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Zurich15359 Posts
Sauna
I have never been a fan of sauna really. Generally I try to avoid sweating as best as I can, so I didn’t see the point in deliberately sitting in a 90C room just to sweat.
However since I spend a lot of my 2010 living in hotels I found a new liking for a relaxing sauna bath after running and/or fitness in the evening. In comes the key difference of sauna in Germany vs any other country I have visited so far.
You see, in Germany you sauna completely naked. No shorts, no slippers, nothing. And this isn’t just the preference of a few weird Germans. If you try to enter a sauna in shorts, best case you will receive a row of disgruntled looks, which Germans are very good at, or be flat out refused to enter should there be staff around.
There are some wild theories why this is the case ranging from just tradition (always a very convincing argument to Germans: It’s always been that way, period.), to bacteria that’s supposed to accumulate in your shorts through the constant sweating. Personally I think if you sweat bacteria that survives your typical chlorinated swimming pool you’ve got a whole new set of problems.
Well so far so good. However, another difference to I would think most countries is that sauna is also usually mixed genders. There isn’t a much better explanation for this either, and the reality of how this is usually set up appears rather comical. You usually have separate dressing rooms and showers for male and female, only to put both stark naked and dripping of sweat into the same room anyway.
Women participating in this demonstrate this schizophrenic attitude perfectly: They will undress in their shower room, meticulously cover every oh so indecent part of their bodies in a towel, gracefully enter the sauna room only to drop all towels and sit or lay down relaxed all womanly parts in full display.
+ Show Spoiler +Let me at this point clear up with another typical stereotype about Germany/Europe: In a non-representative study conducted by the author 100% of female participants over the course of last year apply some sort of maintenance down there. No love for bush on this side of the Atlantic.
On their exit from the sauna room this procedure repeats in reverse. Carefully they completely wrap themselves in their towel again and quickly tippy-toe the 5m to the woman’s shower room.
It should be said that there are also female only spas (haven’t seen a male only one though so far), but in your usually confined hotel space it’s always mixed.
To Germans generally this isn’t something particularly exceptional. Actually in most instances I would say Germans have a very relaxed attitude towards nudity. Be it on prime time TV or mixed locker rooms, girls sunbathing topless in public parks, or sauna. How something like “Nipplegate” could ever be worth more than a paragraph on the page five gossip section is beyond us. While I have always realized that this might be strange to some foreigners, it wasn’t until a Middle Eastern customer told me about this part of his European vacation trip in visible shock and horror that I realized just how surprising this attitude might be.
Maybe I am off and my obviously extremely contrary experiences in the Middle East have influenced this column too much, but I would say most of the world doesn’t share such an unwound exposure to public nudity.
Random bits of knowledge about Germany
Ep1: Small Talk
 
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While reading the part that germans go to the sauna naked, I was thinking so do koreans. Not so weird, I'm used to that. Then I read the part that saunas in Germany are mixed gender. That blew my mind lol. Wasn't expecting that. There are mixed gender saunas in korea but they are in a different floor where people wear clothes.
I'm not much of a sauna person but I do really love spas. One of the things I really like about korea are the public bathhouses. Just no better way that I can think of to relax. Can't stay in saunas very long I start feeling like I'm going to suffocate.
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The only German dude I ever went to the sauna with found it very awkward to go naked. I don't know it any other way. Do people wear shorts in other countries?
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haha that first picture the guy is like laying down all "o_0" and the girl just sits all nonchalant.
I can only imagine awkward settings that lead to some hilarious stuff.
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On December 03 2010 18:24 mel_ee wrote:
haha that first picture the guy is like laying down all "o_0" and the girl just sits all nonchalant.
I can only imagine awkward settings that lead to some hilarious stuff.
Obviously the unwritten law is that you don't stare. On a related note, I have seen written signs forbidding sex in the sauna.
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the weirdest part is that people like saunas
whats the deal
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Ye I never thought about how Germans are more open about nudity than others until an italian friend went to the beach with us and she was shocked as hell to see naked people. She could barely fathom the idea ^^
There was also a spanish woman and she was like "mh oh well I know that from Spain as well... although I didnt expect Germans to be that open about it"
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If you are not naked, it's not a sauna.
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On December 03 2010 18:27 Scorch wrote:Show nested quote +On December 03 2010 18:24 mel_ee wrote:
haha that first picture the guy is like laying down all "o_0" and the girl just sits all nonchalant.
I can only imagine awkward settings that lead to some hilarious stuff. Obviously the unwritten law is that you don't stare. On a related note, I have seen written signs forbidding sex in the sauna.
Locker room rules I would say. One of the places were "Eyes on the price" is NOT a good idea.
Also, sex in the sauna o.O? I know the adjectives Hot and Steamy are used in that regards but I wouldn't take those literally. I sweat like a pig in sauna's, even without any physical activity.
