My naked sauna in Berlin

My naked sauna in Berlin
In Berlin, the saunas are nude — and mixed-sex. Gulp. Will Zoe Strimpel dare to bare all in front of the boys?

“Excuse me,” says a tall, paunchy man. “But I noticed your feet weren’t on a towel when you sat down before…”
I’m in a German sauna for the first time, and I’m being told off.

Nothing new about being told off, as even liberal Berlin, to which I recently moved, is full of baffling rules. I’ve been told by a museum guard to keep my handbag tucked under my arm, and, in the foyer of a public library, to keep my talking to a whisper. Now I’m being warned not to let my flesh sully the benches of a scorching wood cabin.

What is new is that I can see this man’s penis, as well as those of the 10 or so other men of various ages and shapes milling around, not to mention a few Brazilian waxes and nipple piercings.

For the Germans, this is as normal as a trip to the supermarket. As in Scandinavia, saunas are revered here for their relaxing effects, circulatory benefits and power to make you sweat a pint in 10 minutes. They are also mixed-sex, and no bathing suits are allowed. Cont…Read full original article…

Source: The Times – travel

03 September, 2017, 5:40 pm