It is not okay to just strip down and run around naked all over Munich. Are you kidding?
That would be crazy! Public nudity is only allowed in certain places. Like by the river.
Or in the park. Or on the bank of the lake. You know, the usual spots.
Hey everyone! I’m Dana and you’re watching Wanted an Adventure Living Abroad.
When it starts to get warm here in Munich, it does not take long for the clothes
to start coming off. There are six designated urban naked zones around the city, including
one in the English Garden that's just a few minutes from the main downtown city area,
and one on the bank of the Isar River that runs through town.
At these places people of all ages can strip down to their birthday suits, but that
doesn’t stop people from getting pretty close to naked elsewhere around the city.
If it’s a hot day and you go walking through the "normal" non-naked parks of the city, you’ll
probably see guys chilling in skimpy, little Speedos or perhaps just underwear, because
I mean, what’s the difference? And women probably with their tops off, because I mean,
hey, that’s not considered nude anyway, now is it?
It was funny because my parents came to visit me here during one particularly hot and steamy
summer, and we were walking through one such "normal" non-naked park and I was telling
them about how Americans, myself included, sometimes get glared at or even reprimanded
by strangers for talking too loudly. Now, I’m not talking about in the library or
in the waiting room of a doctor’s office. I'm talking about that I was reprimanded
once for talking a little too loudly downtown in the middle of the afternoon.
Just as I was telling my parents about this, we passed by a pretty bare couple sunning
in the grass. The man was actually completely naked but he was lying face down on his stomach so
you couldn’t “see anything,” and the woman was lying on her back with her shirt off.
My mom’s response to that was, “Look, if they’re okay with that
then a little volume shouldn’t phase them.”
Different cultures are just cool with different things. Americans don’t mind being heard,
and Germans as a whole are just more comfortable with their naked form. Much more comfortable.
This comfort manifests itself in other ways too. For example, when you go to the doctor
and he or she tells you to get undressed; yeah, the doctor doesn’t leave the room
for you to do it. They just stand there while you strip. And forget about getting that little
flimsy paper gown to cover up with.
You’re there to have your naked form looked at, after all!
Also, breastfeeding in public is just a non-issue here.
And as I mentioned in my video on saunas, the people here go in the sauna completely
nude. In fact, bathing suits are usually verboten. And, yes, they are mixed sexes as are the
changing rooms in some places.
Speaking of my sauna video, just a reminder, when I put that video out, I promised that
when I hit 1000 subscribers I would make another video telling all about my sometimes awkward,
sometimes embarrassing sauna stories.
These would be the anecdotes of how things went as I had my first few German naked sauna
adventures. Now I’m at 625 subscribers, so getting there! Thank you all so much for
your help spreading the word about my new channel.
Hopefully soon I’ll be making that tell-all video!
My question for you is, what kind of differences in nudity comfort level have you noticed around
the world? Let me know in the comments below.
Thanks so much for watching, please don’t forget to subscribe and hit that like button.
Until next time, auf Wiedersehen!
The man was actually completely naked, but he was lying face down...what are you doing?
You look like Casper the Gho...