One thing though, if you go to a family resort pool like CenterParcs or Sunparks and you feel like trying out the steam rooms there, for gods sake keep your shorts ON! The rule is not: "Oh, it's hot in here, let's loose the shorts".
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Seems like in Switzerland.
Actually 2 of my friends talked about that a few days ago... They said they have no problems, their girlfriends are a little shy but go anyway... But it would be very strange for all oft hem if they meet a (male) friend there with their naked Girlfriends there.
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Well so far so good. However, another difference to I would think most countries is that sauna is also usually mixed genders. There isn’t a much better explanation for this either, and the reality of how this is usually set up appears rather comical. You usually have separate dressing rooms and showers for male and female, only to put both stark naked and dripping of sweat into the same room anyway.
Oh, keen observation. I never really paid attention to that inconsistency. Hahaha.
On December 03 2010 18:52 NeoLearner wrote:
I sweat like a pig in sauna's, even without any physical activity.
So you don't sweat at all? That must be tough.
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I really love sauna's. A day in a sauna complex (with multiple saunas, cold baths, infrared, hottubs etc.) is jus relaxating. I can think of very lile that can even start to compare with it. In the Netherlands it's also fully naked and mixed. But unlike in Germany also the dressingrooms and showers are mixed. I can understand that some people don't like this but personally I find it really uncomfortable to have to wear something in a sauna.
Regarding the mixed genders I personally can't see the big deal but again I do understand some people may feel uncomfortable with it. It's an unwritten law that you don't stare and if you are really exhousted after a couple of rounds in the sauna sex is the last thing on your mind.
Most sauna complexes have one or two days each month for woman only.
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I would love to check out the German saunas one day!
Going to the sauna in China is fine cuz you cant really see the guys' pieces. Just a lil tuft of fur down there on most guys.
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Canada5565 Posts
I really like this blog series, please keep it going! It's been years since I've enjoyed a sauna. Nude or not I need to remedy this deficit!
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On December 03 2010 18:52 Velr wrote:
Seems like in Switzerland.
Actually 2 of my friends talked about that a few days ago... They said they have no problems, their girlfriends are a little shy but go anyway... But it would be very strange for all oft hem if they meet a (male) friend there with their naked Girlfriends there.
I actually have met friends with their girlfriends and woman friends of mine on several occasions. No big deal for us. I have seen most of my male friends naked anyway in the showers after sport. I found it stranger meeting a collegue there.
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This blog series is awesome cant wait for more !
I was in saunas well not many times maybe 10+- in pass 2 years im not big fan too but my friends have rehabilitation every 3 weeks after trainings (judo) so sometimes i join em. I dont know why but i never found it strange to be in group of naked people
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On December 03 2010 19:03 Dagobert wrote:Show nested quote +On December 03 2010 18:52 NeoLearner wrote:
I sweat like a pig in sauna's, even without any physical activity. So you don't sweat at all? That must be tough.
Nope
Source: Wikipedia
"Sweating like a Pig" to denote sweating profusely. This sounds illogical, as pigs have ineffective sweat glands, but the term is derived from the iron smelting process. After pouring into runners in sand, it is allowed to cool and is seen as resembling a sow and piglets - Hence "pig iron". As the pigs cool, the surrounding air reaches its dew point, and beads of moisture form on the surface of the pigs. "Sweating like a pig" indicates that the pig has cooled enough to be moved in safety.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultural_references_to_pigs
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The dedicated Saunas (places where you go just for the Sauna, so no swimming or fitness etc.) I know usually have mixed locker rooms as well. I think some of this also depends on where in Germany you are (me living in east-Berlin). It is generally said (and I think there is some truth to it) that east-Germans are more comfortable with mixed-gender nudity than those from the west.
Also, all Saunas I have been to usually offer one two evening a week for women only.
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zatic makes me love my country again :-)
Can confirm this. Especially the ridiculous act of super awareness of dressing and then in the sauna they just ignore everything.
Hmm, mixed gender sauna is not normal? :-)
On December 03 2010 18:27 Scorch wrote:Show nested quote +On December 03 2010 18:24 mel_ee wrote:
haha that first picture the guy is like laying down all "o_0" and the girl just sits all nonchalant.
I can only imagine awkward settings that lead to some hilarious stuff. Obviously the unwritten law is that you don't stare. On a related note, I have seen written signs forbidding sex in the sauna.
I guess this is more a sanitarical issue (you need to clean up inevitable mess afterwards at some point) rather then anyone would mind interfering. I reference to the escalator situation on Part 1 
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Hmm... I'm gonna ruin everyone's fun here :D.
I'm a student in Finland... and my apartment has a built-in sauna which me and my friend can use at any time for free. I just threw this out there so that people get the contrast how things are handled in the north  .
