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Munich A big walk in tiny temperatures

I've been exporing Munich recently and realised that pulling together a quick spark page now and again is a handy way of sharing waht I've found. Here're are some images from a few weeks back when everything was -10C and I had a free Sunday. With all the shops closed, (Sunday trading hasn't made it to Bavaria yet) , I figured I'd go for a walk along the river Isar and take a few photos.

It was 11am by the time I got going, so the light was harsh, but it was nice to be out on a crisp clear sunny day. Just taking pictures for a record of where I'd been and what I'd seen was a nice change too.

scenes by the river

My rough plan had been to walk north through the Englischer Garten, find a cafe for a coffee and then head back. By the time I'd arrived at a massive dam I realised that the Englisher Garten is mostly on the other side of the river, and no-one seemed to be drinking coffee either.

This dam need a coffee stall.

Crossing the river I decided to head back and get a coffee at the Deutsche Museum that I'd passed on the way up. I also wanted to find a photo spot that I'd had in mind since it was mentioned over a pint a while back.

After a little computer aided navigation, I found the Eisbachwelle. Wikipedia says "The river forms a standing wave about 1 metre high, which is a popular river surfing spot. The water is cold and shallow (sometimes only 40 cm deep), making it suitable only for experienced surfers"

Wikipedia is not wrong, It was -6C at best in the sun, and these guys were going for it. It's a well known spot and always gathers a crowd. So I sorted out my exposure compensation and got a decent spot without falling in the river!

The thing is: It obviously is quite hard to surf here. As much I had the utmost respect for these nutters getting in the water, I wasn't getting the sort of pictures I wanted.

My pre-conceived ideas also weren't help by a low sun casting shadows onto the wave and everyone wearing black wetsuits. How very inconsiderate!

So, it was time to change tack, try some different angles and shoot for a more documentary approach...

With ice everywhere and nothing but a wall of tourists to stop me ending up in the river: thought was going to be required.

A 5D, 50 1.4 and 16-35 makes for an interesting selection to shoot sports! In the end, it was good fun (inadvertently ;) getting myself in other people's photos while finding different angles that worked my the kit I have.

And then, just as my fingers were going numb for the third time and I was realising that lunch was long overdue, Ms Magenta appeared. As well as a birght, fully co-ordinated and photogenic wetsuit she'd brought her own (1D&70-200 toting) photographer. So I figured it was worth a few more minutes...

It's safe to say that Ms Magenta can surf!

With plenty (ie way too many) photos done, and the light now totally gone from the wave I was good to go. So, I bailed out to the Deutsches Museum for a coffee, and hot-aches as my fingers returned from the dead.

In the end I shot 697 frames and walked 23km. 599 photos are surfing related! And to top it off, I found this wee architectural gem just round the corner from my appartment:

Yep! It is, ironicaly, a Nokia building :)

...more Munich adventures to follow...

Credits:

© Lee Irvine

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