Hike to the German public bath. Public baths in germany for men and women

German public baths are designed for joint trips with family, work colleagues or friends. Many of them are located on the banks of the Oder and Main rivers, as well as near thermal springs. Their steam rooms are very different from our baths, so Russian tourists should first familiarize themselves with their rules. Different mentality and culture can cause a strong shock caused by the traditions of the German public baths.

Many bath complexes in Germany resemble a water park. They are divided into sectors with different purposes. In one of them there are large pools with slides and tubes, cold and hot water, shallow and deep, with a fast flow and hydromassage. And in the other - a variety of thermal procedures: Russian, Finnish, Mongolian and Japanese baths, hammam, bio-sauna and ice cave. And between them there is a jacuzzi, winter gardens and massage rooms.

The most popular are the complexes located near the thermal springs. There are large German public baths in Lower Saxony and Bavaria. Also among the leaders in terms of the number of visitors are:

• "Caracalla Terme", erected directly above an underground source of healing water;
• "Liquidrom" in Berlin with free treatments, sea ​​water in the pool and interior in space style.

Differences of the German bath

German men and women visit bath complexes together. There are no men's and women's quarters or visiting days. Only in a few complexes there are separate days for visiting men and women. This tradition shocks many foreigners, although it came from ancient times. It is believed that in the past, in order not to waste firewood on heating the bath separately for men, women and children, everyone washed together. Since then it has become a tradition.
One more distinctive feature German public baths are a prerequisite for being completely naked. The natives of Germany are not inclined to be ashamed of their nudity, so it is considered normal for them to bathe naked next to members of the opposite sex. There, even young men calmly bathe next to the parents of their friends. But the Germans look at the hiding people in surprise.

However, this does not mean that you will have to walk around naked throughout the bath complex, since this rule applies only to steam rooms and saunas. The Germans explain this by the fact that most swimming trunks and swimsuits are made of synthetic fabric, which causes discomfort and harm to the body at high temperatures. Also in German steam rooms, for the same reason, rubber slippers and slates are prohibited.

You can sit on the shelves in public baths in Germany only on special two-meter towels. It also spreads under the feet, as sweat flows from the heated bodies, which negatively affects the tree. Particularly shy visitors can wrap themselves in a cotton towel.

Subdued lighting is installed in the steam rooms to create a friendly atmosphere. There are a few unwritten rules:

• You can not shoot on photo and video equipment;
• You can not stare at other visitors;
• You can not comment on the appearance of other people;
• Silence must be observed and other visitors must not be disturbed.

Additional procedures

An important procedure in German public baths is aufguss, i.e. pouring on hot stones thermal water with essential oils, as a result of which fragrant steam spreads through the steam room with special fans or towels. Most often, orange, honey or eucalyptus oils are used. This procedure is performed by special masters, who even annually compete with each other in Austria.

The duration of the aufguss is on average 20 minutes. In most steam rooms, the schedule for this procedure is weighed so that each visitor can navigate in time and not miss this ceremony. Its cost is already included in the entrance fee.

During the exercise, it is forbidden to leave the steam room, only in case of dizziness or a sharp deterioration in well-being. The attendant performing the procedure may also entertain the assembled people with anecdotes and jokes. In some complexes, pleasant relaxing music is turned on, and creams, cubes of people or salt are distributed free of charge. After the procedure, visitors are offered a choice of a soft drink, hot tea, ice cream or fruit.

How I took a steam bath in Austrian nudist baths

I wanted to touch on a slightly funny topic about how it is customary to go to the sauna among the Austrians. I had to overcome myself and plunge into the nudist theme - to visit public baths. Shock and embarrassment. Yes, it is customary for them to go naked to the saunas, and then flop into the pool.

Then I went to sauna events: they whipped me with a hot flag, smeared me with a sticky, prickly and cold thing, forced me to sit naked in the sauna for 20 minutes.

I did it just for you, to write this story! Of course I didn't take any pictures :-)

In the fall, Lena and I had a dignified and aristocratic vacation at a wonderful resort in Austria. People go to this pensioner town for the sake of thermal springs. How can you live in Bad Ischl and not improve your health?

We collected towels, bathing accessories and set off for the Eurothermen baths.

