Tag: Germany

Berghain

by αNaturist, posted in active naturists

When I was in Florida a couple of weeks ago for Miami Music Week (amongst other things – more on that later!), it felt like the entire world of electronic dance music was there, with pool parties during day and club gigs during night (and sometimes well into early afternoon), not to mention Miami Winter Music Conference and Ultra festival… I could only wish one more addition to the whole shenanigans – nudity (or removal, of clothes, that is!) Despite the perfect weather and context (e.g. pool parties), nudity will doubtfully be allowed at Miami Music Week events, and pretty much anywhere at dance parties, unless these are specialized events. Luckily, there is one club that has managed to combine worldwide fame and a truly underground atmosphere where “anything goes”, including nudity! It’s Berghain in Berlin. It is often dubbed as the techno capital of the world and is famous for parties that start on Friday night and finish on Monday morning.

It was voted the best night club in the world in 2009 by DJ Magazine. Not surprisingly, on a Saturday night you may end up queuing for 2 hours… and in the worst case in vain, as many people aren’t admitted for no obvious reason (rather random, I suspect), which sounds nasty, but the demand is just clearly too high. And you should appreciate the club management, who have preserved the entry fee pretty much the same throughout the years and haven’t turned the club into a posh place for more cash: there’s still “No VIP, no mirrors in the bathroom, no expensive cocktails, just a good sound system and great crowd!”

Berghain flyer May 2014

You can sort of get the vibe from Berghain’s racy flyers. The one above is probably my favorite from all I’ve seen, and by coincidence it features all naked people. It is from May 2014, the first time when I got naked there and almost 4 years after I moved from Berlin. When I used to frequent Berghain while living in Berlin, I always suspected it’d be fine to dance naked there, but I’d never seen anyone do that. I talked about it with a couple friends, but we just never tried. Last year, I was determined to test it. And when I got to Berghain on a late Saturday night/early Sunday morning, the atmosphere was just right. Perfect ratio of crowd/personal space, great music and people who were into music… Off went my clothes, and it felt great. Finally I was 100% at home in Berghain! Most people around didn’t seem to notice, but I got my share of smiles and thumbs up. One guy told me it was more common to see naked people on a Sunday night, when more locals come out as opposed to more touristy Saturday night. He himself was from New York originally but resided in Berlin; we got in touch and agreed to return in the evening of the same day (which was Sunday)… After getting some sleep and doing acro-yoga in Tiergarten, I went to Berghain again, with Tam this time. Despite there was no queue, the bouncer didn’t let him in – as always, absolutely no reason was given (and most likely there was no reason?)… I had a stamp from my previous visit though (once you’re in, you can leave and enter the club throughout the weekend), and as it was my last night in Berlin and wanted to see Berghain on a Sunday night, I still decided to get in. My new ex-New-Yorker friend was already there, and he introduced me to his friend who apparently always danced naked in Berghain. So, this time, I got naked as soon as I found my spot on the dance floor. I kept my clothes nearby, but the nudist Berghainer said I should have left it at the coat check – the staff is absolutely cool with nudity; the bouncer even told him that in case someone made a fuss about nudity, THAT person would be kicked out! That night, I saw 3 more naked guys dancing, so while nudists are a tiny minority in Berghain, we are certainly welcome and safe there. If you like techno and dancing naked, you can’t think of a better place!

PS You might have noticed the absence of photos in this blogpost – that’s because one of the very few rules in Berghain includes prohibition of photography, similar to some naturist venues. Photos or videos wouldn’t make much justice anyways (not to mention that it’s quite dark there), it’s more of a personal experience that makes Berghain special.

Thermen am Europa Center (and Winter Badeschiff) – amazing saunas in Berlin

by αNaturist, posted in active naturists

We continue with Berlin series (it’s not over yet!), and here is something for winter time, and looking at the calendar – particularly suitable for Valentine’s Day, if you’re up for a hot date… Literally! I’m talking about two of my favourite saunas in Berlin (one of them doesn’t seem to be open this winter, however).

