Sauna Culture

pickarooney · 13-01-2011 03:09PM

Lumen wrote: »

French Muslim woman wearing 'burkini' banned from Paris swimming pool

"...the lifeguard was just enforcing a rule that applies at all French public pools. Women must wear swimsuits and men must wear brief trunks rather than shorts, which are said to be more likely to harbour bacteria. "

Ah, the white woman who converts to Islam just so she can find even more things to feel oppressed about - is there anything classier?

mahamageehad · 13-01-2011 03:11PM

Never done a sauna, home or abroad.

I don't have much problem being naked with strangers (;)) but if I was there with friends I would rather skip it than have to get naked!

Also what does happen with men and hard-ons?? Or are they just immune to all this nakedness??

prinz · 13-01-2011 03:13PM

Nothing worse than being responsible for a French public pool frequented by tourists (UK & Ireland esp.). I felt like forcibly drowning some of them in it. "Sorry lads, you can't swim in those trunks......" ...Abuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuse.

jester77 · 13-01-2011 03:15PM

mahamageehad wrote: »

Never done a sauna, home or abroad.

I don't have much problem being naked with strangers (;)) but if I was there with friends I would rather skip it than have to get naked!

Also what does happen with men and hard-ons?? Or are they just immune to all this nakedness??

Men don't just get hard-ons, saunas are totally non-sexual.

I see you are in Darmstadt, you should pop up to Bad Homburg and check out the Taunus Therme, excellent facilities.

ScumLord · 13-01-2011 03:20PM

jester77 wrote: »

Men don't just get hard-ons,

Says you. If it's inappropriate to get a stalk then it's inappropriate to be naked.

phill106 · 13-01-2011 03:23PM

mahamageehad wrote: »

Also what does happen with men and hard-ons?? Or are they just immune to all this nakedness??

I believe the responsible thing would be for the women to sexually satisfy the men.

Repeatedly....Sexually...

Unless its like that fella with the mother in law in the sauna with him, then its mr.floppy all around!

prinz · 13-01-2011 03:24PM

jester77 wrote: »

Men don't just get hard-ons, saunas are totally non-sexual..

Not always. It's one of the major reasons my OH prefers going to saunas here. She had a few bad experiences of the sort mentioned above.

13-01-2011 03:28PM

jester77 wrote: »

You would get kicked out of most saunas here in Germany if you were to wear clothes into it. It's unhygienic wearing clothes in, you are meant to be freshly showered and have a towel under you to soak up the sweat plus you would not want to be in one of 80+ degree saunas wearing something especially when they start an aufguss

Wha?

jester77 · 13-01-2011 03:28PM

prinz wrote: »

Not always. It's one of the major reasons my OH prefers going to saunas here. She had a few bad experiences of the sort mentioned above.

Well, maybe if you accidentally went to an FKK sauna

Stark · 13-01-2011 03:31PM

ScumLord wrote: »

Says you. If it's inappropriate to get a stalk then it's inappropriate to be naked.

It's not really an issue in a culture where people don't associated nudity with sex by default. You don't see every gay guy walking around with an erection if you go into a room where a bunch of guys are showering together do you?

jester77 · 13-01-2011 03:33PM

bluewolf wrote: »

Wha?

I don't think there is an English translation for it... it's where you gather in the sauna and one of their attendants will come in and put some water and oils on the stones and start spinning the towel around their head and generating some serious heat. Great feeling when you jump into the ice pool after one.

Edit: The Finish word seems to be löyly

phill106 · 13-01-2011 03:35PM

jester77 wrote: »

I don't think there is an English translation for it... it's where you gather in the sauna and one of their attendants will come in and put some oils on the stones and start spinning the towel around their head and generating some serious heat. Great feeling when you jump into the ice pool after one.

Im even more confused now.

The attendant rubs some oils on his balls, spins a towel around their head and then spontaneously combusts?!

pickarooney · 13-01-2011 03:36PM

Does anyone else think saunas in general just aren't all that enjoyable?

13-01-2011 03:39PM

pickarooney wrote: »

Does anyone else think saunas in general just aren't all that enjoyable?

Yes but I can't stand much heat in general anyway. People at work now know better than to ask me "it's cold today isn't it, do you find it cold?"
They're ok for a few mins but that's it...

pickarooney · 13-01-2011 03:41PM

I love the heat in general, but 70 degrees is just stupid. I don't get why anyone would enjoy sitting in steam for protracted periods.

jackiebaron · 13-01-2011 03:43PM

MadsL wrote: »

Just got back from a ski trip in Austria. Had the chance to observe an interesting culture-clash. I love to take a sauna after skiing and the resort I was in had an amazing sauna complex as part of a huge leisure and medical complex - http://www.alpentherme.com/en/therme/sauna-world.php

I was booking a massage at the attendants desk when a group of English girls wearing swimsuits came up to the desk to ask if it was compulsory to be nude in the saunas. (the whole sauna area is a designated nudist zone) The pool attendant explained the procedure for going into the sauna - take a towel and put this under you where you sit - he seemed to miss the point that they were asking, so I said to the girls "if you are not comfortable, there's also a Ladies world which is women only" One of them said "that's nude too". Then one of them started giving out to the pool attendant about it being weird to be naked in the sauna. I explained that it is really only in the UK and Ireland that it is usual NOT to be naked, and that most of western europe, central europe, russia that it was normal to be naked in the sauna. She continued to give out and I and the pool atttendant did our best to explain that this was in fact normal. I forget to say that really all they had to do was wrap a towel around them which would have been fine - just would have appeared weird to the 'locals'.

