Christian Seebauer from Vierkirch calls himself a “warm shower”, but he still goes swimming almost every day: in summer as well as in winter.
Vierkirchen
- Just hop into a lake, stream or river.
A lot of children like to do that.
Christian Seebauer also jumped into the river of the same name as a boy in his home town of Prien.
Today, at the age of 53, he swims almost every day.
Summer and winter.
In sunshine or snowfall.
Christian Seebauer now lives in Vierkirchen.
His favorite body of water is now the Amper.
It is currently around two degrees, as he measured.
“It's already cold,” he says.
Nevertheless, he only wears a “shorty” on longer distances at the weekend.
A shorty is a wetsuit with short arms and legs.
Christian Seebauer prefers to swim without neoprene.
“I have a lot of places in the Amper where I swim,” he says.
He often drives by car to his entry points - for example near Haimhausen or at the Amperwehr near Großnöbach.
But Seebauer also likes to use his mountain bike.
Then he jogs barefoot upstream before stepping into the river.
Seebauer's family, his wife Conny and their two daughters (15 and 17 years old), understand Christian's passion.
Dog Emma is so much a fan that she jumps into the water and swims with him.
If Seebauer is in the river, he likes to cover ten kilometers in summer, but only around 1.5 kilometers in winter.
When you read this, two questions arise: How can Seebauer stand it?
And why is he doing it?
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Barefoot jogging is also part of Christian Seebauer's program.
© Norbert H Farewell
Seebauer says at the outset that he doesn't do this to attract attention.
And actually “I'm a wimp and a warm showerer - I can't take a cold shower”.
But if he jumps into the Amper these days, "I don't mind that anymore," he says.
You get used to it quickly, because people don't freeze so quickly, they can endure something, so the “warm shower”.
“On the other hand, it becomes a very meditative thing over time,” he explains.
And: He swims with the current, so that he “only” needs ten to 15 minutes for 1.5 kilometers.
But if someone should come up with the idea of simply imitating the Vierkircher, he should just be careful.
Seebauer explains why: “An inexperienced person would quickly gasp for air with the risk of swallowing ice-cold water.
The adrenaline level and the heartbeat could skyrocket in the inexperienced and all sorts of panic reflexes can just as quickly become life-threatening.
Especially in flowing water, inexperienced people should never swim carelessly and never alone. "
But even for Christian Seeberger there are days when he avoids the river.
Every time he stands on the bank he watches the amperes.
Are there dangerous eddies after periods of rain?
Does the river carry dead wood with it?
"Then", he says, "I won't go in there."
The question of “why” remains!
“There is a quick answer: feel nature.
It's infinitely beautiful, ”he says.
“And there is a deeper answer: I was born as an artist.
And I have to deal with depression.
Swimming gives you great strength and calm.
It helps me to find solutions to shape life in a very good way.
If you get out of the water and then go to work, that's ideal, ”says the freelance web designer.
He also wishes others “to explore their closer home every now and then instead of long journeys and to find happiness right on their doorstep”.