Thermal Springs Eurothermen

Briefly describe the system. At the entrance you pay a ticket of €16 for 4 hours. You are given a watch bracelet. Apply them to the turnstile and the time has gone. If you dare to take off all your clothes and go to the nudist area, then you will be charged another € 7.5 for the whole day. They will need to be paid upon exit.

We go to the dressing rooms. They are common. Here and there naked bodies flash by. Of course, we changed in the booths. I didn't tell Lena that there was a cult of naturalists here, but she began to guess. :-)

Thermal pool complex

Let's talk about pools. (Most of the photos are from Daria Pismenyuk). Upon entering, we are greeted by a warm pool with mineral water. We jump right into it. So glad! Along the edges are underwater sun loungers with a jacuzzi, fountains for the back and neck.

I pass through the turnstile. The display says that I will be charged another €7. I open doors. They say that you are crossing a nudist area and it would not hurt you to undress. At the entrance Big hall with loungers. Someone cools down after a bath, someone just reads a newspaper. I got naked and covered myself with a towel just in case. Rinse in the shower and went to the saunas.

How many saunas are there! I walked for 10 minutes and studied them. I went to each. Slippers must be removed upon entry. You can not sit booty on wooden surfaces. All places of contact of the skin with the tree must be laid with a towel! That is, put under the ass and legs.

Kaiser sauna, Country house sauna, Mine sauna, Gallery sauna, Stone bath, Steam bath, Saltwater inhalation grotto, Infrared cabins, Large saltwater pool, Hot whirlpool, Cold pool.

I don't remember which sauna is called. Please select from the list above. At the entrance, there are signs everywhere: what is the name, what is the temperature and humidity, how long do you need to stay there.

Went to the first sauna. Looked at how everyone puts towels. Did the same. No one seemed to be looking at me. There were no grandmothers :-) There were ladies and men with a decent physique. Hot.

Went to the next sauna. It's not so hot there anymore. Sat and warmed up. There are several girls around. One of them lies, legs bent at the knees. Embarrassed, he moved on.

I looked into the bathroom. Very humid and not hot - I will come here in the end. I'm walking down the corridor. On the right, men are splashing in the jacuzzi. I don't want to visit them :-) After each sauna, you need to take a shower - take a shower.

What's with the misted glass door? Opened, went. Still can't see anything because of the steam. Here, apparently, you need to stand and breathe. I don’t know how many people were standing next to me and breathing - I didn’t see anything. It became somehow uncomfortable. Came out.

ahead large swimming pool for naturalists. A naked old man is splashing in the water. There - on the back, back on the stomach. There are still people around. I'll buy later if no one is there.

The attendant, with a towel on his hips, said something in German. Everyone obediently followed him. I came for a report for you! I also had to go. What do I have to lose?

Everyone went outside. It's kind of chilly in there. There is another big round sauna outside! We all went there. The attendant closed the door, put up a sign, turned the hourglass over. I realized that I was stuck here for at least 20 minutes.

Everyone sat in a circle on wooden benches opposite the trolley. The attendant turned on the heat. The temperature began to rise. People laid out their bodies in a relaxed way on towels. I sat quietly, not much shining with my charms. A couple of men sat on the top shelf at my shoulder level and started talking to each other. It was not very pleasant for me to be near their scrotum and I moved away :-)

As the temperature rose, I timidly examined the surroundings. All were quite young, 25-35 years old, with a pleasant physique. Men are slightly more than women. What is the best way to write? Something to see :-)

Queuing for white powder

Meanwhile, the temperature rises noticeably! The attendant came in and drove everyone out into the street. Everyone lined up. Each dipped his hand into the barrel. took White powder. And rubbed it on sweaty skin. What is this?

It's my turn. He scooped up the white powder. I started rubbing it on my skin. The grains were very large. It tore the skin like sand. Well, it's salt! Everyone went back to the sauna to sweat.

Why is the attendant waving the Austrian flag?

The show didn't end there. Now the degree was already approaching 80. The attendant came in. Bring the flag. Added essential oils. Why does he need a flag? :-)

Not only did he bring the flag, but he also began to sing songs and wave it patriotically. It hit me - to make it even hotter! Now he approached everyone and waved the flag in front of their faces. I was so hot that I almost lost my eyebrows and eyelashes. I'm already overheated. Time ran out and everyone started to leave. They took turns taking showers outside.