The girls were British Asian, and I guessed that there were Hindu (moslem women would probably not have a problem being naked with only other women given the hammam culture of the middle-east, but I might be wrong)

Do you consider it normal to be naked in the sauna and should Irish saunas do it 'properly' and allow you to be naked?
Also should our (far) Western European sensibilities mean that we should have the right to cover up regardless of the local norm?

You should have asked them if they change into a swimsuit to take a shower after they've had a workout at the gym or do they just togg off and get soapy.

fakearms123 · 13-01-2011 03:43PM

alan1990 wrote: »

I was in a sauna in the radisson in Helsinki, when I went in there was nobody else there and I just went in in my shorts as I thought that was the norm! About 5 minutes later 3 lads all bollock naked join me so I said fcuk it and whipped off the shorts! It's a way nicer experience and should definetly be how it's done over here!!

Dude you just totally made me cum.

axer · 13-01-2011 03:46PM

Cheeky monkey wrote: »

I was in Berlin last January and did one or two days in a spa area where it was frowned if you weren't nude and have to say going nude is definitely more comfortable.

Were you in the Europa Therma? Next time you go over go to Kristall-Saunatherme in Ludwigsfelde because it is unbelievably nice.

I guarentee if the people that have a problem with nudity went into the saunas in Germany they would quickly lose that inhibition when they see that it is not a big deal and how much more comfortable it is - not to mention how much more hygenic it is, I cannot stand the disgustingness of saunas in Ireland - no towel and with togs on.

pickarooney wrote: »

Does anyone else think saunas in general just aren't all that enjoyable?

Don't take Ireland as an example for saunas though. If you go to proper ones then they are a completely different experience.

pickarooney wrote: »

I love the heat in general, but 70 degrees is just stupid. I don't get why anyone would enjoy sitting in steam for protracted periods.

The ones I go to regularly when in Germany are 100 degrees. You sweat so much during aufguss and it feels so great afterwards walking around in the snow.

fakearms123 · 13-01-2011 03:47PM

What I think is funny is that it's more hygienic to have your sweaty hairy ball sack hanging out in open air than it is to be wearing swimming shorts with protective netting

chlorine or no chlorine I would rather breath that in than a pensioner's shit stained hole! :cool:

pickarooney · 13-01-2011 03:49PM

axer wrote: »

Were you in the Europa Therma? Next time you go over go to Kristall-Saunatherme in Ludwigsfelde because it is unbelievably nice.

I guarentee if the people that have a problem with nudity went into the saunas in Germany they would quickly lose that inhibition when they see that it is not a big deal and how much more comfortable it is.

Don't take Ireland as an example for saunas though. If you go to proper ones then they are a completely different experience.

The ones I go to regularly when in Germany are 100 degrees. You sweat so much during aufguss and it feels so great afterwards walking around in the snow.

Maybe a German 100 degrees is tastier than an Irish 100 degrees or a Dutch 100 degrees but I still can't fathom how it's pleasurable. I mean, I could slap myself in the face with a waffle iron for 10 minutes and it would probably be a relief when I stopped, but I'd rather not all the same.

axer · 13-01-2011 03:50PM

I would love to start a proper sauna in Ireland as I really miss not living in Germany and being able to go every week - but could it work, could people get used to them here?

The problem I see is there are two many eejits so it would have to be a members only club but that really limits the number of people that would use it. The only thing is with the amount of Polish etc there might be numbers.

axer · 13-01-2011 03:53PM

fakearms123 wrote: »

What I think is funny is that it's more hygienic to have your sweaty hairy ball sack hanging out in open air than it is to be wearing swimming shorts with protective netting chlorine or no chlorine I would rather breath that in than a pensioner's shit stained hole! :cool:

But you are sweating into clothes and then you go back into the pool? how is that hygenic?

jester77 · 13-01-2011 03:53PM

fakearms123 wrote: »

What I think is funny is that it's more hygienic to have your sweaty hairy ball sack hanging out in open air than it is to be wearing swimming shorts with protective netting chlorine or no chlorine I would rather breath that in than a pensioner's shit stained hole! :cool:

You shower before entering the sauna. Wearing a swimsuit brings in bacteria and vaporised chlorine in a sauna is not very pleasant, especially for people with breathing difficulties. The whole idea of a sauna is to let your skin breathe and expel toxins. Wearing clothes is counter productive.

axer · 13-01-2011 03:55PM

pickarooney wrote: »

Maybe a German 100 degrees is tastier than an Irish 100 degrees or a Dutch 100 degrees but I still can't fathom how it's pleasurable. I mean, I could slap myself in the face with a waffle iron for 10 minutes and it would probably be a relief when I stopped, but I'd rather not all the same.

