Munich’s Iconic Surf Wave Vanishes After Cleanup Mishap

When you imagine surfing, you probably imagine tanned, bleached blonde dudes catching waves in California or in some exotic tropical setting. You probably don’t think of Munich, Germany, even though Munich’s legendary icy Eisbachwelle river, nestled within a quiet city park, was a major surfing hotspot for Germans looking to catch a wave.

Unfortunately, according to NPR, after a cleaning mishap, the unusual German surfing utopia is dead.

This November, after city engineers finished dredging the two-kilometer Eisbach canal, they reopened the river’s floodgates. They discovered that they accidentally ruined Munich’s most iconic wave, nicknamed “E1” by those in the know. Where there used to be a 1.5-meter standing wall of water, there’s now a paltry little splash that makes the river look s