlookers from around the world. The spot is famous throughout the world for being the largest, best and most consistent city centre location for river surfing. People have been surfing here for 40 years.

By the way: in 2024, the Eisbachwelle was voted one of the top 100 most beautiful beaches in the world. This is the only ranking in Germany and ahead of Ipanema beach.

The man-made Eisbach river emerges from underground just a few steps away from the Haus der Kunst (art gallery) on Prinzregentenstrasse in the Lehel district. A stone step at the outlet generates a standing wave about half a metre tall.

The Eisbach is a 1.2-mile river that flows across the Englischer Garten, a public park located in Munich, Germany.

Despite being a small distributary of the Isar River, the Eisbach features a very fast stream, making surfing a reality in an inland city.

The Eisbach wave is a stationary, human-made wave located just 50 yards away from the Haus der Kunst modern and contemporary art museum in front of a nearby bridge.

The standing wave breaks in cold, 15-inch ( deep and 40-foot wide waters.

The surfing conditions at Eisbach vary depending on the weather and the time of the year, but it could produce a solid three-to-four-foot wave.

The best time of the year to ride Germany’s quintessential river wave is from March to November when water levels are not too high and not too low.

The average water temperature ranges from 62 °F in summer to 50 °F in winter.

Eisbach means “icy creek” or “ice brook” in English.

Although the Eisbach River wave rarely freezes due to its strong currents, it can easily reach extremely low temperatures of around 34 °F.