landlocked.surf

No ocean
at the door?We ride
any break!

Being landlocked means you surf, but your home break is hundreds of kilometres away. This is what actually helps between sessions, plus webcams and forecasts for the spots you can reach from here.

Check the spots What helps between sessions
you a few hundred kilometres, swell permitting the next break

What landlocked means

A landlocked country is one with no coastline, think Switzerland or Austria. At some point surfers borrowed the word for anyone whose head is in the line-up while the rest of them is stuck hundreds of kilometres inland.

In Germany, that's a lot of people. Even from Hamburg it's a good two hours to the North Sea, and even then it only works if wind, swell and tide play along. From Munich, Cologne or Leipzig, a quick surf turns into a road trip.

Coastal surfers get to be picky. They wait for a good day and happily skip a so-so session, because there'll be waves tomorrow. When you live inland, you don't have that luxury, so you take any break you can get: a freezing session in February, knee-high windswell in Holland, the car park ramp round the corner. Here's how we make that work between trips.

Between sessions

Nothing beats a session in the ocean. But a few things will stop you starting from scratch after weeks without a wave.

Surfskating

The city as your line-up. What it's good for and what to keep in mind.

Read more

Wave pools

Real waves, no coastline needed.

Read more

SUP

Balance and time on the water at your local lake.

Read more

Staying fit

Yoga, resistance bands and gym work for paddling and pop-ups.

Read more

Surfskating

Between trips, the city becomes your line-up. A car park ramp, a kerb, the bowl in the park: any spot can be a break if you look at it through a surfer's eyes.

A surfskate has a front truck that turns much more freely than a normal one, so you can generate speed from your hips and shoulders (pumping) without ever pushing. A surprising amount of what matters on a wave can be practised on concrete. For us it's the best dry-land training there is, and it's a lot of fun.

To get the most out of it: bend your knees, move from your hips and upper body, and let your head lead. Ride lines with just a few clean pumps. Filming yourself every now and then helps loads, and a lesson with someone who surfs helps even more. The Surfskate Academy has some great drills. And there's no shame in wearing a helmet and pads.

Technique and spots at concrete.surf

Wave pools

Every wave counts, even the ones in a pool.

Standing waves on rivers and in parks have their own scene and their own style, and huge respect to everyone who rides them. As a stand-in for the ocean, though, we find wave pools more exciting: you paddle in, take off and ride the wave all the way, just like out at sea.

The upside: loads of waves back to back and time to work on one specific thing. The downside: sessions aren't cheap, and you miss everything that comes with the ocean, like currents, wind and waiting for the right set. Germany only has one so far, but more are on the way, including one up north near us.

SUP

It's not surfing, but it's time on the water. Some days, that's enough.

Stand-up paddling on a lake doesn't look like much. But it does a lot for your surfing, especially if you do it regularly rather than only on calm summer days.

When it's windy, bigger lakes can even get a bit choppy. Still not surfing, but good practice for that moment when the board starts getting twitchy under your feet.

Staying fit between swells

After a long break, it's your shoulders you notice first, not the waves. The good news is every break counts. Even ten minutes with a band on your lunch break.

Yoga and mobility

There's a reason so many surfers do yoga. It loosens up everything that gets stiff when you paddle and pop up, and it teaches you to keep your breathing calm when things get hard.

  • Downward dog and cobra for your shoulders, chest and paddling position
  • Low lunge and pigeon for open hips and a cleaner pop-up
  • Rotations on all fours to turn through your upper back
  • Ten to fifteen minutes a few times a week does more than one long session a month

Resistance bands

Small, cheap and they fit in any bag. Great at home, in the van or on your lunch break.

  • Paddle pulls: anchor the band in front of you, lie face down on a bench or ball and pull through one arm at a time
  • External rotations with your elbow tucked in, for your rotator cuff
  • Face pulls and pull-aparts for your upper back
  • Woodchops against the band for stable rotation

Gym and strength

Two full-body sessions a week is plenty. Consistent and clean beats heavy and once in a while.

  • Pull more than you push: pull-ups or lat pulldowns and rows for your paddling muscles
  • Explosive push-ups, which are basically a pop-up
  • Single-leg work: Bulgarian split squats and single-leg deadlifts
  • Anti-rotation core work, like Pallof presses on a cable machine

And if you can fit it in, swim front crawl once a week. It's the best paddle training we know. If your shoulders or back are giving you trouble, check with a physio or coach first.

