Saunas in Germany and Austria

[Naked in the UK]

I've created this thread as a spin-off to the discussion in the Mixed Nude Sauna thread. This thread is about the excellent saunas in Germany and Austria. I will start off by reposting my original postings from February about two saunas in Berlin. Then post an update and more on another sauna in Berlin.

First one I tried was the Therma Europa Centre in the centre of Berlin. Cost was 18Euro for a full day pass, which is good value I think. I went on a Saturday and stayed for about 8 hours. The changing rooms are seperate for male and females. In the main complex there is a swimming pool, 4 saunas, 2 steam rooms, hot and cold spas, and a bar and restaurant. Plus there is also areas outside where you can swim and relax. The clientelle really is pretty much 50/50 males and females, and of all ages. Woman come here either by theirselves, with friends, or with partners - unlike the UK where the vast majority of women who visit are with a partner. Everyone who goes in the sauna or steam room is fully nude(unlike these UK places where most people keep themselves wrapped in a towel) and a lot of people just walk about the complex nude(though in the restaurant and bar area you have to wear a bath robe). And also unlike these UK places, there is no perving or "swinging" going on. Everyone here is here because they enjoy using the sauna, spa, and swimming pool. I really enjoyed my time there. This is the sort of place I've been looking for a very long time. It was very busy on the day that I went.

Then on the day that I returned back to the UK I had a bit of time to spare, so I went along to the Sauna Garten in Blub, at Buschkrugallee 64. Wasn't that easy to find the actual place itself. I had to go into the Hotel reception and ask, who directed me to the other side of the car park. Then I couldn't spot it easily, because there was no clear signs at the entrance to say that this was a sauna complex, there was only a sign(can't remember what it said) to indicate that this was the entrance to a bar. Anyway, ventured in and found that this was indeed the sauna. The price was 18Euro for up to 4 hours, or 20Euro for a day pass. As I only had just over 2 hours to spare however, I went for the 4 hours option. All very nice inside. The changing room is unisex. Then in the main area there is 6 saunas, and 2 steam rooms - all of varying temperatures and styles. Plus there's a small swimming pool, sanatariam, and relaxation area. Again, everyone nude in the sauna and steam rooms - none of this silly towel wearing business. A good number of people walk around the complex nude. Didn't seem to be quite as balanced a mix of sexes here though(on this occasion anyway), maybe about 62% males/38% females at my rough estimate. I went on a Tuesday afternoon between 3 and 5pm. There was probably only about 30 people here at that time. I expect it would have got a little busier later that evening after I had gone. I was sad to have to leave the place! As with the Therma Europa Centre, I found this sauna absolutely brilliant. And I would visit again if/when I'm next in Berlin.

If only they had places like this in England. It would be great to visit one each week to relax nude. Instead all we get here(apart from the UK festival saunas which are highly recommended) are these pathetic seedy "naturist health Spas" which are dominated by perverts and swingers(due to the inclusion of "play rooms" upstairs), and a mostly male clientelle. Never ever again will I pay to visit those places again - the price I pay(paid) for those(£15 for Bristol Gardens, £18 for Rio's) will pay for half the cost of a return plane ticket to Berlin! I paid just £35 for my flight to Berlin from London Stansted.

I look forward to returning to Berlin or elsewhere in Germany later this year, and spending a day or two nude at one of these excellent sauna complexes again.

German Saunas = absolutely brilliant!!

UK Saunas = absolutely rubbish

[Naked in the UK]

Just an update to mention about my recent trips to Berlin again in August and September this year.

I did find that during this time of year, in the Therman Europe Centre at least, it was far less busier than it was in the Winter. Seems not as many people goto the sauna during the Summer months. In my visit there in August, on a Saturday day time it was easily less than half as busy than it was back in February. Back in February it was busy, busy, busy. The the mix of people wasn't as good this time. The male/female ratio was a little more in the way of males, probably about 60/40. And also not as many younger people present. By about 4pm that Saturday it had gone very quiet, allmost deserted, and I decided to leave. I also visited the Sauna Garten in Blub again, during the evenings this time and staying for more than a couple of hours. It seemed to be busier here than the Therman Europa. The male/female ratio was about 60m/40f. And with a reasonable percentage of young people.

