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Young and active but not naturists…

by αNaturist, posted in naked, naturist, nude writer, PhD viva, student, writing


… this time I am talking about neurons. Last Thursday I defended my PhD thesis about adult neurogenesis , and who would have thought that its title was inspired by the name of this blog! Yes, the neurons I studied were also young and active 8)

And it was one of those very rare occasions when I did want to wear something!

And not only this awesome hat made by my colleagues =)

I bought my suit about three years ago, and it’s been waiting for an occasion to be worn since then. The tie was a souvenir from Japan (I bought it in “100 yen shop”, but it looks cool)… Finally there was a good reason to try them out.

Although I like suits and ties, normally I don’t bother wearing anything fancy… if I wear anything at all, hehe.

For example, when I was writing my thesis I mostly didn’t.

It was cool to go to write to some parks here in Berlin.

During autumn it was quite cool though in terms of temperature though, but most of the text I anyway wrote in Athens… Those were good times, let’s see where life brings me next.

dance naked!

by αNaturist, posted in active naturists

My foot is recovering, and I can’t wait to have some action, and better a naturist one. Of course, during Berlin’s winter it may be somewhat challenging. I’ve mentioned some swimming+sauna options in the post about Berlin, but there is a distinct event which I’ve been always curious to visit – SchlagerNackt-Party. It is a regular event held at different locations and its name is self-explanatory: Schlager is a colloquial name for cheesy pop music in Germany and some other countries, Nackt is naked and rhymes with Nacht, night =)

I’ve been twice to London’s naked disco, enjoyed dancing naked and loved music there, but I’m not sure Schlager is my cup of tea… However, I can’t wait till Ibiza and Mykonos will get their own naked parties, and since even progressive Berlin on the naked night suggests 70-80’s, I don’t have much choice… On the other hand, I anyway wouldn’t be able to dance with full exuberance even to my favorite genres of house or drum’n’bass until my foot recovers completely, so this Schlager-night seems like a good option for starters. And on top of that, it is also a part of German culture. So I think I’ve pretty much convinced myself, just need to convince some of my buddies as well 😉

And when I was sitting in the chair for more than a month, I went through many web sites looking for inspiration for some naturist activities and found an internet live-show project called Fratpad. I bet many naturists will be in uproar, if I call the project naturist, but in any case the guys in this show go through all kinds of tests to become a ‘fraternity’, and they do it naked practically all the time and have loads of uninhibited fun. I’ve seen some videos where they dance naked and have some pretty good moves, which certainly look inspirational. So I’ve made a compilation called ‘A guide to you nude night’.

(don’t forget to switch on full screen mode and turn on the sound!)

Take you clothes off, get naked on the dance floor!

Naturist dreams

by αNaturist, posted in Berlin, broken foot, dreams, naturism, naturist, naturist activities, nudismo, nudist, summer, winter

As some readers with whom I maintain personal contact know, I broke my foot in the end of November. So I couldn’t maintain practically any activities, let alone naturist ones. I hope this week I will get rid of the plaster on my foot and will not need crutches anymore! Let’s see what the doctor says.

Though in any case there is not much to do in winter. So I am already dreaming of summer. Besides all the things I’ve already mentioned I (would) like to do, there is one tantalizing image that keeps appearing in my head. I want to find a big poppy field and run in the red sea of the blossoming plants.
PS It’s not me on the pics 🙂

Beaches of Legrena near Athens

by αNaturist, posted in active naturists

Legrena is located about 2h of bus/car ride from the centre of Athens on the way the cape Sounion, where Aegeus was waiting for his son Theseus after the battle with Minotaur…

Well, you probably know the myth and why the sea is actually called Aegean. Now the cape features ruins of the Temple of Poseidon, another father of Theseus (yes, he had two fathers!), so it is a popular tourist spot, especially during sunset.