I have yet to go into an Irish sauna that is properly heated. Any ones that I have gone into have been cold by sauna standards. You enjoy the sauna more if you let your body go and let in the heat - you will then start feeling your muscles completely relax. It is when people try and fight the heat that they dont enjoy it.

pickarooney · 13-01-2011 04:05PM

axer wrote: »

I have yet to go into an Irish sauna that is properly heated. Any ones that I have gone into have been cold by sauna standards. You enjoy the sauna more if you let your body go and let in the heat - you will then start feeling your muscles completely relax. It is when people try and fight the heat that they dont enjoy it.

OK, fair enough. I've heard the same thing about drowning and prison rape though.

axer · 13-01-2011 04:07PM

pickarooney wrote: »

I've heard the same thing about drowning and prison rape though.

Can't speak for them as I have never tried them.

fakearms123 · 13-01-2011 04:07PM

jester77 wrote: »

You shower before entering the sauna. Wearing a swimsuit brings in bacteria and vaporised chlorine in a sauna is not very pleasant, especially for people with breathing difficulties. The whole idea of a sauna is to let your skin breathe and expel toxins. Wearing clothes is counter productive.

I have a small penis okay!!

yeah I said! I put forward this tough macho persona as a mask...

a mask to hide my penis you could say, I'll admit it, seeing those german wienerschnitzels next to my cocktail sausage in the saunas would ruin me, by wearing swim shorts I can boast a big package while keeping my actual size a mystery! If this nude rule comes to Ireland then the locals here in Ballyshaneen, Co. Waterway of the mixed sauna in our local gym will know the truth and I can't stay silent as my penis is unveiled to the town of Ballyshaneen like a baby seal wrapped in a blanket! My footyball team will laugh and all the local girls will then realise why I only like to finger them and not get anything in return

Cheeky monkey · 13-01-2011 04:20PM

axer wrote: »

Were you in the Europa Therma? Next time you go over go to Kristall-Saunatherme in Ludwigsfelde because it is unbelievably nice.

I guarentee if the people that have a problem with nudity went into the saunas in Germany they would quickly lose that inhibition when they see that it is not a big deal and how much more comfortable it is - not to mention how much more hygenic it is, I cannot stand the disgustingness of saunas in Ireland - no towel and with togs on.

Don't take Ireland as an example for saunas though. If you go to proper ones then they are a completely different experience.

The ones I go to regularly when in Germany are 100 degrees. You sweat so much during aufguss and it feels so great afterwards walking around in the snow.

I was in tropical-islands its like 60km outside Berlin the spa area is pretty deadly its got sauna treatment with like different oils and rediculas heat, different types of steam rooms and cold stuff which I only found on the last day

Gonna be heading over during the summer hopefully so I'll have to go check out those ones

karel51 · 13-01-2011 05:27PM

fakearms123 wrote: »

I have a small penis okay!!...My footyball team will laugh and all the local girls will then realise why I only like to finger them and not get anything in return

As a footy player I'm sure you have a nice ass, so just lay on your belly on a towel (you need cloth between skin and wood anyway for 1. Hygene - sweat not getting on the wood; and 2. the wood gets really hot after a time) and as you get up, wrap the towel around your waist when you walk to your next destination.

As for the girls knowing, it's not like you don't have to drop your undies in the bedroom anyway at some point...

and as for the teammates... they may laugh today, and if they do then fcuk them, but what about tomorrow? Great thing about being human is our unlimited capacity to worry about our own stuff. Every one of those naked team mates with big sausages have at least 1 thing they are self-concious about... fat belly, thinning hair, no dates because of bad breath, mortgage that they cant afford to pay... who knows what else...

On another note, as a gay man I used to be terrified, mortified even about getting a hardon in same-sex saunas back in my home country. If it was a mixed one, and I'd get a boner, I'd be a stud... but if I'd get a boner in a men-only sauna, I'd be just a fagget that should be beaten up. I took the risk and found that because the sauna is so hot, I had no problems with self-control. Especially during the Aufguss / Leyly period (when someone throws water on the scolding rocks and the rising steam buff envelops you, making it hard to breathe - which can be countered with proper techniques) the last thing on my mind was anything sexual.

Sauna is the last place where you can be as God intended you to be (those who care about that kind of thing anyway).

Plus, sauna is a total equalizer. Think your boss would still feel superior if he was in a sauna with you, both of you wearing nothing but the skin you were born in...

JupiterKid · 16-01-2011 04:08AM

Which do boardseis prefer to use - sauna or the steam room?

I prefer the steam room myself. In the sauna you use a towel to lie or sit on. In the steam room the only thing you wear is your skin. I find the steam room far more relaxing and cleansing.

I don't see the point in wearing anything in a sauna. You are supposed to let you skin breathe - and that means wearing nothing.

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