German joint baths and saunas. Bathhouse in Germany: features, types, visiting traditions and interesting facts. Bath for the whole family
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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The well-known blogger zazerkaliya told LiveJournal about how to still go to the bath, but not lose your own dignity. The post is interesting at least because it is written brightly and convincingly.
As you know, the Germans go to the sauna to bathe together - men and women. Naked. Last year, in Austria, a grouchy Austrian asked me and my girlfriend to leave the sauna because of our swimwear. Rather, he offered to undress. Here is such an intolerant man caught, if Arab women in burkinis came, he would not utter a word, for sure. But to hell with him. We then came for fun, we did a tolerance test, so to speak. In a tolerant Europe, there should be an intermediate option in the common sauna between burkini and naked all together.
No, the Germans do not provide an intermediate civilized option. In last year's post about the Austrian sauna "They told me to undress in the Austrian sauna" there were more than a thousand comments, and a third of them wrote angrily that they say this is their tradition and they don't like it - don't go. Unbelievable, but true, a third of those who spoke in such a way, what flexibility of opinion! If you are so flexible, when you come to the UAE, you immediately put on white clothes without panties, as is customary there, and wrap your women in black burkinis? No, do not put on and do not wrap. And when do you come to Africa to see wild tribes? Do you also wear loincloths like them? Traditions? And when you visit Asians, do you immediately start eating all the rubbish that they eat and chew? Some of them still offer their wives to the white master. How are you? Traditions.
So why are you ready to take off your underpants and your women in a German bath and go to a common sauna? Because the traditions are Germanic? What flexibility of consciousness however! That is, you put yourself above Africans and Asians, which is not an honor for you to sink to their level, but below the Germans, who, in obedience to their traditions, are ready to take off their panties for themselves and their women. Well, it's your choice. My choice is to believe that these traditions are savage. What prevents making separate saunas and not forcing women to humiliate themselves by steaming with other men in saunas is not entirely clear. Tea is not medieval. There are enough resources. Water and firewood, as in the Middle Ages, when the whole family washed with neighbors in order to save resources, there is no need to save.
Ski resorts gather skiers from all over Europe - and southern, where to bathe in common saunas wildness, and northern, where it is, as it were, the norm. So why not make separate steam rooms at international resorts, and not impose your habits on vacationers, half of whom are not Germans at all?
I am now in Tyrol, in the Dolomites, which used to belong to the Austrians. Geographically, this is Italy, although the locals consider themselves Austrians, but most of guests here are Italians from all over Italy. Full of Russians, of course, and other nationalities. What is the problem with making separate saunas? What nafig traditions, if these traditions everywhere in the world have outlived their usefulness two centuries ago.
By the way, the owner of my house, which I rent here in the Dolomites, told a funny story about how Americans came to rest in it. They asked where the thermal complex was, the hostess told, but warned that the saunas were shared there. The Americans did not understand her and asked her five times what she meant. Then, judging by their reaction, they did not understand or simply did not believe her. When they returned from the thermal complex, they excitedly told her that they were shocked by such a disgrace that naked men and women were steaming together. The Americans were shocked by this circumstance.
Yes, how to get into these cherished saunas after skiing in the mountains and not naked in front of other people's men and aunts? I wrapped myself in a towel. I just took a few towels to make a bed, as expected, and turn around with a second towel. I was ready to send three letters in Russian, literally, if some bastard intolerant of my towel would speak out that my towel interfered with her. They looked, but remained silent. But, to be honest, it's me again, for the sake of the experiment.
The sauna filled with naked men and women did not give me any pleasure. You have to be born German for this to be the norm. And yes, they look at women in the sauna, look at them. Do not tell fairy tales that in German saunas men suddenly turn into amorphous creatures and other people's boobs cease to excite them. On colorless German women and saggy everything that can sag, of course they don’t care. And on our girls, in full juice, they even look in the pool. And if our girls came naked to the sauna, everyone would be there. But our girls don’t humiliate themselves like that and know their worth - they don’t run around naked but in German saunas, which I wish you too.
Bathhouse in Germany last years becomes a full-fledged symbol of this country along with beer, sausages and schnapps. Baths attract both German “experienced” bathers and tourists who find themselves in this country. All bathhouses are open to all categories of guests, including wheelchair users. The management of bath complexes does not save on the latest equipment and staff development. What is the specificity of German baths and why are they so popular with tourists?
The sauna tradition in Germany has accumulated a lot of interesting facts about sauna events and the benefits of sauna in general:
Swimwear - down
On the banks of the Rhine and other German rivers there are many bathing and health complexes, as well as saunas, steam rooms, swimming pools ... Women and men in the German baths will find something special for themselves. Baths are not just baths in the usual sense for us, they are extensive health centers. Many of them are located on natural thermal waters. There you can not only enjoy the delights of the bath, but also get treated with mineral water.
For the convenience of customers, such complexes are equipped with massage, beauty salons, as well as restaurants and cafes. Once in the morning in such an institution, you can build a leisure program until the evening.
General baths for men and women in Germany are divided into two zones. In one, where the pools are located, waterslides You must be in bathing suits. In the second, where saunas and steam rooms work, you need to completely expose the body. The maximum that can be used is a cotton towel wound around the body.
Bath for the whole family
German baths are not divided into men's and women's. This is done because the bath is an attribute family leisure. Often the whole family comes to the bathhouse. Therefore, baths are not divided by gender. Baths in Germany are joint, where both men and women, and the elderly, and children can come. These are the traditions of this country.
A women's bath in Germany is a rather rare phenomenon. Only in some bathhouses once a month women's day is announced, on which men are not allowed to visit the bathhouse.