Thermen am Europa Center is located in the centre of Berlin. It’s easy to see why I loved it, with multiple types of saunas including 2 hamams, several pools of different temperatures, and large outdoor terraces with views over some of Berlin’s landmarks like Gedaechtniskirche.

naturist 0000 Thermen am Europa, Berlin, Germany

 

The biggest pool goes partially outdoors and is very warm. Due to the narrow shape of its outdoors part though, don’t expect to do laps when there’s more than a couple of people. But if you go there primarily for relaxation, you will definitely get it! Thermen am Europa Center is open throughout the year, so it can be also a good idea for a chilly summer evening, which is not a rare thing in Berlin either…

Well, the description below, is for historic reference, as of now… hopefully they’ll reopen it next winter!

Another option is was Badeshiff , which from November till the end of March becomes used to turn into an oasis of warmth with saunas and partially open-air swimming pool with transparent walls over the Spree River! This not only allows-ed you to enjoy the views, up to the tallest city landmark – Alex TV-tower

naturist 0000 Winter Badeschiff, Berlin, Germany

– but also to appreciate the warmth of saunas in contrast to the chilly winter weather outside.
naturist 0002 Winter Badeschiff, Berlin, Germany

However the water in the pool could be warmer

unless you’d swim intensely 🙂

But why not, keep yourself active in winter too, and you’ll enjoy the sauna even more!

naturist 0001 Winter Badeschiff, Berlin, Germany

SchlagerNackt party in Berlin

by αNaturist, posted in active naturists

Germany is a home to large naturist population that often identify themselves with the so-called ‘free body culture’ – Freie Körper Kultur (FKK), so no wonder its capital hosts a huge naked disco! The Schlagernacktparty is organised every two months in the club “Schwuz” at Rollbergstrasse 26, Berlin 12053. Its concept and original idea occurred to DJ Jupiter with collaboration of DJ Stern of Avalon and Itzy in 2003, and it has grown very fast through the last years and has reached almost 400 guests at each event!

SchlagerNackt party

Schlagernackt is a self-explanatory portmanteau name: Schlager is German pop music from the 1970-80s, Nackt means naked and rhymes with Nacht, night. As a non-German, I was very sceptical in the beginning, but as I listened to it, I found it so nice and funny that I loved it ever since… I decided to come regularly to the party and then even joined the team to help with the whole oprganisation.

The music works not only for Germans but for our numerous international guests too (reflecting diversity of Berlin’s dwellers and tourists). Also, our music is never too loud, so it creates a nice atmosphere where you can also talk to other people and make new friends, which is easy, because everybody seems to feel comfortable at our parties!

SchlagerNackt party

The dresscode is naturally naked with the exception are socks and shoes for obvious reasons (we are a busy disco after all).

So easy is the procedure: you are first of all warmly welcomed by our team at the entrance (Olaf, Wolfgang and Doris), pay entrance fee of €5 euro, then you find some benches where you can take off all your clothes and put them in a plastic bag, which you then give to the team working at the coatcheck (Michele (me), Berko, Jens, Elke, Christian, Stephane). You get a number tag that you can use to order drinks at the bar, which you pay at the end of the party. Our guests also get free sweets and typical German products.

Every time, we choose a particular theme: Easter, Halloween, Summer, Hawaii and so on. We change the atmosphere and the decorations accordingly, but always very colourful!

So, don’t miss the best party in Europe!-) The next date is the 22nd of February (19:00-02:00), then 26 April and so on every two months. Visit our website for further information. We are waiting for you!!!

SchlagerNackt party

[Guest entry by Michele]

Tiergarten: perfect park for urban naturism

by αNaturist, posted in active naturists, young naturists

I’m finally updating information on Berlin, the most naturist-friendly city in my opinion, and I’ll start with its main park Tiergarten in the very centre of the city. Given the park’s central location, it is easy to get there from pretty much anywhere around, so you could even come there after work or on a lunch break for some relaxed sunbathing on one of a few known FKK meadows (Freikörperkultur translates as Free Body Culture) south of Straße des 17 Juni. In the first half of the day, you can also refresh in one of those “showers” from sprinklers on the lawns throughout the park,

naturist 0000 Tiergarten, Berlin, Germany

but one of the meadows has a proper shower installed.

The lawns of Tiergarten are perfect for frisbee, ball games, badminton and its new faster counterpart, speedminton. By the way, speedminton was invented in Berlin, so playing it in the centre of the city a la FKK sounds very authentic 😉

Joe and I used to play speedminton in Tiergarten pretty often, as you can see even rain wouldn’t stop us!

