Windsurf – July 2019

96 JULY 2019

GERMANY’S LAKE DISTRICT

Despite being landlocked, Bavaria in southeast Germany has a thriving wind-

surfing scene due to its plentiful number of lakes that sit high above sea level

in beautiful countryside, fringed with views of the hills and mountains. Andy

Lachauer and Michael Krumm give us a guide to some of the area’s best spots.

Words Andy Lachauer and Michael Krumm //

Photos Michael Berger/mitchphoto.de and Michael Krumm.

B

avaria is mostly known for its beer, the

Oktoberfest (locally called ‘Wies’n’),

traditional costumes called Lederhosen

for men and Dirndls for women, the

most famous river wave in the world called Eis-

bach or the biggest mountain of Germany called

Zugspitze. But there is even more to the area than

all that for a windsurfer. Around 100 km from

Munich there is a large number of lakes and for

every wind direction there is a place to sail.

LAKE AMMERSEE

Ammersee is the place to go with westerly winds

and is just 30 minutes from Munich. Typical

conditions are a mix of sunshine and rain with

a wind strength between 10 and 50 knots. When

the lake is ‘boiling’ from high winds it delivers the

best waves for jumping in the area. Best place to

hit the water is in the bay of Herrsching; it has

good parking, toilets and restaurants. For no wind

days, visit Kloster Andechs, a monastery just up

the mountain from Herrsching for traditional

food and drinks in a great atmosphere.

LAKE STARNBERG

Just 10 minutes away from Ammersee is the

next lake called Starnberg. It has pretty simi-

lar conditions to Ammersee except is normal-

ly a few knots less wind. There are several entry

points around the lake (Ammerland, Ambach

and Sankt Heinrich) and best wind directions are

SSE-S-SW-W. If you need spares, there’s a wind-

surf shop right next to the lake called Surftools

Starnberg (www.surftools.de).

LAKE WÖRTHSEE

Between Ammersee and Starnberg is another lake

called Wörthsee, and is the place to go when the

wind comes from the east. It’s a pretty small lake

with nice water colours and mellow light wind

conditions for freeride and freestyle with the wind

peaking around 5 p.m., right on time for a sunset

session. Best entry point is at “Rossschwemme”,

which has good parking and a shop and café right

at the spot.