And if you want to combine sightseeing with beach fun, you should stop over at Legrena. There are several beaches of different size, with different ground, open and secluded.naturist 0007 Legrena, Attica, Greece

Closer to the bus stop (Athens-Sounio bus) lies a long sandy beach. When we were there in August, it was almost empty, maybe because Athenians left to the islands and tourists do not know about it… It was easy to find a spot with no one else in the nearest 30 meters, but unfortunately it was not easy to find a spot to enter the sea for swimming. Well, it was fine for wading but too shallow for swimming.

naturist 0006 Legrena, Attica, Greece

But further offshore the bottom is full of urchins, so it’s quite risky to walk.
Since it was also windy we couldn’t play frisbee or beach bats. However, we had a jump rope by chance, so skipping was practically the only way to stay active 😉

naturist 0008 Legrena, Attica, Greece

On another day, we were at a smaller sandy beach farther from the station but without urchins at the sea bottom. As we were alone there, we felt free to stay clothes-free. We played beach bats and ring frisbee, which turned out to be a blast, as it is more resistant to the wind blow than a regular disc frisbee and is also super-fast. Too bad I don’t have a video of that. Later there appeared one more naked man at the end of the beach, one clothed family, and one man kept walking forth and back. He pointed at us and said (in Greek) we were crazy to play around naked, although to be honest he himself seemed rather crazy, and why did he return several times if he didn’t like the site of us playing frisbee naked?

On another occasion in mid-October, on a very hot day, I visited the “official” nudist beach of Legrena.

view 0000 Legrena, Attica, Greece

Actually, again even the non-nudist part was almost empty, with one naked man and another clothed in the shade. This beach is pebbly,

naturist 0000 Legrena, Attica, Greece

and some of the rocks are light-pink!

rocks 0000 Legrena, Attica, Greece

As the beach was faced directly to the sun and surrounded by rocks, it got really hot; naturist 0001 Legrena, Attica, Greece

I couldn’t sit anymore and went swimming. I saw several more coves with one or few naked men in each.

At one of the coves there was a partly submerged tunnel with some bright pinkish rocks.

rocks 0003 Legrena, Attica, Greece

Later I walked to the “official” nudist part of the beach. This time the pathway was full beautiful light-green rocks.

rocks 0001 Legrena, Attica, Greece

The entrance to the naturist part is announced by a notification (in Greek) on a huge rock.naturist 0004 Legrena, Attica, Greece

Another announcement is placed in the middle of the beach.

naturist 0002 Legrena, Attica, Greece

And if you still don’t get the point or cannot read greek, there are some smaller international notifications, like this rock with an “FKK” sign.

naturist 0003 Legrena, Attica, Greece

Again, there were some rocks of peculiar shapes and colors, like this dark-green ‘mini-vulcano’.

naturist 0005 Legrena, Attica, Greece

This place must be certainly interesting for a geologist, I bet there are some naturists among them as well.

rocks 0002 Legrena, Attica, Greece

small beach near Syvota in north-western Greece

by αNaturist, posted in Greece, naked rock climbing, naturism, naturist activities, naturist beaches, naturist camping, nude recreation, nude snorkeling, nudist, rock-diving, skinny dipping
The area of north-western Greece to the south of Igoumenitsa (Ηγουμενίτσα) provides many secluded beaches and flat rocks for a quiet relaxation au naturel… or rock-diving, if you prefer.


We went from Ioannina, passing through picturesque mountainous landscapes, and camped at a small beach close to Syvota (Σύβοτα). Like at most of the Greek beaches, you won’t see any signs for nudists there and when we arrived there in the late afternoon none was clothes-free. At night, however, when others left and the temperature was still very warm, there was no reason to remain clad. When I went for a night swim, something truly special happened: as I always swim in goggles (the only thing I like to wear while swimming ;-)), I could see that my body left thousands of tiny sparkling traces in the water – it looked like golden ‘stardust’ that fairies leave when they fly around, so I called myself an underwater fay. In Sweden there is an annual competition for water fairies who play different music instruments standing in the river. Then I think in Greece there should be the next stage of the competition: for water fairies dancing in the sea at night! Then spectators will have to submerge as well, but it is not a problem, since in August the average night temperature in Greece is warmer than the average day temperature in Sweden and the sea stays warm… Biological explanation for this phenomenon is that bioluminescent plankton, which is abundant in the Mediterranean in the late summer, responds to mechanical disturbance with glowing.


