Berlin action boys have finally sneaked into Wellenwerk, Berlin's first indoor surf pool! First-hand impressions and buncha funny GIFs incomming!
What is surf? I've only heard the word before.. Can you eat it?
IF there's a wave of water AND you can ride that wave somehow - you're surfing, bro 🤙!
Most of the waves you can surf are exclusive to the ocean and 100% free of charge. Please be nice to other people around you, respect the locals and you can have all the fun you want!
General conclusions after 1 hour in Wellenwerk
Berlin action boys have been to surf camps by the ocean before. I had people with exotic accents scream "paddle paddle paddle!" at me quite a few times. That concludes I have some experience, but I would rank my personal skill and natural talent at "the very next thing after 0".
If Kelly Slater is a pepper steak, I am a supermarket sandwich of surfing.
that one time when it looked like i kinda surf too
We've booked ANFÄNGER SESSION ohne Haltestange after a few failed attempts. The demand is bigger then the ammount of free spots at the moment. You can only book for a few weeks upfront, new time-slots are being added overnight so try your luck in late hours - worked for me!
The way beginner session without a handrail works is similar to skating in a bowl: There's a line, a group of people take turns one after another. There's an employee on each side of the pool (left for goofy and right for regular stance) that can help you getting in and will give you hints and such. You're free to ride as long as you can last.
Tine genuinely asking instructors "how to crash", because crashing is just not in her system, only surfing 🤙🤙🤙
For some of us that meant "till her legs get tired after 2-3min of shredding".
For me and majority of other people, 3-4 seconds till we fall was a major success and "really good for the first time".
Water is only a few centimeters deep in the surf area, so instead of a nosedive you can get the nose of your board "stuck" on the pool floor 🤙🤙🤙
One hour will feel very short even without arriving late, but we made a mistake of comming just on time. You're advised to get inside 15min before or so, you will need time to pass the reception, get gear, change and so on. All and all these could cost you 1 attempt at riding a wave, you want that attempt!
My final thoughts
All and all it's good fun, like action sports should be. I enjoyed it! It's surely a memorable experience, something to do with a good friend or your someone-very-special.
For a price of a 3-4 hours at Wellenwerk you can fly yourself to Lisbon and back (and probably rent gear too).
A charming german dad overheard me complaining about the money in the changing room, and he whispered havel.. welle.. havelwelle into my ear. I was not able to look up the prices anywhere just yet, so take this all-naked swinging-dicks financial advise as it is, an UNCOMFIRMED HINT!
Also, just like "wakesurf" behind a boat, dont expect your pool skill to 100% translate to the ocean, or that river in Munich. Surf pool won't cut it as a "training camp before a vacation", it's a thing of it's own. Sorta expensive but very fun kind of thing.
Thanks for reading and stay active! There's way more things to come from action boys soon!
PS: Joko & Klaas checked wellenwerk way before i did. "Surfen ist mein Leben!" lol