MUNICH - Most office workers go to work by taking the subway, bus or taxi. Others drive or cycle.

For German Benjamin David, however, the daily commute to work is a 2km swim down the Isar River that flows right past his apartment.

Mr David used to go to work the conventional way, jostling with thousands of others on busy roads and cycling paths. He made the switch two years ago, according to BBC.

Every morning, Mr David, 40, founder of a small think tank for culture and commerce, leaves his apartment, crosses the street and jumps into the Isar River.

Depending on the season and weather, Mr David wears a pair of swimming trunks or a wetsuit, as well as rubber sandals to protect his feet from rubbish in the river.

The 2km swim usually takes him 30 minutes. And when he reaches the office, he dries himself with a towel and changes into his work clothes, which he packs with his laptop and shoes in a waterproof bag, the BBC reported.

The specially designed bag doubles up as a float.

While he enjoys the relaxing swim to work, Mr David sometimes goes back to conventional ways of commuting. That is when the water level, temperature and strength of the currents are not suitable for swimming.

"The traffic on the road next to the Isar is so wild that it is no fun," he told the BBC. "When I'm swimming, I am indeed quicker and also more relaxed."