In Germany, it is not at all unusual to find people sunbathing nude in city parks. Moreover, in saunas and on nude beaches, nudity is not only expected but is both mandatory and enforced. Here is a quartet of articles dealing with Germany’s love of living life naked.
Expatriate American writer Krystin Arneson writes on the BBC Travel website about German attitudes and practices concerning public nudity. For more than a century, Germans have embraced Freikörperkultur or “free-body culture” (usually shortened to FKK). “Free-body culture” promotes harmony with nature, and today some Germans sunbathe nude, strip down to play sports and even hike in the buff. Read the full article at Why Germans love getting naked in public.
In a more comprehensive article covering the same subject on the CNN travel website, German writer Marcel Krueger informs us that “Nudism is traditionally popular in Germany, a country considered buttoned up and conservative compared with, let’s say, Italy. … Forget sausages and beer, the sign of true German-ness is publicly disrobing with absolutely zero self-consciousness.” Sadly (from a naturist’s perspective), the writer concludes “The days of bare-it-all Germany, however, seem to be in decline. Most young people are fine with sunbathing topless in parks and pools, and like me have no qualms whatsoever with undressing for the sauna. But the ideals of the German nudist movement are slowly dying away.” You can read the entire article at Nudity in Germany: Here’s the naked truth.
Carol Perehudoff (a former freelance travel columnist for the Toronto Star) writes on her blog WanderingCarol about the German Sauna Culture. Her article provides a thorough introduction to German sauna practices and etiquette including the Aufguss, a German sauna ritual involving essential oils, steam and hot rocks. While clearly not a naturist at heart, she nevertheless threw herself into the true spirit of the experience. “Once you come to terms with the fact that you’re going to be at a mixed German sauna nude, and will have to bare every mole and freckle, it’s not so bad. (Yes, it is.) I can’t say it’s easy, because it’s simply not our culture to strip it all off in front of strangers, and cultural norms are hard to break. Germans are no doubt as confused by our prudishness as we are by their willingness to drop their clothes at the first wisp of a steam bath. However, it’s their country and their culture so when in Rome … or at least in Germany … do as the Germans do.” You can read her full article at German Sauna Culture — How to Visit Like a Pro.
Finally, German public state-owned international broadcaster Deutsche Welle (DW) tells us that, in Germany, stripping down to your birthday suit is a popular pastime for people of all ages, shapes and sizes. For the website’s Meet the Germans series, DW’s Kate Müser explains where clothes are optional in an article entitled Where to get naked in Germany.