Germany-First time surfing

[Westm1121]

Hello all,

A couple of years ago some friends and I went surfing in Monterey, Ca and I fell in love with it. Unfortunately, I then moved to middle of nowhere Texas and was unable to really get into it due to school and 7+ hours to the nearest beach. Now, I'm currently living in Germany and I've decided that I might as well live a little and take some weekend trips to the coast. I have a couple of questions. First, can anyone lend me some info on places that are good to go to in Europe if my wife and I are beginners? The second question is about board size. I'm 5'10", weighing 180 and I've come a cross a funboard that's 7'6" x 21 3/4" x 2 5/8". I was wondering if this sounds like a good match for me or not. Anyways, thanks in advance for the help. From what 've read so far this seems like a really helpful community of people and hopefully, I'll be able to contribute some knowledge someday down the road. Thanks again.

Matt

[surf patrol]

Hi Matt, welcome to Surfing Waves!

The board is a resonable board for a beginner. Don't go any smaller than this, but you could go larger - especially if you will not be in the water regularly.
You'll find waves along the north east coast of Germany and down the Netherlands coast. I don't have any specifics for you though. The waves that you'll find on the North Sea are generally suitable for beginners.
Were you just after information on surf spots that you could travel to from Germany?

[Westm1121]

Thanks for the info and quick response. Yeah, I'm just looking for info about surf spots I can travel to from Germany. Right now I'm in the south west corner of Germany, so I'm willing to drive a little farther because I'll end up stopping for the night no matter which shore I goto due to the minimum 5 hour drive each way.

[surf patrol]

The South West corner is a long way from the waves. Just looking at the map, your best bet may well be the Atlantic Coast of France. You'll have a long drive wherever you go, but there is more chance of scoring some waves on this coast. There are waves along the Netherlands coast, but the quality and the duration of the swells are not as good as France.

Perhaps there are other surfers from Germany on the forum who could help out. (I can't think of any though)

Germany does have a thriving river surfing community

[Westm1121]

Haha, I have seen a few things abuot river surfing in Germany while searching the web, I might end up looking into that if traveling to the coast once a month or so isn't enough for me. I'm hoping the urge to surf will give me the kick in the pants I need to travel more because I've been here a year and have only traveled a maximum of about 1-2 hours out and I haven't even left Germany at all. I have found some surf shops within 2 hours of here, so I'll probably call them up and get some info from them too.