
A German Idea of Freedom: Nude Ping-Pong, Nude Sledding, Nude Anything - tysone
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/31/world/europe/germany-nudism.html
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newsreview1
Just an FYI, the German word for naked is "nackt", not to be confused with
"nacht", which means night. Which might not seem important, unless you, like
my sister in law, accidentally signed up for a "nackt wandelen" or "naked
hike", as opposed to a "night hike" at her daughter's university (Freie
Universität Berlin) when she went to visit her last year.

Fortunately her daughter saw the mistake long before they attempted to attend.
I can only imagine the scene had she not discovered the mistake before showing
up!!! :)

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b2ccb2
FYI, it's "Nacht/Nackt Wandern". No such thing as wandelen (Apparently Dutch,
as noted below). German OCD kicking in, please ignore ;-)

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emmelaich
No such thing in German; wandelen is Dutch.

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pvorb
Well, German actually has the similar word "wandeln", which means something
like "to stroll" and is often used in phrases like "unter den Toten wandeln",
which can be translated as "to walk among the dead". So this is quite similar
to the Dutch "wandelen" but used in different situations.

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daenz
Anecdotally, if you have body-image issues, spending some time nude around
others (like at a nude beach) can actually help alleviate them. Seeing other
peoples asymmetrical, weird and quirky bodies makes you realize that it's the
norm.

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Ididntdothis
Most nudists are not that perfectly built so you probably get a pretty
realistic impression how people really look.

My body image got shattered on a beach in Santa Barbara... No nude people but
everybody almost perfect.

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scarejunba
Equinox is the same for me. Very motivating since everyone looks good.

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chupa-chups
This is like saying all Americans love McDonalds :)

(I'm German)

If this was voted up for fun I'm on it, if it was voted up because someone
thinks it is true count me out :)

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the_af
Hey chupa-chups, this thing about nudity is of course a generalization.

However, I'm told all Germans absolutely adore asparagus, are passionate about
them, and it is always an appropriate topic of conversation, whether
discussing their many variants or how to cook them.

Can you confirm this?

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Krasnol
You did not have a passionate asparagus discussion if you didn't touch the
urine smell issue.

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the_af
Please elaborate!

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Krasnol
As the other commenter wrote.

Pee stinks BUT there is a catch: only a certain amount of people have smelly
pee and some people produce smelly pee but don't smell it.

It's genetic. Some enzyme turns something in the asparagus in sulphur. It's
pretty bad. I have it and my SO too.

So a high end asparagus discussion contains the "are you a stinker" team
finding competition ;)

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m_mueller
What caught me in this article is that it puts naked children in the pool in
the same corner as nudist adults. The former is very common outside the
English speaking world in general while the latter is rather a Germanic thing.
Personally I find places that don't allow nudity for small children quite
strange - it's basically sexualizing them way too early.

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stagas
I also particularly enjoy the "Germanic Stare Down"[0] culture; being free to
look at anyone and in the eyes without that being considered hostile is
something I consider healthy as well. Compared to other places where lack of
eye contact can make you feel isolated and alone, a pair of eyes and a smile
in the street can bring a sense of belonging.

[0]: [https://www.spiegel.de/international/the-germanic-stare-
down...](https://www.spiegel.de/international/the-germanic-stare-down-watcha-
lookin-at-granny-a-418068.html)

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vinay427
The friendliness of a pair of eyes depends quite a bit on the context. This
culture seems quite potent in (German-speaking) Switzerland as well, but at
least as a visible minority I seem to experience far more less-than-kind
stares that wouldn't be acceptable in the US or the UK, for instance. Giving
people license to stare can certainly make others feel like they don't belong
when it's indiscriminately applied.

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itronitron
They are probably trying to figure out where you are from. As an American with
Norman and Germanic ancestry I get stared at periodically when shopping, and I
think they are trying to figure out what is off about me. I definitely do not
perceive it as friendly or welcoming in any way. What is unique about the
Germanic stare down is there is no effort made on the part of the starer to
avert their gaze or even acknowledge that they are staring. Walking towards
the starer usually encourages them to turn away.

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stagas
People will always try to figure you out. But with the German stare this
communication is enhanced, you get feedback on their feelings for you and you
can respond to that with your attitude. In other cultures, they make a
judgement and there is nothing more to be done, they close down. In Germany
this channel of communication and feedback stays open and works, in my
experience, collectively. Once you develop an attitude that works that stops
the ugly stares in the grocery, then stares become less threatening in
general, collectively. It does seem to be a kind of a super-organism behavior
that isn't very well understood, which is why I find it fascinating.