When I came to her, I could not say anything from overheating. My body and I were in shock. I wanted to tell her about everything and take her there, but it was already ten o'clock. Time to go home. That evening I slept like the dead.

The second round with the attendant. Who will win?

The next evening, I managed to persuade Lena to throw off her clothes and go to the realm of naturalists. Yesterday I looked at the schedule of bath shows. I already went to the salt. Now let's go together for some incomprehensible German word :-)

With more bold steps we enter the zone without clothes. Lena quickly undressed and wrapped herself in a towel. The attendant again calls outside to the round sauna. Turns on the heat again.

What has the cheerful mass entertainer prepared for today?

Settled in a circle. Lena sits wrapped in a towel. I'm a little looser. Everything… a break. Everyone goes out. Lena had to part with the towel. On the street there is a queue for the attendant. Everyone approaches him and he carefully sprays the liquid from the spray bottle in front and behind. What is it this time? Salt? No!

Mint water. Feelings are unusual. We go back to the sauna. Somehow strange - the air fries, and the skin cools. Most of all, mint burns in the folds, especially in the back :-)

Not as extreme as yesterday with salt and flag. But at least they did not injure Lena's psyche. She accepted nudism with dignity. She didn't feel very comfortable there. I'm already used to it.

I sent her to a normal pool, and he continued the experiments. I looked into the sauna, where you can even hang an ax from the steam. He felt his way along the walls. Looks like he bumped into no one. I swam naked in the pool - I love it. We also had a case in Kama :-)

He warmed himself in a not hot, damp bath. The attendant came and offered home-made strawberry jam for the stove. I don't know where to put it, so I refused.

sticky bodies

Time for a new show! Everyone enters the wet room. There, instead of wooden benches, there are tiled ones. There are no towels here. Nothing will hide you from prying eyes! Everyone washed the shop from the shower and sat down.

Mr. Bath attendant gave everyone packs of sticky mass. Everyone diligently began to rub their thighs, legs, stomachs, chests and arms. Well, so do I. Licked - it turns out it's honey. Okay, give me two!

I smeared myself properly, I sit warming myself. The eyes themselves look at the surroundings. There are more women, by the way, young women, at such spa treatments ;-) The main thing here is not to lose your mind. I can’t even imagine what I would do if ... But everything seems to have gone well. Rinse off quickly in the shower. And then again it's already ten o'clock - it's time to go home.

Total

Thermae are definitely worth a visit. I did not touch on the topic of recovery here. There is a lot of information about this, but few personal impressions are shared. It’s not easy for me to pour out my soul to you either, but I took a chance - after all, today is April 1st. What is true and what is fiction I will not say. And then I will say that everything is true, and you will laugh at me. At the first opportunity, I will visit the baths again.

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German baths are called baths or baths, they are very common, many baths can be found on the territory of many German cities. Bady is one of the most significant pleasures of German citizens, often they have several saunas, one or two swimming pools with cold water. Dietary supplements often represent entire complexes intended not only for washing, located here additional entertainment and amenities make the stay very comfortable.

Cafes, restaurants, massage, beauty parlors, salt grottoes, clinics, hotels, gyms are part of the bath complexes. If the bath is built on the basis of a thermal spring, it will definitely include pools with warm water. thermal water located indoors or outdoors.

In this country, baths are common for both sexes, all visitors are guided by one rule - you can’t be in bathing suits in the baths, so they take off their clothes completely, leaving them in special lockers. This does not apply to the thermal complex, a swimsuit is required for the pool. The Germans are quite calm about this state of affairs. If visitors who are not accustomed to these rules are seen in incorrect behavior, they will be asked to leave the premises.

Public baths in Germany are part of the FKK, an acronym for the phrase "free body culture" that is actively promoted among the German people. A Saturday trip to the bathhouse with the whole family, in the company of friends or colleagues is considered one of the most pleasant pleasures in this country.

There are many Turks in Germany, who may appear in common bath wrapped in a bathrobe or used as clothing a bath towel. Regulars of bath pleasures look at it with a smile. A different situation may arise - visitors who do not dare to take off their swimsuit will be taken out of the sauna by the sauna staff, as they violate the rules of visiting.

