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by luoc 939 days ago
In East Germany, nudism is a big thing. Of course, I checked this out after moving there and I must say I was not at all surprised to see the Ordnungsamt (public oder office?) at the nudist beach enforcing nudity.
5 comments

Enforced nudity?

How very German.

Here deregulated beaches (outside of council zoning) are clothing-optional :

https://www.worldbeachguide.com/australia/swanbourne-beach.h...

which are often signposted as such near urban areas, with no signage or policing elsewhere:

https://www.australiasnorthwest.com/explore/broome/broome-be...

... just don't disturb nesting turtles, okay?

Problem about non nude people is that they can make the nude feel uncomfortable.

In Austria a semi mixed bath recently closed their nudist area because it's surrounded by forest which was filled with perverts that made a lot of trash in the forest and would fap behind trees to nude people.

Same for any semi reachable other public nudist place I've ever been to, you have to expect perverts wandering around.

That's why I prefer places where non nude is not welcome, even thought I never have seen it enforced and nobody minds a clothed friend that doesn't feel it yet either.

Swanbourne north beach (the nudist part) is Federal land carved out from state title and exempt from local council rules - the inland area is SASR barracks and occasional training grounds .. you don't get a lot of perverts in the back dunes patrolled by squads with dispensation to black bag and interrogate anyone crossing an invisible line.

As for the nudist beach itself, it's mainly nudists who go there to be nude .. it's a tough search to find footage from that part of the beach as most people respect privacy.

The nudist beach is to the left, to the north, up the beach from the lifeguard building seen here in this drone footage:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hwKmSy2d3Yo

it's a lot of empty space directly north of the clothed people with some dots of people in the far distance.

If you make it to the southern hemisphere you might like it .. people aren't prudish about nudity and mainly wear UV blocking clothes to avoid skin cancer .. people frequently strip and change in car parks when going out surfing | swimming | for a paddle.

Same thing in Saunas, staff will tell you to take your clothes off.
Yes, this is how it is.

But surprised by the post above:

"can expect to hear the heavy breathing of amorous couples from about 20-30m away as"

You are naked. But any kind of inappropriate activity is a big no no. Even staring at another person or something. Buddies of mine went to a sauna and there was even a famous actress in it. It is considered normal and egalitarian.

This being said, try Budapest. The scale of this bath will blow your mind: https://bathsbudapest.com/szechenyi-bath

I was blown away already before I realized there is even an outdoor area. It is BIG.

I spent my birthday with a bunch of mates in the Szechenyi Bath as we were travelling around Europe about 15-20 years ago - December with snow falling, playing chess in the outdoor pool with the old fellas. Just a standout memory and a great day
Well that’s how (non-mix) saunas work in Finland.
Biggest difference to Germany is that German saunas are usually mixed. Including mixed showers and changing rooms (in saunas, not in public swimming pools).
The showers are rarely mixed. On the other hand mixed changingrooms for public pools (and saunas) is the norm everywhere around europe. Its for capacity reasons and you have private booths for the changing part.
In Berlin showers in saunas are usually mixed. Talking specifically about saunas only, different in public pools etc.
You're probably talking about different showers.

Showers within the sauna area are usually mixed. Showers within the dressing areas are not.

I saw people wearing their bathing suits/trunks into a sauna - and quite frankly it’s disgusting.
Well, it is a cultural things. Many Americans have body issues.

https://www.wanderingermany.com/how-to-confidently-visit-a-n...

Tried to bring a US buddy of mine (non-mixed) into a Spa/hot bath/Sauna in Beijing. He got terribly scared of having to be naked and rejected. But it is a good place. And they have a good all you can eat buffet. Sweat. Eat a little. Rest. Repeat. You basically spent there the whole day.

But also American culture has this oddity that nudity somehow equates to sex.
I think it's called Christianity
Is it though? Europe is broadly Christian (though likely less so than the US). The puritan strain seems to be a key thing.
Isn't German a Christian county?
For someone who doesn't know spa culture, why is it disgusting to have clothes on? Like a bikini or swimming shorts.
The reason is hygiene. You sweat into your sheet leaving very little behind on benches. Then you shower and bath and do it again.

With swimming clothes you soak everything then bring it back to the chilling pool and back to sauna.

Also imho nudity in sauna seems wierd first time but you quickly realize you can be covered all the time (with sheet) and that its not sexual at all because you are focusing on your body as does everybody else (heat stress).

Imho after few saunas everybody seems to shed this fear and even gain confidence and casuality about the nakedness part.

I think nudist pools are a lot wierder.

Because the sauna police will look down on you and give you some nonsense about how textiles are gathering sweat or something, all while they sit their sweaty asses on cotton towels which they carry around with them all the time.
Because it's not the same thing like the beach, sweating on plastic fabric can cause injuries to the skin and it's disgusting (even at the beach imo).
The problem with German nudist is that if you take a group of Germans and group them by who you would like to see naked, and those who you absolutely would not to, it's every time the latter group who gets naked.
The signs are quite clear, though: FKK = everybody is nude.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freik%C3%B6rperkultur

"Sir, you'll have to take your junk out or I'll have to ask you to leave"
You don't get to enter if you're wearing clothes. Cannot peep without being peeped on.