Tag: frisbee

Krumme Lanke, Berlin

by αNaturist, posted in active naturists

naturist 0004 Krumme Lanke, Berlin, Germany

Krumme Lanke is probably the easiest lake to reach by public transport in Berlin – just a few minutes away from U3 station with the same name. It is is excellent for swimming, and its length proved to be perfect for long-distance swimming sessions for my friends an me. There’s a lawn in the southern corner of the lake that’s commonly used as an FKK location, clothing-optional that is. I have a great personal memory from this spot, as that’s where I had an informal lunch with my future colleagues when I came to Berlin for an interview for my PhD training; we kept our clothes on, but the choice of location made me feel like Berlin would be the perfect city for me to live 😉

fish 0000 Krumme Lanke, Berlin, Germany

Krumme Lanke has remained one of my favorite  places for swimming since then thanks to easy access and clean water.

naturist 0000 Krumme Lanke, Berlin, Germany

That’s where I would go to brave cold waters on warm-ish days even in early spring.

naturist 0003 Krumme Lanke, Berlin, Germany

It took me a couple of years to discover this tree tilted above the water, but better later than never. It doesn’t look that high, but it was scary enough for me to sit up there.

naturist 0001 Krumme Lanke, Berlin, Germany

Jumping with feet down was easy though.

naturist 0000 Schlachtensee, Berlin, Germany

Schlachtensee is another lake with very clean water; it’s right next to Krumme Lanke to the south but has no beach. It does not matter at night, however 🙂

naturist 0002 Schlachtensee, Berlin, Germany

On a very warm midsummer night with full moon, we were lucky to find this amazing oak tree with a branch stretching above the water. I even managed to lie down on it and enjoy the view!

naturist 0001 Schlachtensee, Berlin, Germany

Teufelssee lake and Grunewald forest in Berlin

by αNaturist, posted in active naturists

naturist 0000 Teufelsee in Grunewald, Berlin, Germany

Grunewald area of Berlin offers another lake option, Teufelssee, and it is a very different experience from Wannsee. Teufelssee is a small lake in the middle of the woods, and there is a big grassy meadow adjacent to it. It’s easy to reach by bike or a long walk from S7 station Grunewald. No wonder, the meadow and lake often get packed with people when the weather is nice. And as many places in Berlin, the default status of outdoor recreation is clothing-optional (FKK).

naturist 0001 Teufelsee in Grunewald, Berlin, Germany

There is a floating platform in the middle of the lake, a great point for dives into the water or calm sunbathing.

naturist & wild boar 0000 Teufelsee in Grunewald, Berlin, Germany

Closer to the evening, when the crowds are gone, there is a different kind of visitor, besides few remaining naturists:

naturist & wild boar 0001 Teufelsee in Grunewald, Berlin, Germany

wild boar.  They come very close to people but behave peacefully; they are more interested in the trash cans.

wild boar 0000 Teufelsee in Grunewald, Berlin, Germany

Unfortunately, they sometimes create a mess at this otherwise clean and orderly naturist location. But a naturalist in me was happy to see wild boars so close and undisturbed by people’s presence.

Proximity to the city made Teufelssee one of my most visited outdoor places during summer. And when spring weather turned unexpectedly hot, even in early April like in the video above, I would head out there to enjoy the sun and warm air all over my skin 🙂 Grunewald forest has numerous dirt roads and trails, and it feels amazing to cycle there naked with the first warm sun rays of spring. And similarly, I would go there for some last-in-season sunbathing during those golden days of Indian summer… combined with working on photos for my blog 😉

naturist 0003 Teufelsee in Grunewald, Berlin, Germany

Wannsee in Berlin: kayaking, swimming, biking, frisbee – you name it!

by αNaturist, posted in active naturists

naturist 0002 Wannsee, Berlin, Germany

Wannsee, or more specifically Großer Wannsee, is a relatively large lake in the westernmost part of Berlin. It hosts Europe’s longest inland beach – Strandbad Wannsee, but we usually hang out at more secluded spots north of it. Strandbad Wannsee is just one of  2 or 3 beaches in Berlin with an entrance fee, which I assume supports facilities and cleaning operation; naturist part (or FKK, as it is usually referred to in Germany) is in the northern side of the beach (i.e., to the right, if you face the lake). There are a few small beaches to the north of Strandbad Wannsee, which are free of charge and free of clothes as well 🙂

naturist 0003 Wannsee, Berlin, Germany

River Snack boat delivers ice-cream, beer and snacks, including Berlin’s famous currywurst.

naturist 0000 Wannsee, Berlin, Germany

As you’ve figured from the photos, our favorite way to get there was kayak.