Sauna is really popular thing and there is absolutely no awkwardness in anything related to it, except that we (at my hoods) don't mix genders in smaller saunas when we do it between adult friends and families. But to be honest, I would be okay going in even if there were lots of opposite sex nudity included. There is no shame in sauna unless you're some crazy freak or if your mind is really weak.
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Well, we have separate gender rooms for this in my gym.
I wouldn't go to a sauna because I want to see some exposed meat. Usually, you only see old womens hanging boobs and old mens hanging balls in there. Hot girls won't go into a sauna.
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Yeh its standard that couples go same time to sauna but usually its only males group going to sauna and females their own.
No worries if you think you look bad naked (too fat or something), nobody cares :D
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Keep us this blog series as it is very entertaining and exciting watch.
Having done saunas in Asia (China, Taiwan) there is not the same sauna etiquette. The "Dont stare" rule is rather universal, but the sauna's are generally in the men's or women's area so they are separated into different rooms completely. As for the nakedness, everyone is generally naked all the time all around the locker room/pool room/sauna/steam bath. Not too much of a fan of that, as I didn't need to see so many naked asian men.
Seems like the sauna is a nice place to socialize in Germany.
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there are better places to socialize, e.g. Gym, sitting on a bench....
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On December 03 2010 18:09 zatic wrote: + Show Spoiler +Let me at this point clear up with another typical stereotype about Germany/Europe: In a non-representative study conducted by the author 100% of female participants over the course of last year apply some sort of maintenance down there. No love for bush on this side of the Atlantic.
I can confirm that. But oh so different on the male side.
My only time going to a sauna was in Korea, so I can't add soemthing to the German Way of Saunaing. It's really weird, that nudity is totally ok in some enviroments and in another situation the same person comes across a bit prude.
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I just hope you can properly throw water iin Germany
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I love this part of Germany.
One thing to note though: when I go to Germany, I notice that guys nearly dont check girls out (its a no match versus guys in Paris..).
So, my guess is: people in Germany are used to nudity. So, they dont stare. So its ok to have mixed gender saunas. So, they're used to nudity.. and so on...
And, in other countries (like France), people dont like nudity so much. So, guys dont see so many naked girls. So, they stare.. and so on...
I wish the situation could be similar in France. People wouldn't mind so much when my friends and I go swimming naked in the Seine...
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Ya..Saunas in Germany would be so good without the Germans in it... Sigh...
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On December 03 2010 19:22 Ation wrote:
There is no shame in sauna unless you're some crazy freak or if your mind is really weak.
Or you've been conditioned from childhood to see nudity as shameful and taboo, yet marketable and tantalizing at the same time. You get pretty mind fucked about sex and nudity (almost zero nonsexual nudity here) if you grow up in America. Women can't even breast feed in public without people getting scandalized.
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Korea (South)1897 Posts
True story;
about 6 years ago was in Frankfurt for a telecommunications gov't conference and I love going to the sauna,I mean in Korea I go like 3 times a week and I have no problem being naked whatsoever.
So I think it was the Hyatt, and so I go down to check out the German sauna, so excited and the lady at the sign in of the pool where the sauna says to me, 'no clothes' for the sauna, and I'm like, no worries, what's the big deal.
So I walk to where the sauna is and I'm gonna take off my towel and I see a couple of women naked in the sauna, so I am completely embarrassed and I quickly reverse and check this sign and back track a few steps and look for another entrance. But I can't find one, so I go back to the lady at the front and ask her, where is the sauna, and she points to the door and she says 'in there at the back' and I'm like, 'ok, thanks' so I go back to that sauna and there ain't nothing there except for that one with the naked women, so I go back to the lady and say, 'there is only one sauna there and there are women there' and she says and looks at me in a kinda shocked way, 'of course, its for both men and women'. And I'm completely dumbfounded. Ok, it was first time in Germany, only been in France before then and no I didn't read up anything about Germany before I went there.
So I'm like, OK, well this is culturally normal, and I love the sauna, so no problems. So I turn around, and walk towards the sauna and as I get closer, I notice there are about 5 people, 3 women and 2 men, but as I get closer, I'm like, there is NO WAY I CAN GO THROUGH WITH THIS. And I run away like a little girl back to the front desk and ask for Swedish massage instead. But get this, the guys on the trip knew about the mixed gender saunas so they asked me afterwards, how was it and started laughing right away when I started to tell the story. Freaking Korean guys. lol.
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Ruh roh, bumping because I'm reading zatic's blogs 
Ionno about others, I haven't been to sauna's often, only once or twice in America, but I guess people just wrap up in their towels as if they came out of a shower, just to cover up the "indecent" areas but sit in the sauna that way, I'm not sure if thats common or not or if usually people yank the twoels off and start meat spinning or some shit
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