Eisbach Ode

Ode to the Eisbach

This is where we, the tribe of seekers, go to lose ourselves.
To disappear into the moment.
Where everything else fades away.

Here, we become one with nature.
One with life.
One with the universe.

This is our sacred place.
This is where we find ourselves.
And where we lose ourselves again.

It makes us better people.
It teaches us life.

It is a culture.
A lifestyle.
A philosophy.

We come from everywhere.
Bavarians. Germans. Australians. Canadians. South Africans.
Americans. Afghans.

Different origins.
One passion.
One reason to be.

Yet our city, our country, our continent
are slowly sinking into bureaucracy.
Into fear.
Into an inability to change.

We do not want to rob a bank.
We want to practice our sport.

Something that keeps us fit.
Healthy.
Productive.

Something that moves us forward.

And still, even this seems too much to ask.

How long will it take
to change
to progress
to move into the future?

Until once again I stand by the river
and someone says to me:

This place saved my life.

And I answer.
Yes.
It saved mine too.

I look up.
Into the face of a spectator.

Eyes wide with wonder.
Watching the dance
between human
and water.

A moment of beauty.
Of connection.
Of meaning.

People return, day after day.
Hundreds. Thousands.

Calmed.
Hypnotised.
Leaving with the feeling
of having experienced something rare.

Something special.

A dance
between man
woman
and nature.
For a moment
we are united.

As people.
With nature.
With the elements.

@stadtmuenchen This is a plea to the city of Munich officials, politicians, and others responsible for the Eisbach river wave, one of Munich’s biggest tourist attraction, which has been made unsurfable by the city’s actions, and who have the power to reactivate it in little time, if only they would act with logic and, above all, without fear. Do it.

@dieter_reiter_089 @dominik_krause11 @clemens.baumgaertner @dietlverena #eisbach
#culture #surfculture #munich @surfclubmunchen
A very big thank you to the photographers.