If you want to try something more ancient, how about naked oil wrestling? Tam and I certainly had fun reviving the Ancient Greek tradition.

naked wrestling 0002 Tiergarten, Berlin, Germany

As I had very little experience in wrestling, it was more of a lesson for me from Tam, but the very slippery aspect of oil wrestling was new to him too.

naked wrestling 0005 Tiergarten, Berlin, Germany

Given that it was olive oil, this exercise must have served as a nice skin rub too.

naked wrestling 0007 Tiergarten, Berlin, Germany

Despite the oil, we still managed to grip each other,

naked wrestling 0008 Tiergarten, Berlin, Germany

and each of us (but mostly me) got thrown on the grass too a few times.

naked wrestling 0003 Tiergarten, Berlin, Germany

The latter was more difficult staying lower with knees on the ground in our final match.

naked wrestling 0001 Tiergarten, Berlin, Germany

On another occasion, we wrestled two against one, but we certainly need more practice.

naked wrestling 0009 Tiergarten, Berlin, Germany

Another activity that proved to be fun in Tiergarten was acro-yoga.

acro-yoga-0004-Tiergarten,-Berlin,-Germany

 

We kicked off with some simple threesome poses.

acro-yoga 0000 Tiergarten, Berlin, Germany

After my incident with getting a fine for doing acro-yoga naked in San Francisco, it felt very liberating to do the same thing in Berlin with even more people and not being worried of getting caught by police! We had fun, and our nakedness only enhanced it.

acro-yoga 0001 Tiergarten, Berlin, Germany

Below is a good example of how good positioning that comes with experience lets even a much lighter ‘base’ person hold a heavier ‘flyer’.

acro-yoga 0002 Tiergarten, Berlin, Germany

However, when the flyer is much lighter, even the arms may be enough to support the flyer.

acro-yoga 0003 Tiergarten, Berlin, Germany

(Excuse our friend for clothes, but she didn’t feel like undressing at that moment.)

acro-yoga 0011 Tiergarten, Berlin, Germany

Some of the poses did not only feel relaxing (for the flyer at least),

acro-yoga 0008 Tiergarten, Berlin, Germany

but also provided opportunity to suntan those hard to reach places 😀

acro-yoga 0006 Tiergarten, Berlin, Germany

Some poses may seem simple but are fun to maintain,

acro-yoga 0009 Tiergarten, Berlin, Germany

and the next step is to learn to transition them into a totally different pose.

acro-yoga 0010 Tiergarten, Berlin, Germany

Such dynamic exercises are much more challenging for the base,

acro-yoga 0032 Tiergarten, Berlin, Germany

whereas the flyer should follow his directions and enjoy the ride

acro-yoga 0033 Tiergarten, Berlin, Germany

until he ends up in yet another unusual but stable pose.

acro-yoga 0035 Tiergarten, Berlin, Germany

This pose below serves as an excellent back and hip stretch for the flyer.

acro-yoga 0012 Tiergarten, Berlin, Germany

Here are some standing acro-yoga poses, starting from simple

acro-yoga 0031 Tiergarten, Berlin, Germany

to a more difficult balancing exercise.

acro-yoga 0016 Tiergarten, Berlin, Germany

Standing on shoulders of another person is probably one of those things that seem scary and challenging primarily for ‘mental’ reasons,

naturist 0000 Tiergarten, Berlin, Germany

as the weight is the same as when you sit on the shoulders and the height isn’t that dangerous if you decide to jump off. I decided to avoid it though, due to my not fully recovered ankle.

acro-yoga-0017-Tiergarten,-Berlin,-Germany

Sean and Tam made it look easy from the first time!

acro-yoga 0024 Tiergarten, Berlin, Germany

Here is another pose that combines balancing and stretch (and transitioning into it is kind of scary).

acro-yoga 0036 Tiergarten, Berlin, Germany

Once you’re in the pose, don’t forget to point your toes (if you’re the flyer)!

acro-yoga 0030 Tiergarten, Berlin, Germany

We ended our session that time with the ultimate balancing exercise – two bodies maintained by one pair of arms!

acro-yoga 0037 Tiergarten, Berlin, Germany

I hope this blogpost will inspire Berliners and visitors of the German capital to use their main urban park for naturist activities. We can only wish for anything like this in Central Park in New York, Hyde Park in London or pretty much anywhere else in the world!

 

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!