Imagine this:
You are in a sauna and came there to –
relax…
to lie down on your towel and inhale a comforting and soothing odor of essential oils from the Alps….
to listen to the sounds of birds singing and imagine you’re on the beach and have nothing to do…
to forget about the worries of the week….
to leave the world behind and spend some time with yourself….
with yourself alone.
So, there is nothing to do, nothing to take care of, nothing to worry about… Zilch. Just a ton to enjoy… It is simply perfect. Ideal.
But wait. You’re in Germany.
This changes the whole scene. This means that you are in a “mixed” public sauna. Yes, public and mixed. Hard to believe/imagine, for an American, isn’t it? We don’t have that practice.
What one sees is a sauna is women who are - with only very few exceptions – somewhat timid and upon entry attempt to hide somewhere in a corner; and men who –for the most part, may I speculate – eager to get to know others, ladies in particular, a bit closer... So, they try to establish an eye contact first, and if they don’t succeed, simply enjoy the view… In simple words, what you end up with is mostly concealing women and staring men.
Not the most comfortable scene.
(And you wanted to relax? Be alone? Enjoy yourself, hah? )
Well, forget it.
You could try to enjoy the scene yourself. But there is very little to stare at. Most of the men are – I would argue - not for “public viewing.” But that’s my view. Other people have other views and tastes and – maybe- are used to other sauna cultures. But not I. As long as I am stared at, I can’t relax and don’t find anything calming about the whole "mixed" sauna experience. Sometimes, I wish I was in the US…