When we woke up in the morning I already felt confident enough to stay naked but when I got out of the tent I saw that there was a straight couple and the man was also sans clothes. Then we swam to the rocks and jumped from them (see the video above). That man also came there and showed us a better dive. He was a friendly French guy and suggested us to show how to dive. Well, I tried just from less than half of the height of those rocks and wasn’t very successful 😦 Hope I’ll learn to dive from such height next year!

When we returned there was another couple, Greeks, who looked at us; probably they didn’t expect to see naked people there, and I thought it might be uncomfortable for them, but in fact soon they disrobed completely as well. So until a yacht with a big italian family arrived, the beach had become mostly naturist =)

And small pebbles of the beach were also perfect to try out a slingshot which I bought in Ioannina (it is sold there as a souvenir for some reason).

Don’t worry, I wouldn’t use it against this beautiful Scarce Swallowtail but rather to protect from the aggressive textile invaders 😀


Salle de sport à Paris : faites de la musculation nu !

by αNaturist, posted in gym
English

Dans certain pays européens la nudité est tolérée en public, mais il se pose un grand problème naturel : l’hiver ! De plus, les endroits où l’on peut pratiquer le naturisme à l’intérieur sont peu nombreux, surtout si l’on excepte les saunas. Par contre, Paris a une salle de sport qui est naturiste 5 fois par semaine et une piscine 3 fois par semaine, grâce à l’Association Naturiste de Paris. Des piscines naturistes se trouvent à Berlin, à Madrid et à Londres, mais je ne connais aucune autre salle de gym naturiste, alors que le mot “gym” implique la nudité et vient du mot grec γυμνός [gymnos] – nu.

Voici l’endroit où les naturistes parisiens s’entraînent pour garder leur forme quand il fait -10°C !

naturist 0013 Gym of Association Naturiste de Paris, Paris, France

A l’intérieur il fait assez chaud pour que l’on puisse se mettre nu 🙂

naturist 0011 Gym of Association Naturiste de Paris, Paris, France

La salle n’est pas grande mais équipée avec toutes les machines qu’il faut.

naturist 0015 Gym of Association Naturiste de Paris, Paris, France

Et la grande surprise : la première visite est gratuite ! Il suffit de remplir l’invitation.

En plus, l’entrée est gratuite pour les jeunes de moins de 27 ans !

naturist 0014 Gym of Association Naturiste de Paris, Paris, France

Parfait pour les jeunes sportifs 😉

Les adhérents sont très gentils.

naturist 0016 Gym of Association Naturiste de Paris, Paris, France

Merci à Laurent pour les photos !

 

French translation by Laurent

Secluded beach in Saronida, near Athens

by αNaturist, posted in Athens, naturism, naturist beach, nude snorkeling, nudist places, skinny dipping

I wrote about flat rocks of Limanakia, about 1-1.5 hours from Athens city centre, but if they seem too busy, you can follow further from the city and find some small secluded beaches like this one shown on the map.

You can go there by the same bus as to Limanakia – E22 – but further, till the last stop actually. Then walk along the sea-shore, passing through an urban beach first, until you reach a place of your choice.

It is simply amazing to find such a nice hidden spot 2 hours away from the buzzing centre of Athens;

perfect for a romantic beach day.

The water is crystal clear, so the place is great for snorkeling.

Of course, we swam naked.

But we wouldn’t be active naturists, if we just swam there.

We also played frisbee

and beach bats. As the beach itself was quite small, we decided to play in water. It made it more challenging and fun at the same time.

