Tag: naked

Swan Lake

by αNaturist, posted in active naturists

swan 0000 Wannsee, Berlin, Germany

I’ve seen something that impressed me so much, I couldn’t skip it on my blog, although it has little to do with naturist activities…

Swan Lake, Pyotr Tchaikovsky‘s masterpiece, has been arguably the most popular ballet for decades and has also become classics in modern dance thanks to Matthew Bourne‘s interpretation, first staged in 1995 in London’s West End and never having a break since then with several tours around the world.

I first saw their billboards in Athens where they were on tour last autumn, but finally got a chance to see the show itself last weekend here in New York.

I won’t pretend being an expert in modern dance (although I do like it), but I hardly can imagine any other show that can beat Bourne’s Swan Lake in both choreography and emotional message, so beautiful and powerful, romantic and tragic. There is an interview with Matthew Bourne on youtube where he talks about New York’s production specifically. In short, the Prince is struggling with his false and exposed life where he cannot get love and understanding neither from his mother nor girlfriend, and then he sees (dreams of?) a flock of swans…

He falls in love with their leader, who is a reincarnation of everything the Prince actually wants to be: strong and free…

One of the things that struck me was that the swans in the show moved and behaved pretty much like swans in reality. I tell you as a zoologist 😉 , and I’ve seen plenty of them at the Wannsee lake in Berlin.)

The swans in this performance were not only gracious creatures, typically portrayed in Tchaikovky’s ballet, but also vigorous and sometimes fierce.

naturist & swan 0001 Wannsee, Berlin, Germany

They may come to you

swan 0000 Wannsee, Berlin, Germany

and bow gently.

naturist & swan 0002 Wannsee, Berlin, Germany

(oops! this one even slightly overdid it, putting his head underwater.) But they may also hiss and move menacingly if you come too close

naturist & swan 0005 Wannsee, Berlin, Germany

or simply leave all of a sudden…

And don’t even try to catch them:

naturist & swan 0000 Wannsee, Berlin, Germany

you are lucky if they decide to escape, otherwise they can actually hit you!

But if you are even luckier, perhaps you’ll be able to find your way to a swan… A possible interpretation of Bourne’s Swan Lake is a desire to be one with nature, whose symbol in the story is a swan. Maybe Matthew Bourn should have staged some of the scenes in the nude, that would certainly make the connection even more powerful and dancers’ moves even more beautiful…

naturist & swan 0004 Wannsee, Berlin, Germany

Anyways, this is how the Prince found his ultimate freedom…

Nu York, Nu York! (now you can see it!)

by αNaturist, posted in active naturists

Well, I clearly underestimated New York’s naturist capacity! It’s pretty clear that it won’t beat Berlin (unless legislation changes), but still, thanks to my new nudie friend Christian, I’ve found another unofficial nudist spot, and he will show me even more, but probably I’ll have to wait for the next season… But I didn’t suspect that during this autumn I would find two beaches and even fulfill my fantasy of taking a nude pic with Manhattan skyline on the background!

So on the same shore where I visited a gay and partially nudist beach of Jacob Riis park (on the right photo above, you can see those towers of Jacob Riis Park), there is quite a long stretch of sandy beach to the South, which is surrounded by forested dunes in the area of Fort Tilden, an abandoned military fort. According to Christian, this beach gets crowded only on weekends during hot season, otherwise it’s rather empty and you can find quite a few people enjoying its quietness without any clothes.

But besides having a nice long beach, this area is also good for a stroll through a forest and visiting some abandoned bunkers. It may get quite spooky, actually! But one of the bunkers has a observation platform on top. Since the place is not frequented by too many visitors, we felt quite comfortable to disrobe and take some shots. But we had to be quite careful listening if any other visitor were getting closer. In any case, for at about an hour, there was no one around, and we totally enjoyed the view of Manhattan skyline

and surrounding forest up to the beach.

Although the city appears very far on the photos,

I actually felt like I could just fly there.

No, in the end we had to travel back by bikes and subway, and in the late afternoon it got really chilly too (it’s the end of October after all).

But it was a great and unique experience. For the lack of a better phrase, I felt as if New York was at my feet 😀

River Island Nature Retreat (NSW, Australia)

by αNaturist, posted in active naturists

River Island Nature Retreat is about 2.5 hours drive from the centre of Sydney in the Southern Highlands. It’s probably an odd choice of location for a clothing optional retreat as the Southern Highlands aren’t exactly very warm a lot of the time.

view 0001 River Island, New South Wales, AustraliaThe retreat is set on the Wollondilly River and it’s beautiful in a very typically Australian Bush kind of way.You can walk for several kilometres and follow some 4 wheel drive tracks, swim in the river or enjoy the pool, all nude if you like.

naturist 0003 River Island, New South Wales, Australia

The area is home to some wild goats, and it’s at River Island that I finally got to see some of Australia’s native wildlife for the first time in the wild. The platypus and the echidna are very shy animals but along with kangaroos and wombats, they call River Island home.

kangaroo 0000 River Island, New South Wales, Australia

I’ve been three times now, at the very end of last summer and very very early in this Spring and I’ve only seen a couple of other people camping.

naturist 0000 River Island, New South Wales, Australianaturist 0001 River Island, New South Wales, Australia

There are cabins for hire up on the hill near the main complex but it’s too beautiful down on the banks of the river not to camp there.

naturist 0002 River Island, New South Wales, Australia

Text and photos by Brenton, but check out his video about this place too!