Returned again to Berlin just last week. And the Therman Europa centre on a Saturday this time was somewhat busier than in August. Still not as busy as February, but noticably busier than August. As the weather now gets cooler, Berliners are returning to the sauna again. The male/female ratio was more balanced, and there was more in the way of younger people.

I should also mention that I visited both Therman Europa and Sauna Garten Blub on weekday daytimes too. And be aware that at these periods, they are practically dominated by Berlin's senior citizens, aged 60+. After about 3:30/4pm-ish, the more elder clientelle begin to disperse, and more younger people start arriving.

Also on one day last week I also tried out another sauna in Berlin after a search on Google. It was Relax Sauna http://www.relax-sauna.de , at Allee der Kosmonau-ten 47, Berlin. However, I didn't like it atall. By no means a bad place atall. Everything was clean, and the staff were friendly. It just wasn't my cup of tea atall.

I went on a Tuesday evening. The sauna closed down during a few hours in the afternoon and re-opens at 5pm. I arrived at 5:20pm that day. After paying my entrance fee(only 10 Euros 50, allmost half the price of the saunas I mentioned, though this is a much smaller place), the owner showed me into the changing rooms and lockers. He advised me that instead of putting my shoes in the lockers, they should go on the shelves instead. As there were no other shoes on the shelves it became apparant that I was the only person so far in this sauna house so far. This may well be a quite sauna I thought to myself. Anyway, a few more people arrived just after me. And more people continued to arrive untill about 6:30pm, when it then seemed no more people arrived. Upon getting undressed and going into the main wet area, it became apparant how small this place was. Whilst I wasn't expecting it to be as big as the Therman Europe and the Sauna Garten Blub, I thought it would have been just a little bigger. There were two saunas, one of which was much cooler than the other one. There is also a damfbad(steam room) but only has the capacity for up to two people really. And also four open shower cubicle things. There was also a small garden, and a rest area to the back with reclining loungers. The main hot sauna had an aufguss(where the guy/lady waves the towel around the room and adds water to the stove) on the hour. It seemed this was the only sauna everyone was using. No one was using the other cooler sauna or damfbad atall!

Anyway, probably only about 20 people were here that night. I wasn't expecting it to be as busy as the other saunas I had visited, but had thought there would be at least a good 50 or so people present. The mix of the sexes wasn't very good either. About 15 guys(including me), and only 5 women. Which makes it about 75%M/25%F which is dissapoiting for a German sauna. Also, the age ranges - apart from one young lady about 25, the rest of the people were in their 30's-70's. And to add to that, they all appeared to know each other too. In the only sauna that was used by the other people in the place, everyone was chatting LOUDLY to each other. Which I found a little annoying, as I goto a sauna to relax not to hear a load of people chatting loudly. They were also laughing and joking about something, but being able to not understand a word they were saying(apart from a couple of words I was able to make out), I was the only one with a straight face! I was the only non German present there. I should mention though that everyone actually seemed friendly, the majority of people greeting me as they arrived. There was also a bar/bistro area at the front of the premises. What I found is that everyone(except me) would goto the main sauna for the hourly Aufguss, have a shower, go into the garden for a few minutes, then go off to have a drink in the bistro, then come back in time for the hourly Aufguss again, then go off to have a drink, and so on! By about 8:40 that evening I had become a little bored and decided to leave. It was then that coincidently that everyone else decided to leave too - or at least get dressed and go and have another drink again before leaving. Also, one other thing. In the two saunas there is piped music playing. In the first coupld of hours this was the mellow instrumental music, the sort of typical sort of music that you find playing in saunas which have music playing. But by about 7:30, it was then all pop music tracks! Pop music playing in saunas just doesn't really go together I find.

So in summary of this place. By no means a bad place. Friendly staff(though they speak very very little English), clean facilities, no dodby goings on or anything. But just not my cup of tea atall. Bit of an odd experience. Wouldn't go there again myself. Wouldn't really recommend this place for a visitor to Berlin. You'll feel a bit of an outsider. Very very different to the other two larger saunas Therman Europa and Sauna Garten Blub.