Most often, German baths are built according to the standard, representing several saunas, relaxation, music, with salt crystals, Finnish, where the temperature reaches 90 degrees. Many bath complexes are equipped with steam saunas, there are "glasses" of cold water for lovers of such pleasures. Inside the sauna, at different heights from the hearth, beds are arranged in 2-3 rows.

The sauna employee pours water on the heated stones, pumping air with a towel towards the visitors who are located on the beds. This procedure is loved by many, the schedule of this process, which is called aufgus, is posted in a conspicuous place, and by the time it starts, a significant number of people who want to take a steam bath gather on the floors. In some saunas, birch brooms pre-soaked in boiling water are used instead of towels.

Flavoring is often added to the water, before the procedure, the sauna employee gives brief information about the supplement, tells how to behave during the procedure and after it. After aufgus, sauna visitors receive various substances for rubbing into the skin - honey, snow, salt, and so on. Ordinary visitors to German saunas are people over the age of 30, there are young couples. Sometimes they come with children, it's kind of a tradition.

Video review and impressions

Video review and impressions of a Russian woman from visiting german bath.

Rules for visiting German baths

If you do not consider it possible for yourself to visit common bath, you should take advantage of certain days - male and female, which are in every bath. The rules of conduct in different regions of the country differ from each other. In the central part of the country and in the south, you can buy beer in saunas, in the north it is most often prohibited.

A visitor to a German bath should remember that in the sauna you need to sit on your own towel, while placing your feet on the other side of the towel. Sweat flowing from a hot body should only fall on your individual thing - a towel. Sometimes in German baths the time allotted for one session is strictly limited, if you are late to leave on time, you will have to pay a surcharge at a higher rate.

Germans love to go to public bath. Here, a joint trip to the bathhouse and sauna is a common thing for both a group of friends and work colleagues. They go to baths together and separately, with family and friends.

Bath or sauna in Germany is like a water park.

An impressive area is occupied by pools: with pipes and slides, hot and cold, deep and shallow, with hydromassage and fast flow.

The range of thermal treatments is impressive: Finnish, Russian, Japanese, Mongolian, bio-sauna, hammam and even an ice cave with temperatures below zero. Between the steam rooms there are winter gardens, a jacuzzi, massage parlors and laconiums - relaxation rooms with heated couches on which guests lie or sleep.

Famous bath complexes

Complexes built around natural thermal springs in Bavaria and Lower Saxony are popular. In the top of the best - Baden "Caracalla Terme". Healing water comes directly from the depths below the complex.

Landmark of Berlin - "Liquidrom" - bath complex, which attracts visitors with cosmic interiors, a saltwater pool and free treatments.

In Germany, there is also a planetarium sauna, a cinema sauna, and even an aquarium sauna where you can observe life. marine life behind the glass.

Features of the German bath

An important ritual of the German bath is the aufguss. The attendant pours water on the stones with essential oils, and the fragrant steam disperses the room with a special fan or fan. Aufguss-masters compete every year in Austria for the title of the best. Not only the art of creating heat is appreciated, but also to make a show out of this.

The bath complex is visited by men and women together. The tradition shocks foreigners, for example, Russians. For those who have not been able to get used to nudism, there are special women's or men's days.

Why such a tradition has developed, the inhabitants of Germany themselves cannot answer. It is believed that this came from ancient times. In order not to waste firewood and not to heat the bath separately for everyone, men, women, children gathered and washed together. Gradually, the stinginess of the Germans grew into tolerance - times have changed, but a calm attitude towards washing together remained.

IN German saunas and baths made to be completely naked. The abbreviation FKK warns about this. It stands for Freikörperkultur - free body culture. Immediately make a reservation that it is necessary to strip naked only in steam rooms and saunas. The reason is prosaic - the combination of heat and synthetics causes discomfort and can harm health, so swimwear and swimming trunks are left outside the door. In addition, you can sit on the shelves only with a towel spread under you (the towel spreads, including under your feet), since sweat absorbed into the boards harms the tree.

No one forbids a visitor to wrap himself in a towel or bathrobe, but in Germany this is not customary, just as it is not customary to carefully consider other people or comment on what they see. Subdued lighting, friendly atmosphere, lack of unhealthy interest - makes you forget the complexes and enjoy your vacation. Of course, photography and video shooting in such places is prohibited.