FKK – Freikörperkultur

Since living in Germany, and even before while visiting here, I have noticed that the Deutsch standards for nudity are quite different than in the US.

Perhaps it’s also more evident living in former East Germany, as nudity in the GDR was second nature. Freikörperkultur (free body culture) isn’t about cruising the beach or sauna looking for a hookup. Germany has a tolerance of and, in some cases, a fondness for being “textile free.” Whether it’s one of the country’s hundreds of spas and wellness resorts, parks or lakes, many citizens here are known for having no qualms about taking their clothes off.

A brief history of a movement

The country’s first FKK organization was created in 1898 and the idea, connected to the pursuit of good health, quickly spread, especially around Berlin, the North Sea and the Baltic Sea.

Rather than sexualizing the body, the naturist movement was about health as well as freeing people from shame, social inequality and from the unhealthy living environments in the crowded cities of early industrialization.

At the time there were dozens of magazines and films dedicated to FKK culture.

FKK was initially banned by the Nazis during the war era, but the practice soon returned. It could be argued that the party adopted the culture in some ways through their obsession with bodies.

I have seen FKK practiced in co-ed changing areas before and after yoga class. At lakes and parks during the summertime. And in one of my favorite self-care locations in the city, Vabali.

{Visiting Vabali Spa Resort last May with my mother-in-law}

I mention Vabali because yesterday was the fifth time that I’ve been there. I’ve been with friends, with my mother-in-law, and with Dave. And yesterday I went by myself. I didn’t feel one moment of being uncomfortable because someone was looking at me or sending inappropriate messages. It’s actually quite refreshing to be able to accept my middle-aged body for all of its wrinkles, dimples, and rolls and still sit with acceptance while naked in the sauna, hot tub or pool. Coming from the image-obsessed social media-saturated American culture, it is a nice respite.

I spent four hours at the spa yesterday. And for under $40, I attended three sauna experiences (one was a coffee face scrub in the women’s only sauna), sat in the steam shower and hot tubs, swam in the steaming outdoor pool (as it was 40 degrees F outside), and enjoyed a cup of fresh ginger citrus tea with honey in front of the fireplace. Dave was out of town on business and this was my way of giving myself some love. And it was wonderful.

I write this post to share one of the cultural experiences that seems a bit different than what I was used to in the States. And so that some day, when I’m no longer living in Berlin, I can look back and appreciate some of the “smaller moments” that I’m experiencing here. I hope you are enjoying these posts, too.