[Video] Santa pictured wakeboarding on lake in Switzerland

By Jan de Boer

It’s almost time for Christmas, and if you believe Santa Claus gives the presents instead of the Christkind, you’ll know that he uses a magic reindeer-pulled sleigh to make sure his deliveries are made on time. However, it seems as though Saint Nick was giving Rudolf a rest last week, after he was pictured using a wakeboard to get across a Swiss lake.

Santa wakeboards across Lake Lucerne

According to a report from 20 Minuten, Santa was clearly craving a rush of adrenaline after he decided to go out wakeboarding on Lake Lucerne on Saint Nicolas Day. The Santa, who goes by the alias of famous Swiss influencer Peter Bollinger, was pictured making his way across the lake on a surfboard, fully decked out in a Santa hat and clothes.

Speaking to the newspaper, Bollinger said that the move was completely spontaneous. “I love Christmas,” he told 20 Minuten. “We wanted to do a challenge and see how cold it really is.”

Swiss influencer braves near-freezing temperatures

What he and his team failed to factor in was the weather, with December 6 falling at the tail end of some of the coldest conditions seen in Switzerland so far this winter. As snow fell across Swiss cities, and temperatures in Lucerne peaked at just 4 degrees, Santa decided to hit the lake.

Amazingly, Bollinger said that the cold really wasn't a problem - as evidenced by the fact he jumped into the lake without a wetsuit after ditching his Santa outfit. In fact, he told the newspaper that the only thing that went awry was the costume: "Because of the beard, I couldn't see or breathe properly, that was difficult."

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Jan de Boer

Editor at IamExpat Media

Jan studied History at the University of York and Broadcast Journalism at the University of Sheffield. Though born in York, Jan has lived most of his life in Zurich and has worked as a journalist, writer and editor since 2016. While he has plunged head-first back into life in Switzerland since returning to the country in 2020, he still enjoys a taste of home at pub quizzes and karaoke nights.Read more

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