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Society
Photo: DPA

German beach bums: naked, wet and friendly

Published: 18 May 12 17:10 CET | Print version
Online: http://www.thelocal.de/society/20120518-42625.html

It’s enough to make some choke on their choc ice – a new survey shows that not only are plenty of Germans happy to go naked on the beach, a worryingly high proportion may even try to strike up conversation with other holidaymakers.

The news is sure to strike fear into the hearts of buttoned-up Britons and starchy State-siders, 98 percent of whom have never stripped off on the sand, reported Die Welt on Friday.

Just two percent of Brits and Americans have ever been in the buff on the beach according to the poll, for travel website Expedia.

It suggested the common stereotype of stiff and reserved Germans was no more substantial than a sandcastle at high tide.

A bulging 15 percent of Bundesbürgers were happy to forgo their bathing suits, more than any other nation, with the Spaniards a distant second on 8 percent.

The survey included respondents from 21 countries. Germans were most likely of all to take a beach holiday in the first place, with 49 percent preferring it to any other type of vacation.

And once they get there, Germans are determined to make the most of the experience.

While relaxing and sunbathing are the most popular beach activities worldwide, Germans prefer to swim, with a world-beating 82 percent prepared to dip at least a toe in the water. The country also scores highly for snorkelling and diving.

Naked and wet, the Germans then go in search of company, with 23 percent saying they like to make friends on the beach, way more than supposedly more outgoing nations like Brazil and Italy.

Once they get their trousers back on, Germans are prepared to reach deep into their pockets to finance these all-action getaways. Their average budget of €150 per day of holiday is €20 more than the international average.

With so much to pack in, it’s no wonder the average German beach break is relatively long, with their average duration of 9.7 days topped only by the Italians.

Inhibited Britons beware: friendly naked Germans may soon be coming to a beach near you, with 56 percent planning a beach holiday this year. Better put that windbreak up and pretend to be doing the crossword, then.

The Local/jpg

What do you think? Leave your comment below.


Your comments about this article:

17:09 May 18, 2012 by catjones
I wish all the sunbathers looked like the girls in the pic. Unfortunately, the ones I've seen didn't. Not a prude, but I did beg them to dress.....I was eating my lunch and the cat was scared.
17:24 May 18, 2012 by quiller
I have seen that nicebottom on the left before. She said she had a phobia about wearing clothes. I said I thought it could be cured and wished her well with the treatment. Nice girl, God bless her.
17:39 May 18, 2012 by digital47
Ah the Americans and Britons, oh they would go blind upon seeing this. I know. I moved to America from Germany. What a difference. I was not religiously prepared for this holy kingdom. A church on every corner and God everywhere. In all fairness I do live in the bible belt. Bad choice on my part.
17:53 May 18, 2012 by smart2012
U will never see those beautiful girls in a fkk German beach... :)
18:08 May 18, 2012 by marimay
Vacationing swedes?

@ digital47 - Very bad choice indeed. lol
18:16 May 18, 2012 by Al uk
Speaking as a Briton if the friendly German nudists look like the two in the picture above then they are more than welcome.

That said the weather at the moment would freeze the balls off of a brass monkey.
18:26 May 18, 2012 by SilberFuchs
Chango Mutney writes "I can think of nothing worse than a bald headed man with a pot belly as white as a sheet ."

Hey, I resemble that remark!! ;-)
20:49 May 18, 2012 by raandy
Nice, I always look forward to beach weather.and volleyball -:)
21:14 May 18, 2012 by joysonabraham
Hey how do they shave that clean :). One need 3D arms...anybody knows the secret ..
22:38 May 18, 2012 by strahlungsamt
Back in the 70s and 80s girls like that were quite common on fkk beaches in Germany. Unfortunately, nudism has fallen out of fashion among younger Germans and the average age of the nude bather has got older and older.

I'm pretty sure those two are paid models and the chatty ones look like Chester the Molester.
00:01 May 19, 2012 by gorongoza
Ja ! Those few who go to extremes carry the country`s flag.

These naked women are taken by The Local to typify Germans. How large is the Germany population? I am no German but the Germans I know will resent this kind of categorisation - be it nur für Spaß or serious.

Come on you The Local guys, find something worth talking about.
00:02 May 19, 2012 by odjennings
Better nude than wearing a Speedo. Nothing worse than a 50 year old Bavarian man in a Speedo.
04:12 May 19, 2012 by shiraz
Comment removed by The Local for breach of our terms.
09:11 May 19, 2012 by The-ex-pat
I did it once and only once and will never do it again. That drive home where I had a single grain of sand under my foreskin, I would have sworn that it was a huge lump of flint that Fred Flintstone had personally sharpened every edge and corner. I was surprised to get home and discover it was only..........a small grain of sand!
09:22 May 19, 2012 by strahlungsamt
Comment removed by The Local for breach of our terms.
09:49 May 19, 2012 by Naturisassion
Comment removed by The Local for breach of our terms.
11:41 May 19, 2012 by iche
With the Brits and Amerikans being the fattest in the world, PLEASE, dont take off your clothes on any beach near me!!
12:05 May 19, 2012 by oneforall
All I can say is 'Me gusta'.
13:30 May 19, 2012 by Jerr-Berlin
Just for the record...there are at least 90 nude beach/lake areas in the US

...google "Nude Beaches in the USA"

Florida Keys were great z.B
18:56 May 19, 2012 by wolfgang60
This Germans no money cannot afford holidays in the south of france.
22:27 May 19, 2012 by shiraz
Comment removed by The Local for breach of our terms.
07:56 May 20, 2012 by Englishted
If they can't find anywhere to sit?

Well you know the rest surely .
11:55 May 20, 2012 by markoer
strahlungsamt, interesting interpretation, I never thought of that.
16:44 May 20, 2012 by Austonian
I saw a naked opa in Munich's English Garden a few years ago that still haunts me.

The general rule is: Those who should take off their clothes - don't: those that do - shouldn't.
15:33 May 21, 2012 by parografik
I grew up near several nude beaches in NY, and as teenagers, my buddies and I always hoped to see bottoms like the ones in the picture, but alas, it was not to be.

I have noticed that potbellied men with white fur seem to populate the edges of the surf , when I pass these beaches, and they are sometimes at full attention. It's almost as if they possess a kind of divining rod, which summons them to the sea.
20:07 May 22, 2012 by shiraz
Wow, I fail to see what it is that I could be writing that is causing my comments to be censored by the local.de?

I stressed in both the comments the need for love and how such a culture should spread everywhere particularly in parts of the world where people are oppressed.
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