Bathing suits are not allowed in steam rooms and saunas. The Germans are sure that wearing synthetic fabrics in hot rooms can adversely affect health. For the same reason, do not enter the sauna in rubber shoes and hats.
Special rules
Baths in Germany have unconditional rules:
Photo and video in the baths
It is forbidden to take your phone to the sauna in Germany. That is, there is no opportunity to film this event on camera. Considering that everyone in the bathhouse and sauna is naked, it is extremely difficult to hide the camera. So all photos and videos German baths inside - staged.
When visiting bath complexes, you can not be afraid to later meet your image on the expanses of the World Wide Web.
What is aufguss?
Public baths in Germany offer a special kind of leisure called aufguss. "Aufguss" is translated as "watering". The procedure consists in the fact that the bath master pours over the stones with solutions of essential oils. Visitors warm up with these pairs.
The procedure itself is more like a show. The master jokes with the guests, tells jokes. Often all this happens under musical accompaniment.
The bath master is waving a fan, a towel and other items. As a result, steam accelerates throughout the room, and the sauna is filled with an amazing aroma.
The ceremony lasts no more than 10 minutes. At this time, it is not recommended to leave the sauna, so as not to release steam.
Special aufgusses are also popular, when visitors are given ice cubes, massage salt, and creams. Such activities have additional therapeutic and cosmetic effects.
After the aufguss, guests are offered to drink fragrant tea, juice, lemonade, and enjoy ice cream. additional fee there is no charge for these pleasant surprises.
Aufguss are held strictly on time. For example, every hour. The action plan can be viewed at the entrance to the bathhouse.
Such different saunas
Fans of bathing ceremonies in Germany travel hundreds of kilometers to enjoy the comfort of popular saunas. Some saunas are unique establishments that no longer exist. For example, not far from Munich there is a planetarium sauna. In it you can bathe and contemplate the beauty of the heavenly expanses.
In Erding there is a sauna-beer house where they offer a non-alcoholic drink. Sauna-bakery offers its visitors fragrant buns.
Baden-Württemberg has a sauna-cinema that broadcasts all day interesting movies. In the sauna with an aquarium, you can watch unusual fish swimming. The tropical sauna offers views of rare birds.
Thermal resorts and complexes
Many thermal complexes in Germany are so extensive in their territory and services that they are rightly called resorts. Such complexes base their treatment methods on the healing power of mineral water.
The most famous such resort is Oberstdorf. It is high up in the Alps. This perfect place to restore lost strength and health. The leading specialization of the complex is the treatment of diseases of the musculoskeletal system. In addition to thermal waters, massage techniques are used, as well as acupuncture.
Resorts in central regions Germany is rich in mineral waters that help treat diseases of the cardiovascular system. Vacationers bathe in mineral water and drink it inside.
The resort of Bad Harzburg has seven thermal springs with a water temperature of 24 degrees Celsius. It is heated to 32 degrees.
Everyone knows famous resort Baden Baden. He has developed infrastructure with many hotels, parks and clinics. The beginning of the development of the resort falls on the Roman era. The Romans discovered amazing properties thermal water. It was they who built the first thermal baths. In the 19th century, the resort became known to the aristocratic circles of Europeans. People began to come to it from other countries.
There are 12 thermal springs in Baden-Baden. They help treat rheumatism, asthma, heart disease. mineral water used for both internal and external use, as well as for inhalation.
Number thermal spas Germany - more than two dozen. People go here not only to restore their health, but also just to relax with the whole family, spend a vacation, relax and get a lot of pleasant emotions.
Impressions of Russian visitors
Russians have no tradition of undressing in public in front of strangers. Therefore, for those Russians who visit a bathhouse in Germany for the first time, it is not easy to get naked at first.
I must say that in the culture of the Germans it is not customary to consider another person, especially in a naked form. "Glancing" is considered the height of indecency. Therefore, it is difficult to catch an interested eye on yourself. In a German bath, women do not have to fear for their integrity, correct behavior is in the blood of the Germans.
In addition, usually twilight reigns in the steam rooms, and it is extremely problematic to see anything. This, of course, can be a consolation for those who have a heightened sense of shame.
In expensive saunas, there are few visitors, and it can easily turn out that a limited number of people are present at the session. A session for only one company is a completely normal situation. So you can not be afraid of the immodest glances of strangers.
Usually shyness and shame disappear after some time after the start of the event. And pleasant emotions from the bathing event make you forget about all the conventions and limits.
The uniqueness of German baths
The Germans who have visited Russia remember the Russian steam room with joy. Russians believe that the bath opens the soul of a Russian. What is the uniqueness of the German bath in Germany?
In a word, it is difficult to answer this question. Visiting bath after bath, you can gradually absorb the flavor of Germany. The Kelo sauna has a section made from ancient pine wood. This place is accessible even to wheelchair users. Unfortunately, this is not possible in other saunas, but bath specialists will definitely help “special” guests.
On the outskirts of Germany, there is a smoke sauna and a Russian sauna where you can take a steam bath with a birch broom!
Public baths in Germany are truly varied and unique. Having discovered the amazing bathing world, you can absorb the spirit of this interesting country.
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 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.
The landmark of Berlin - "Liquidrom" - a bath complex that attracts visitors with space interiors, a swimming pool with sea water 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.
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 German common 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 an ice cave. And between them there is a jacuzzi, winter gardens and massage rooms.
The most popular complexes are located near 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 all over the place. 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.
Sit on the shelves public baths Germany is possible 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 common baths is aufguss, i.e. pouring thermal water with essential oils onto hot stones, 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.