Nu York, Nu York! (Jacob Riis Park beach)

by αNaturist, posted in active naturists
As I mentioned previously, I was looking for a job and went for an interview in New York in May. Now, I am finally in the Big Apple and have been settling in quite good so far. At last, I feel I have some spare time to fulfill my promise to update my blog with the new stuff from this summer! First, however, I have an autumn surprise. I was worried there wouldn’t be a possibility to hang out naked outdoors within reasonable distance from NYC… Luckily, a good friend of mine told me about an ‘insider’ nudie spot within New York City Transit area; a picturesque beach where nudity is practiced too!
naturist 0000 Jacob Riis Park beach, NY, USA
I must add immediately, that the majority of people there are not totally naked , and many say one should be careful with police raids, but others convince me there is no problem with that. So, mostly, this beach attracts gay men, many of whom wear rather amusing (to my taste) kinds of swimming trunks – I have not seen such a diversity of swimwear anywhere else (probably not the best comment to a nudist beach). Nevertheless, it is probably as nude as it gets within New York City boundaries. Most of the people seem to be regular visitors who know each other, so it was difficult for a newcomer like me to stay unnoticed. Even though sometimes I felt like I got too much of unwanted attention, it was good to get to know locals. They are very friendly, and it is common to share food and drinks (or sun lotion) with your neighbors there. And ethnical diversity reflects the multicultural scene of Brooklyn and the whole New York City.
naturist 0001 Jacob Riis Park beach, NY, USA
It is Jacob Riis Park, a part of seemingly endless sandy beach line, but the gay and nudist-friendly part is at the border with the private sector section and with a former nursery home at the background.
naturist 0004 Jacob Riis Park beach, NY, USA
The ocean may be very rough at high tide but is usually calmer at low tide. I wouldn’t advice to swim too far if you are alone. Luckily, I’ve found a company of a good swimmer Hassan, who was also nicknamed as a mayor of the beach. naturist 0002 Jacob Riis Park beach, NY, USA
Be careful with a strong current at high tide, as it may bring you quickly westwards: it is difficult to swim back then, and there are remains of wooden pierce which may become a real threat if you get hit by a strong waive. Nevertheless, if you are careful enough and have a companion, it can be a great fun to swim under such high waves.
One day, there were also a lot of jelly fish, but it is not a problem for tough men 😉
naturist 0003 Jacob Riis Park beach, NY, USA
(well, the jelly-fish were all dead and did not sting, hehe)
So, I am happy to tell you yes, there is a place for naked beach time and swimming in New York City! And the weather was good enough even in mid-October, which is another good surprise after Berlin. (Though my first summer in Berlin, in 2006, was also amazing in terms of the weather: if you look at my post about Berlin and nearby areas, there are photos from Warnemünde at the Baltic Sea made in October! But I heard here in NYC it’s a norm unlike in Berlin.)
PS Did you notice what I was drinking on the photo above? The famous “Naked” smoothies 😉
Perhaps another candidate to sponsor this blog besides japanese “Kirin Nuda”
naturist 0005 Jacob Riis Park beach, NY, USA

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!

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

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

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!

Starkers! On London’s naked disco and erections at naturist locations

by αNaturist, posted in active naturists

London’s Naked Disco ‘Starkers’ is quite a sought-after event, but I heard a lot of contradictory opinios about it, so I was very eager to visit it. I must say I really enjoyed it, and whenever I have a possibility I’ll go there again. But this visit made me think of what people call naturism and a naturist club. So, why did I enjoy it? Because I love dancing and being naked is natural to me, and there, I could do both at the same time; the atmosphere was absolutely liberating, and the music on the dance floor was good (house of early 2000s), I thanked the DJ in the end 🙂 But perhaps for some, the atmosphere there is too liberating. And this is where many people disagree about Starkers. So, it often seems that naturists try to separate naturism from any association with sexual activities; then Starkers is not a naturist venue. But if we accept that naturists are humans like any other and may get erections (male ones, of course), then it is a naturist club [as any other night club, it is of course an adult-only venue]. On the one hand, I find it normal that like in any other night club, people flirt there. And as a result of it, or for whatever else reason, you can see a few men with hard or semi-hard penises… Don’t you think this happens also in regular [clothed] clubs, but we just don’t see it because of the clothes? On many web-sites dedicated to naturism, it is said that men should hide or get rid of their erections in public (with a towel, cold water, thinking of smth unpleasant etc.); on some others, it is suggested not to bother about it and just behave normally. I find the second attitude healthy, as many men have spontaneous erections when they are relaxed, and even if it has a sexual reason (like you’ve seen someone attractive), it doesn’t necessarily mean sexually aggressive behaviour. I know some guys who don’t want to go to naturist places, because they are easily aroused but are afraid of getting erections in public. They wouldn’t jump on anyone, it’s mere physiology… So, actually it was a great feeling at Starkers that no one really cared about that. But on the other hand, what disappointed me was that it seemed that majority did come to Starkers for flirting/cruising. I just find it annoying, like in any other situation (beaches, saunas or regular dance clubs) that some people can’t just enjoy the environment and just look for a hook-up instead, and nudity is seen by them as merely a sexual trigger. It would be appropriate in a sex/swinger club, but as far as I’m concerned, Starkers is intended as a club for people who just like to hang out naked and dance. I could see that some of the visitors were not satisfied just with that and were constantly cruising. Nevertheless overall I had a positive experience, because there were also many friendly people,

who simply enjoyed dancing naked. And as I liked the music, that was enough to keep me in a good mood all the time. Well, except maybe the midnight show. That one was rather ridiculous, and it didn’t really make much sense to put some opera singing in the middle of house music disco. It was a pity that after the show people seemed sort of confused and needed some time to get into dancing mood again.

I’d certainly recommend visiting this club if you’d like to dance naked, and there’s no other naked disco to my knowledge. It is especially cool to go there on a chilly winter night, when everyone wants to hide under the coat or a blanket in the bed, and to feel yourself in another world. For directions and other information check the official web site of Starkers. And check out also my post dance naked! There is an inspirational video 😉