naturist 0001 Wannsee, Berlin, Germany

Kayaking in calm waters of Wannsee is easy and pleasant; it provides great views of the forested shores of the lake and good exercise for your upper body! Kayaks and canoes can be rented from Der Bootsladen upstream at a canal of the Havel river.

naturist 0008 Wannsee, Berlin, Germany

You can also get there by public transport too, metro (S-Bahn) plus bus, but we often opted for cycling either all the way or from S-Bahn stations Nikolassee (nearby) or Grunewald (long ride). There are numerous dirt roads and trails that cross Grunewald forest on the way from S-Bahn station Grunewald to the sandy beaches of Wannsee. It’s more fun and refreshing to ride bicycle naked, and we’ve done it on multiple occasions – other people seemed to be cool about that.

naturist 0005 Wannsee, Berlin, Germany

At our favorite spot by the Wannsee lake, there was a fallen tree that provided comfortable sitting.

naturist 0004 Wannsee, Berlin, Germany

But we wouldn’t be active naturists, if we just sat there –

naturist 0006 Wannsee, Berlin, Germany

how about some upside-down calisthenics exercises?

swan 0001 Wannsee, Berlin, Germany

Well, swimming is obviously another activity one would engage in at the lake. Swimming with swans is quite fun; swans often appear as curious about humans, as we are about them, and I tried to make friends among swans at Wannsee.

naturist & ducks 0017 Wannsee, Berlin, Germany

Ducks seem to be more straightforward and approach to check if someone is willing to share their food with them.

seagull 0000 Wannsee, Berlin, Germany

Seagulls are also common at Wannsee, but they prefer to stay away from people.

naturist 0007 Wannsee, Berlin, Germany

In any case, before you go swimming, make sure the water isn’t green, as once there was an intense algae bloom. Algae blooms are not necessarily toxic and may happen during sudden changes in weather conditions and when phytoplankton is not consumed fast enough by zooplankton and mollusks.

snail 0000 Wannsee, Berlin, Germany

This terrestrial snail isn’t the kind of mollusk that would help with an algae bloom though. But I thought it’d provide a nice contrast to ‘active naturists’, as it is both sluggish and super-clothed, carrying its entire house all around 🙂

naturist 0016 Wannsee, Berlin, Germany

We, on contrary, like to jump around totally naked, as you know, and shallow waters of Wannsee proved to be perfect for playing frisbee in water. It stays about knee- or waist-deep for 20m or so by the shore, and the bottom is sandy. As it is more difficult to run around in water, it provided an incentive to aim more precisely.

naturist 0014 Wannsee, Berlin, Germany

Jumping out of water while tossing a frisbee disk proved to be a lot of fun,

naturist-frisbee-0011-Wannsee,-Berlin,-Germany

 

and again it was a good exercise for legs.

naturist 0009 Wannsee, Berlin, Germany

And if that’s not enough for the day, we can always cycle naked through Grunewald on the way back home.

‘4 mile beach’ full of sea life

by αNaturist, posted in active naturists

Next day after visiting Big Basin Redwoods, we mostly stayed on the road heading south, but we had a nice memorable stop at Four Mile beach next to Santa Cruz. This is an official clothing-optional beach, as was designated on our bike map. It was recommended to us by Dan, the masseur from Burning Man who you might remember from my blogpost about acro-yoga in San Francisco. The beach looked beautiful already on our approach to it, and we could see just a couple of surfers there.

naturist 0005 4 Mile Beach, CA, USA

As we came down, the beach looked even more impressive, though we were not sure if it was 4 miles long… or where did the name come from?

naturist 0007 4 Mile Beach, CA, USA

Besides those few surfers, there were only some fishermen quite far out…

fishermen 0000 4 Mile Beach, CA, USA

and lots of birds!

seabirds 0008 4 Mile Beach, CA, USA

When we arrived, most birds moved from the sand onto the water, and we could see all beach covered in their footprints.

naturist 0001 4 Mile Beach, CA, USA

Then we noticed there also was an airplane! No, just cliffs that look like one 😉 The cliffs were full of birds too.

gulls 0000 4 Mile Beach, CA, USA

Gulls were the most numerous,

gulls 0001 4 Mile Beach, CA, USA

but there were many kinds of other sea- and shorebirds too, mostly grouped together. The photo below illustrates that indeed birds of a feather flock together.

gulls and cormorants 0000 4 Mile Beach, CA, USA

Cormorants were probably the second largest group,

cormorant 0000 4 Mile Beach, CA, USA

but there were many pelicans too.