Worth watching

Three YouTube channels we've learned a lot from.

Surf Strength Coach

Surf fitness, mobility and pop-up training from coach Cris Mills.

Watch on YouTube

Barefoot Surf

Biomechanics and video analysis. Really good at showing what's actually happening on a wave, and handy for breaking down your own clips.

Watch on YouTube

The Surfskate Academy

Surfskate drills step by step, from your first pumps to turns that carry over to the water.

Watch on YouTube

Webcams and forecasts

Checking the surf from inland: forecast first, then the webcam, then the car. One spot per country, from Sylt down to Hossegor.

  1. Get the big picture

    surf-forecast.com and windy.com tell you whether there's any swell on the way and which way the wind's blowing.

  2. Check local sources

    The North Sea is fickle. It's mostly short-period windswell, and global models get it wrong more often here. So it's worth checking DWD (marine weather), BSH (water levels and tides), DMI (wave forecasts for Denmark) and Rijkswaterstaat (live wave measurements in Holland).

  3. See for yourself

    The webcam shows you whether it's actually working and how crowded the line-up is.

  • Germany

    Sylt, Brandenburger Strand

    Sandbars between the groynes in front of the Westerland promenade. Works best with a west to northwest swell and an easterly wind.

    WebcamForecast
  • Denmark

    Nørre Vorupør, Deadmans

    A punchy A-frame over sand in the bay at Vorupør, often hollow. Best on a north-northwest swell with a south-southeasterly wind. Watch out for strong rips.

    WebcamForecast
  • Netherlands

    Scheveningen

    Around the pier and harbour walls in The Hague. Easy to get to, so it's often busy.

    WebcamForecast
  • Belgium

    Oostende

    Exposed beach break with lefts and rights, usually soft and fairly inconsistent. Works with a north-northwest swell and a southeasterly wind.

    WebcamForecast
  • France

    Hossegor, La Gravière

    Hossegor's famous sandbar break, heavy, hollow and often crowded. Experts only when it's big. Works with a west swell and an easterly wind.

    WebcamForecast

All cams belong to their operators, we just link to them. Last checked October 2026. Found a broken link? Let us know at hej@slowlifesociety.com.

Questions we get a lot

Can you surf in Germany without going to the coast?

Yes. Wave pools send waves down a basin that you paddle into just like in the ocean. There's one near Munich so far, with more planned, including in Stade near Hamburg and in Krefeld. There are also standing waves, which have their own scene. And of course there's the North Sea and the Baltic, which can be a lot of fun on a good day.

Does surfskating actually help your surfing?

Yes, as long as your technique is right. Pumping, rotation, stance and the timing of your turns are all easy to practise on concrete. But bad habits carry over just as easily: if you steer with your feet or pump frantically on the skate, you'll do the same on a wave. It also won't help with paddling, pop-ups or reading waves.

What's the best training for paddling?

Front crawl in the pool, plus pulling exercises like pull-ups, lat pulldowns or rows. Resistance bands let you copy the paddling motion at home. For healthy shoulders, add external rotations and some upper back work.

When does the North Sea get waves?

Mostly in autumn and winter, when low-pressure systems move through. It's usually short-period windswell. It often gets good when the wind drops or swings offshore after a storm. Tide and sandbars make a big difference at every spot.

What wetsuit do I need for the North Sea and the Baltic?

In midsummer a 4/3 usually does the job, or even a 3/2 on warm days. From autumn onwards you'll want a 5/4 or 6/5, plus boots, gloves and a hood.

Is SUP a good substitute for surfing?

Not a substitute, but a good addition. Your balance and core strength will improve noticeably, and you're out on the water.

Who's behind this

Hej, nice of you to drop by. We're two landlocked surfers from Hamburg. Not that far from the coast, really, but still almost always too far for a quick surf after work. So we surfskate around the city, head to the coast whenever the forecast looks half decent and take whatever we can get. Any break, as we call it.

Behind this site is SLOW LIFE SOCIETY. We make street and surf essentials for anyone chasing their own flow, in the water, on concrete or just day to day. We're connected by the idea that a good life isn't about how fast you move through it, but how present you are in it. Every design tells its own story from Europe's coasts, from the cold north to the sunny south, and every one of them is 100% human‑made.

And we're dreaming of a real place where this community can come together. We're not there yet, but we're building towards it.

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