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smnplk
I really hated going to nude camps with my parents during the summer. I think
that was a form of child abuse. For me, freedom is being naked alone in the
wilderness where there is no one around, not in some crowded area with other
naked people.

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MNreader
I get the idea that once you've accepted nudity then it would follow that you
can do anything at all nude. But nude sledding sounds miserable and cold. Is
this a translation issue or does someone actually think laying down naked in
the snow on a toboggan and riding through winter's bounty is fun? Germans can
be odd, but this sounds dumb.

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tdb7893
As a American Midwesterner I have gone out with friends in shorts in the snow
before and I know a lot of people who have done a polar plunge (i.e. jumped
into a somewhat frozen lake). The fact that it's kinda dumb is also what makes
it extra exciting.

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deehouie
Why is this only a German thing. There're nude beaches everywhere. Basic idea
of freedom is to be free from the conventional norm.

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pizza234
> Why is this only a German thing.

I'd say that German is the sense of comfort towards nudity.

> There're nude beaches everywhere.

Well, islamic countries are very unlikely to have them.

When it comes to European countries, there are, however, some religions (ie.
catholicism) are generally more conservative, and in countries with such
beliefs, nudism/nudity is considered sort of "hippy", or strange in general.

Something I found really amusing is that in saunas in the north of Europe,
"for hygienic reasons", people is invited to be naked. In the south, "for
hygienic reasons", people is invited to keep clothes on.

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robocat
> catholicism ... nudism/nudity is considered sort of "hippy"

Nudity isn't an issue in Spain, Portugal or France from what I have seen.

I am unsure where you get your categorisation from!

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harperlee
Spaniard here, it is a mix and match. There are plenty of nude beaches but
also people that frown upon topless. In my experience people tend to separate
themselves in more secluded parts of beaches for topless, away from kids (if
only to avoid some more conservative people complaints); and for nudity (which
is definitively looked at as being extravagant / “hippie” as said above), if
there are sand dunes and some bushes, people generally go there.

But I’d say people argue way more about having dogs in beaches than about
nudity.

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denzil_correa
Freikörperkultur

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freik%C3%B6rperkultur](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freik%C3%B6rperkultur)

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postit
You only break into the culture if you get into FKK and our nonsense passion
for David Hasselhoff.

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chupa-chups
David Hasselhoff caused the unification of Germany, so everyone loves him :D

Sorry if this is offensive to some folks, but the folklore here is that David
thinks he caused the reunification while everyone over here (that I know of)
thinks he is a freak :)

Since this caused around -10 points until now I guess I offended somehow :)
What I said is true for anyone I know, so I guess there's something I don't
understand regarding the perception of "The Hoff", so please inform me :)

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wolfgke
> David Hasselhoff caused the unification of Germany, so everyone loves him :D

> Sorry if this is offensive to some folks, but the folklore here is that
> David thinks he caused the reunification while everyone over here (that I
> know of) thinks he is a freak :)

No, what causes the unification of Germany was not David Hasselhoff's song
Looking for Freedom, but Scorpions [1] with their song Wind Of Change [2], [3]
(yes, I am aware this song is actually from 1991 - let us ignore this
historical correctness, just as we do for David Hasselhoff).

[1]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Scorpions_(band)&...](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Scorpions_\(band\)&oldid=913876894)

[2]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wind_of_Change_(S...](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wind_of_Change_\(Scorpions_song\)&oldid=910164065)

[3]
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n4RjJKxsamQ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n4RjJKxsamQ)

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RandomBacon
For any Americans interested, I suggest reading up on the American Association
for Nude Recreation [https://www.aanr.com](https://www.aanr.com)

They have a bunch of affiliated clubs and resorts around the US. They all have
strict rules against anything inappropriate in public.

Sometimes it's nice to go out in nature without a barrier between you and the
wind, rustling leaves, chirping birds, etc. All of the ones I've been to have
WiFi in case you still need to get work done.

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dahart
The photos are so well done! I bet it took a lot of pictures to end up with
such a good safe-for-work set including some action photos.

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hwj
s/German/Berlin/ has probably more truth in it.