pelicans 0000 4 Mile Beach, CA, USA

This was a clear indicator of richness of the ocean waters by this beach. To a large extent, it was probably thanks to the kelp forests, of which we could literally only scratch the surface.

giant kelp 0000 4 Mile Beach, CA, USA

Low tide revealed the rocks covered with the densest mussel colony I had ever seen.

seashells 0000 4 Mile Beach, CA, USA

That’s a lot of seafood!

seafood 0000 4 Mile Beach, CA, USA

In just few minutes, Niko created this seafood bouquet. We didn’t feel adventurous to actually eat any of that, but it looked tasty 🙂

To make this place even more ecologically diverse, there was a freshwater pond too.

sandpiper 0000 4 Mile Beach, CA, USA

A sandpiper and a group of ducks were hanging out there away from the seabirds.

ducks 0001 4 Mile Beach, CA, USA

And aside from all these water birds, ravens apparently called this place their home too.

raven 0000 4 Mile Beach, CA, USA

So as this young snake, whose species I couldn’t identify – any serpentologist among my readers?

snake 0000 4 Mile Beach, CA, USA

With all this biodiversity, I thought that we only missed dolphins but Niko said it would be too much to ask from just a couple of hours at the beach… We played some frisbee, which went very well, probably because the beach is protected from wind by the cliffs.

naturist frisbee 0003 4 Mile Beach, CA, USA

And then we saw them! 4 dolphins were passing along the beach showing their back fins. I was happy and ran with my camera to the cliffs that went farther into the ocean to take a better picture, but they disappeared.

dolphin 0000 4 Mile Beach, CA, USA

And then I saw something that I didn’t even expect to see – a sea otter!

sea otter 0000 4 Mile Beach, CA, USA

It even showed me its cute swim on the back while opening a mussel with claws.

sea otter 0001 4 Mile Beach, CA, USA

Then I felt like we could leave the place with enough memories…

naturist 0004 4 Mile Beach, CA, USA

And my boys were already checking out the map to see how we would get to the next campground… and we had to get dressed too.

anti-naturist 0000 cafe, CA, USA

Burning Man ticket for sale, plans and Tacoboy’s Beach Fest at Sandy Hook

by αNaturist, posted in active naturists

I’ve already announced that I’m going to Burning Man this year, a crazy festival of artful, creative and positive spirit that several friends of mine say is the most memorable event of their lives. BREAKING NEWS: guess what, I’ve got an extra ticket to sell! Last year was the first time when the organizers had to limit the amount of tickets and it was quickly sold out. This year, they tried a new lottery system for selling tickets, and I was among the lucky ones who got two tickets! Unfortunately my supposed-to-be burner companion has got a new job and cannot join me anymore. So I’ve decided to give it a try and see if there is anyone interested among my readers!

Let me know by e-mail or leave a comment here if you want to get the ticket! I don’t think I need to advertise this sought-after item, but FYI the ticket is from the cheapest tier and in the good spirit of Burning Man I am selling it face value.

Meanwhile, I was trying to pick a theme camp to join at Burning Man and chose one that might not be the most artistic but definitely is one of the most handy camps: Playa Bike Transport. Apparently, bicycle is the way to go at Burning Man, and this camp provides bikes for rent and free repair service during the event. The idea to learn bike repair is especially appealing to me, because I plan some long bike trips.

Needless to say, I’ll spend a lot of time naked there – perhaps I’ll be your naked mechanic? But I still need to think of a costume for night time, as it gets really cold after sunset.

And just a couple of weeks ago, I got a bit of  a taste of Burning Man at Sandy Hook beach. One of the famous fellows from the so-called burner community, Tacoboy, organized a mini-fest there with potluck food and drinks, hula-hoops, some music (just as loud as it was allowed at this place), give-aways and lots of smiles. There was a couple of other groups that brought some decorations.

We spent a lot of time hula-hooping, as well as playing volleyball and frisbee.

As we were a lot of people, we didn’t play with just one frisbee, but with two. Simultaneously 🙂

The game provided plenty of opportunities to take photos à la discobolus statue.

But the hollow frisbee also proved to be a nice decorative tool.

As if all that wasn’t enough, we topped it up with some gymnastics! I’ll write more about our beach gymnastics classes in one of the following posts, but for now I’ll post a photo of our awesome foursome handstand.

naturist-0074-gymnastics-@-Gunnison-Beach,-Sandy-Hook,-NJ,-USA

Can you believe that the girl on the photo was able to do her handstand for the first time on that day? David, who was in charge of our acrobatic frenzy, must be a really good teacher! And again, such unexpected (and free!) class of gymnastics with a naked instructor is totally in line with Burning Man spirit the way I imagine it.

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…