PS Given that this place is not a municipal beach, its cleanliness depends on you! Unfortunately we found some garbage on this beautiful beach. We took away what we could, but it’d be easier if everyone just took everything with themselves…

Gym in Paris: Work out naked!

by αNaturist, posted in active naturists, winter

français

In some European countries public nudity is accepted in many places, but there is one big natural problem: winter! And the number of indoors naturist facilities is very small, especially if you exclude saunas. But Paris boasts a gym with naturist hours 5 times per week and a swimming pool three times per week (piscine Roger Le Gall), thanks to the association of naturists of Paris. There are pools which serve naturists also in Berlin, Madrid, London, but I’m not aware of any other naked gym, although the word ‘gym’ implies nudity, coming form the greek γυμνός [gymnos] – naked.

So, this is where parisian naturists maintain their shape when it is -10ºC!

naturist 0013 Gym of Association Naturiste de Paris, Paris, France

Well, actually inside the gym it is warm enough to be completely unclad 🙂

naturist 0011 Gym of Association Naturiste de Paris, Paris, France

The gym isn’t big but with all major types of machines.

naturist 0015 Gym of Association Naturiste de Paris, Paris, France

And there is a pleasant surprise – the first visit is free of charge, just fill in an invitation form!

Furthermore, youth under 27 years old has free admission!

naturist 0014 Gym of Association Naturiste de Paris, Paris, France

Perfect for the young and active 😉

The members seem to be very friendly.

naturist 0016 Gym of Association Naturiste de Paris, Paris, France

Many thanks to Laurent for the pics!

Check out our post from another visit a year later!

Mykonos (Party islands, part II)

by αNaturist, posted in clubbing, Mykonos, naturism, naturist beach, nude recreation, nude surfing, nudism, skinny dipping


Mykonos is a small island of the Mediterranean with a world fame of a party destination that can be rivaled only by Ibiza. Comparing to the latter, Mykonos attracts somewhat younger crowd, perhaps because it is slightly cheaper.

As elsewhere in Greece, Mykonos is full of clothes-optional beaches, and with the names like Paradise or Super Paradise you would certainly expect visitors wearing suits à la Adam and Eve or, given its reputation of one of the hottest gay destinations, Adam and Steve.

But in July-August it is all about partying there, with banging tunes from the early afternoon till late night, when the the crowd, by that time almost certainly drunk already, moves to the clubs. So in most cases this is probably as close to nudism as it gets at the mainstream beaches of Mykonos in high season. In fact at Paradise beach, I did not see any nudists neither in April a couple of years ago nor this July, there were only two topless girls. So apparently this Paradise follows the story of the place which gave its name.

Luckily there is also Super Paradise beach nearby, and in some respects it is certainly ‘super’ over the Paradise one: people sunbathe and swim au naturel there 🙂 You can come from Paradise to Super Paradise by boat-taxi. Then nudists mostly reside in the left side end (when you face it from the sea).

Or you can walk up through dry fields and rocks, quite picturesque though, for about half-hour. Just be prepared to jump over some stone fences between them. And beware of the cattle and sheep!-)

On the way you will find some nice coves with flat rocks. In fact this is only place where you can find rest from the loud music in the vicinity of Paradise in case you’re a little tired from partying. In spring some rocks are literally covered with flowers, the combination of colors is just fantastic!


For cheap and convenient accommodation, I’d recommend Paradise Resort. The cheapest options are these wooden cabins or camping (luckily they provide shade), but they also have deluxe apartments.Then you have the Paradise beach and Paradise club at your feet. And they even have a bird house with my favorite zebra finches! Though I preferred to go to Super Paradise beach or the coves for swimming and Cavo Paradiso for dancing. BTW watch out for flyers, there may be tips for free entry. Cavo Paradiso is an amazing club built on the rocks over the sea next to the Paradise beach. So you can dance under the stars till the sunrise. They also feature famous full moon parties, and the line up always includes top world DJs. And there is a pool in the shape of the island where you can dance as well, like on this video from a party with Mark Knight on the decks.

Not sure how they’ll react if you dance naked, but it’s almost as good as it gets =)


See also our report from another clubbing mecca of the Mediterranean with some naturist options, Ibiza!