Next time I'm back in Berlin in two or three months time(my 4th visit in the space of a year), I'll just stick to my two usual saunas!

Next year I plan to try some well known large sauna complexes in Munich and Baden-Baden.

If you have visited any saunas in Germany or Austria, please post here and tell us what you thought of them.

[Naked in the UK]

Got my next trip to Berlin booked up for end of November. £19.99 return from London Stansted!

This time I'm booked into a hostel which has a sauna/wellness. Which is actually rare for a hostel. Lots of hotels have saunas(especially in Germany), but for hostels it's rare. No doubt I'll be trying that out! Should be interesting, and potentially amusing and/or embarassing too. As many of the hostel guests will not be from Germany, and may not be familiar with Germany's strictly no clothing to be worn in saunas rule. The sauna/wellness at this hostel could only be used by a handful of guests, or could well be quite busy. Anyway, I shall find out when I get there. And will report my findings on here, for anyone interested.

As much as I like Berlin, it's time to leave Berlin alone for a whole after this trip. And move on to other parts of Germany and Austria to try out other saunas.

[parisien]

I am planning to visit Düsseldorf and am looking for informations and advices about saunas, thermes, etc. over there. Thanks.

[New_Nudist_Dr]

need tips and help in finding nude hang outs....

[Naked in the UK]

Unless anyone can recommend any good saunas in Dusseldorf, you will have to do a bit of research on the internet to find them. I've searched on the internet, and the handful of ones I've looked up all seem to be gay saunas. I gave up looking.

Though you shouldn't have any trouble finding saunas in hotels in Dusseldorf. As for large sauna complexes/thermen's, there's not any good ones that I'm aware of.

New Nudist Dr, is there a London in Germany or Austria?

[New_Nudist_Dr]

i dont quite get ur question

[Pete Knight]

i dont quite get ur question
Sarcasm !!



Topic = Saunas in Germany and Austria

Any Detail On London?
<hr> need tips and help in finding nude hang outs....

New Nudist Dr, is there a London in Germany or Austria?

The answer is, no there is no London in Germany or Austria.

Glad to be of service.

Pete Knight

[Peter w/ rings ;)]

During winter "Jörgerbad" offer every saturday from 16:30 to 21:30 nude swimming and mixed sauna.

greetings
Peter
PS: Stupid rules :( wien.gv.at/baeder/stadtbad/joe.htm

[Naked in the UK]

Winter Badeschiff in Berlin
-------------------------

Went there on Thursday night, and I was so impressed with the place that I went there for the next subsequent three nights! I arrived at about 8pm there on the Thursday night. First of all I had to go into the reception area on the building opposite the Winter Badeschiff. The lady advised me that the price is 12 Euro's for three hours, and there will then be a 2 Euro charge per additional hour you stay there. She also advised that for the saunas that one must be nude and sat on a towel. You can also rent bathing shoes, towel, and bathing robe for an additional small cost. Anyway, went upstairs to the unisex changing room with lockers. You will of course be given a free locker key and wrist band. When I was ready I went on the Winter Badeschiff. The boat is divided into three areas. The relaxation and bar area at the front. The sauna, showers, toilets, and another relaxation area in the middle part. Then the swimming pool in the third part. I went straight for the area which I went there for, the saunas! There is one sauna which can hold 12 people. And the other larger sauna which can hold 24 people. Both saunas are typically heated to a temperature of 95C. Just to the left of the saunas is an open cubicle cold shower. Be prepared to be showering whilst there is a waiting queue behind you! For anyone a bit shy in using this shower, there are also two more showers down past the relaxation area which have curtains and hot water. But hardly anyone bothers with those anyway, if they just want to cool off after being in the saunas. What's the point of going to the showers down the other end when there's one right by the sauna area! How busy was it? Pretty busy indeed! The male/female ratio was slightly surprisingly, with females forming the majority, about 55F/45M at a rough guestimate. A lot of girls there with their friends. As well as a number of girls on their own. The age range that night was about 18 to about early 40's. I didn't see anyone else there atall who appeared to be under or above that age range. No OAP's, and no kiddies. As someone who fits about half way into that age range, I was quite happy with that. With no offence to the youngsters or the OAP's, I'm not that keen on there being lots of youngsters and OAP's about. Also slightly surprisingly was there being more chatting go on in the saunas than there is in Thermen Europa and Sauna Blub. The volume of the chatting can be anything from occasional whispering to medium level. If you know what I mean. It isn't
too bad. I thought it was frowned upon to chat in German saunas? Maybe not. It was mostly German people there that night. Apart from myself and two English girls. Sounded like they were from the home counties. If you like walking around sauna complexes nude like myself, then you'll feel quite at home here. As that is what about half the people do! Everyone is really relaxed. And like I've said before in my other reports, there's no dodgy behaviour going on. Everyone is there because they enjoy taking saunas. Really great atmosphere there. Oh yes, and there is massage available if you like. It was a female masseur on the Thursday night. Anyway, absolutely brilliant place! I think I could well have found my new FAVOURITE naked sauna! This place is a cross between typical German saunas and the saunas at British summer festivals because of the dominating age range of the visitors. It has a good vibe to it. Absolutely bloody brilliant!

