I visited Munich back in 2013 and recorded several surfers on the wave [0]. For reference I was standing on the bridge just above the platform in the article's second photo. It was pretty neat, and I'm sad that it might be lost.
The linked Stern article[1] has a before picture showing how the wave used to look.
I'm not that good with hydrodynamics, but since they say nothing structural changed during the cleanup, could it be how quickly they brought the flow back up?
According to other sources (German: https://muenchen.t-online.de/region/muenchen/id_100983050/mu...) some experienced surfers also say that the water level has been unusually low since the reopening (1.40 m and has since dropped to 1.21 m instead of the usual 1.50 m), which of course influences the flow. So some issue with the weirs regulating the flow is suspected - if it's "only" this, it might be quick to fix...
This is classic turbulent/laminar behaviour, driven by Reynolds number - the volume, the flow rate, the shape of the vessel.
I actually did a hydrodynamics project around this 20 odd years ago as a first year undergrad - one thing I noted was that I had to open valves slowly - any sudden acceleration could dramatically alter the threshold at which one would transition from laminar to turbulent flow, and you could only get back to the laminar regime by entirely stopping the flow, and bringing it back up, slowly.
Watching surfers in the middle of this park was one of my favorite things to do in Munich. What a bummer. I'd be surprised if they had any luck at all restoring it.
I surfed this more than a decade ago. Definitely more of a novelty than anything I'd want to do regularly, but it was fun to try even if the water was freezing.
I really hope they get manage to recover it. I grew up surfing in Central Florida and even I knew about it and had seen pictures of it. I finally went there a few years ago and it was a blast to see people surfing it.
I think this was meant in jest, but Florida is not that wide on the peninsula. You can drive from Clearwater to Cocoa Beach (the entire width from west to east) in about 2.5-3 hours. So if you live in the middle like near Orlando or Gainesville, you just...drive an hour to go surfing.
I guess they could model the river mathematically. I would not be surprised if there are two or more "stable" stream patterns. Perhaps it resets naturally after one year.
Sure they could... the problem is just that apparently no structural changes were made during the cleanup, but the wave was there before they turned the water off and gone after they turned it back on. And they don't have to wait for a year, they can adjust the flow - the wave is situated in a "brook" very near the point where it exits a tunnel through which it flows under much of the city, so it's heavily regulated (see this map for all Munich "brooks" on the West side of the Isar: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f3/Karte_M%... - blue are the current ones, dark blue is in tunnel, the purple ones are historical, the Eisbach is #55 in the top right corner).
I visited Munich back in 2013 and recorded several surfers on the wave [0]. For reference I was standing on the bridge just above the platform in the article's second photo. It was pretty neat, and I'm sad that it might be lost.
[0]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yW4eheoiHY4
I’m sure they will repair it in no time. It’s too much of a tourist attraction to just let it be.
The article mentions they want to bring it back, they just don’t know how they lost it as no structural changes were made.
I think it’s an opportunity to make structural changes and shape that peak like the German Engineers we all know. It will be back better than ever.
It will be fine.
The linked Stern article[1] has a before picture showing how the wave used to look.
I'm not that good with hydrodynamics, but since they say nothing structural changed during the cleanup, could it be how quickly they brought the flow back up?
[1]: https://www.stern.de/sport/sportwelt/eisbachwelle--so-funkti...
According to other sources (German: https://muenchen.t-online.de/region/muenchen/id_100983050/mu...) some experienced surfers also say that the water level has been unusually low since the reopening (1.40 m and has since dropped to 1.21 m instead of the usual 1.50 m), which of course influences the flow. So some issue with the weirs regulating the flow is suspected - if it's "only" this, it might be quick to fix...
It could be that, yes.
This is classic turbulent/laminar behaviour, driven by Reynolds number - the volume, the flow rate, the shape of the vessel.
I actually did a hydrodynamics project around this 20 odd years ago as a first year undergrad - one thing I noted was that I had to open valves slowly - any sudden acceleration could dramatically alter the threshold at which one would transition from laminar to turbulent flow, and you could only get back to the laminar regime by entirely stopping the flow, and bringing it back up, slowly.
Watching surfers in the middle of this park was one of my favorite things to do in Munich. What a bummer. I'd be surprised if they had any luck at all restoring it.
Why don't you think they'll be able to restore it? Manmade standing waves are common (and the Eisbach was manmade in the first place.)
The first time I saw them was around Christmastime and I was just stunned by the sight of surfers in the middle of a snow-filled park.
oh darn heading to munich soon...it would've been cool to see
Give it a week and check back, the surfers are a strong community and there is public support for getting the wave back
I surfed this more than a decade ago. Definitely more of a novelty than anything I'd want to do regularly, but it was fun to try even if the water was freezing.
Just adding that when I rode it, they had slabs of wood under the bridge to manipulate it. Sounds like they may not do that anymore
I really hope they get manage to recover it. I grew up surfing in Central Florida and even I knew about it and had seen pictures of it. I finally went there a few years ago and it was a blast to see people surfing it.
Okay, I'll bite. Where do you go surfing in Central Florida?
I think this was meant in jest, but Florida is not that wide on the peninsula. You can drive from Clearwater to Cocoa Beach (the entire width from west to east) in about 2.5-3 hours. So if you live in the middle like near Orlando or Gainesville, you just...drive an hour to go surfing.
Not OP, but... Cocoa Beach? Home of Kelly Slater?
I guess they could model the river mathematically. I would not be surprised if there are two or more "stable" stream patterns. Perhaps it resets naturally after one year.
Sure they could... the problem is just that apparently no structural changes were made during the cleanup, but the wave was there before they turned the water off and gone after they turned it back on. And they don't have to wait for a year, they can adjust the flow - the wave is situated in a "brook" very near the point where it exits a tunnel through which it flows under much of the city, so it's heavily regulated (see this map for all Munich "brooks" on the West side of the Isar: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f3/Karte_M%... - blue are the current ones, dark blue is in tunnel, the purple ones are historical, the Eisbach is #55 in the top right corner).
It wouldn’t be the first time they built a mathematical and physical model of the Isar River in Munich’s inner city, of which the Eisbach is a part.
https://iprpraha.cz/uploads/assets/dokumenty/sharing_experie...
Hope they can bring the wave back soon, it’s such a special part of Munich’s spirit and surfing history.
Have they tried turning it off and back on again?
That’s what they did and that broke the wave.
Sediment perhaps?
The forced update bricked the wave :(
Yes. Techniker ist informiert.
> Have they tried turning it off and back on again?
Yes, but the bloody thing updated itself between reboots. But, don't worry, Microsoft will release a fix in a couple of years.
As you read in the article, yes, they did, and that's what caused the problem.
Well maybe they just need to jiggle the handle.