My subsequent visits on the Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights varied a bit. So I'll describe about that here. Friday, I actually visited in the afternoon. About 3:30pm. It was pretty busy then. Again, probably about a 55F/45M ratio. Though the age ranges varied a bit more. The 18 to early 40's making up the majority of visitors. Whilst there was some children from about 10-15 years old, and some over 50's too. But not that many. One thing to note that from about 7:30-8:30pm-ish there was about 5 or 6 young teenagers(about 13-15 years old) girls and boys who were wearing swimsuits in the saunas. Not sure why this was exactly. As I thought it was strictly no clothing to be worn in German saunas for hygenic reasons. Anyway, I certainly wasn't going to ask any members of staff why there were wearing swimwear, in case they took it the wrong way. Maybe children of that age can be excempt from this rule if they ask permission. I don't know. Anyway, these kiddies weren't about the saunas for more than an hour. By about 9pm again, it was pretty much all the 18's to early 40's crowd again. There was actually several English people there on this occasion. Another female masseur on this night. I stayed there a long time that day. 8 hours! leaving at about 11:30pm.

Saturday night. I was back there again. This time from about 7:30-11:30pm again. Surprisingly not as busy as the Friday night. Age range of visitors was the usual 18's to early 40's crowd again. Male masseur.

Sunday night. Now this was the real surprise. Arrived about 7:30pm again. And got told by the staff member at reception that they were full up, so I had to be put on a waiting list. There was currently no lockers available. Was told it would be about 15-30 minutes wait, possibly more. Anyway, waited in the reception area for him to advise me when there is a space available for me. Luckily I only had to wait about 20 minutes. And getting changed and going onto the ship, I was quite surprised by the male/female ratio. It was easily about 70F/30M. Women all over the place! It seems Sunday nights must be the evening of the week when a lot of girls treat themself to a sauna on the Winter Badeschiff! Age range this night was about 15 to early 40's. Though oddly again, some of the younger girls were wearing swimwear in the saunas, for some reason. About an hour and a half after I arrived, the balance of the sexes changed to about 55F/45M. The Winter Badeschiff closes at midnight on Sunday's. After about 10:30pm a lot of the women had gone. And it then became about a 70M/30F ratio. A male masseur on again. I left at 11:30, half hour before closing time.

Anyway, brilliant place. Highly recommend!

This is on the River Spree in Berlin. If ONLY they could have a place like this on the River Thames in London! Reality check: it won't happen. You'll have to get over to the continent for anything quite like this.

An English translation of their website can found here - http://babelfish.yahoo.com/translate_url?tt=url&trurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.arena-berlin.de%2Fbadeschiff.aspx%3Fflagtext%3DBadeschif f&lp=de_en&.intl=us&fr=yfp-t-501

[jmf]

Naked in UK - I see you like Berlin a lot but try the Black Forest. They have a lot of spas with hot springs and all the thermal baths have a "saunaland" attached.

Ones I've been to are in Baden Baden, Bad Wildbad (my favourite - http://www.palaisthermal.de/ ) and Badenweiler and can recommend them all.

Hope this is helpful

jon