Whats with going to sauna naked in Poland?

Today I was ,told by fifth guy that why i was in sauna with clothes as I usually for there before my work out which just ****** me and I couldnt resist telling him that noone says anything when you guys go in pool and beach wearing speedos>,Is that naked in sauna polish thing or european?

I don't know nothing about it and I visited some Polish saunas in my life. Never naked of course - never in a public place among strangers.

answers.yahoo/question/index?qid=20110510020124AAg5WKC

there you go :-)

To be honest I would find it strange to see someone in a sauna with clothes. Whole point being that a sauna makes you sweat, so why would you want to sit in there in sweaty wet clothes?


It's common to wear nothing in saunas, especially In Germany for example.
But most people I think opt for swimwear and/or a towel.

Quite, though in Poland I've noticed that people cover up a little more than in many places.

Presumably not the OP's experience, but I suppose it boils down to how comfortable a person is being naked in front of other people, irrespective of whether it's in Poland or elsewhere.

if you choose to go to the sauna, you also have to accept the fact that clothes are not really much of an option. if you're not comfortable being buck naked, you can always cover up with a towel.

My clothes were sneakers,shorts and a tanktop as I always like to go to sauna for 10 minutes for a warmup up before work out.Is that something strange to do?

Then you will be surprised that in states it might get you arrested,until the sauna is in women/men only area,unlike years back i went to pulaska pool where the sauna was coed and almost everyone was naked with kids,which did offend me.

In the sauna?

yeah a problem???????????????
same back...whats with wearing speedos in pool and on beaches??heard of swimming trunks?

I've been in quite a few saunas and have never seen anyone wearing clothes in one. If five guys asked why you were wearing clothes, then I'm sure they found it unusual too. But to each his own.


If it's different in the States then I can understand the point of your thread, but in European countries little or no clothes is the norm.

That would be odd, and little wonder that it would draw attention.

I studied in Denmark, where I used the sauna almost every day. Never saw anyone with any clothes on in the sauna during that time. The further north you go in Europe, the less prudish people become about nudity. Poland is pretty prudish for northern Europe, about the same as Great Britain or the United States, especially when you are talking about mixed company. However, they do realize that the sauna culture is from the north, and have largely adopted the behavior that goes with it, but not completely. A good rule of thumb is to follow the local rules for the particular sauna you are using. If FIVE people have told you you are not following the local custom, it's best to trust them and change your behavior accordingly, or forgo using the sauna.

You know mate some people just find nuding up with strangers weird, steam or no steam.

You got to be kidding , right ? You asking if thats strange ? Warming up in sauna before workout ? Thats the dumbest thing I ever heard :):) What ...are you warming up in sauna before going for a dip in liquid nitrogen :)?

Most of the gyms I attended , had locker rooms ,saunas and shower facilities , they were always separate for men and women , now on mens side anyone going in the sauna would be naked with the towel to put it down before sitting or with towel wrapped around the waste . I am in Canada and if you are trying to tell me that in US people go to sauna in clothes then you are full of it . Do you shower in your workout clothes too ?

you are aware that when your gym instructor said that you have to warm up he didn't mean like that? you need to use your muscles, as many as possible.


although i haven't seem anyone in speedos for quite a long time (God thanks!) I hate swimming trunks (the "USA Style"). sorry, but swimming in defacto shorts isn't nice. I prefer something that resemble boxers.

and about clothing: if you are in men's only sauna, you can either be naked (the best thing to do) or have a towel on top of your laps. Wearing any kind of underwear highly limits the air circulation.

Inside a sauna????

You must have been wet through and in any case part of the whole point is to let your pores open and your skin breathe!

Even in Arab and Turkish cultures where nudity is a big taboo they still strip off in the Hammam!

Its really weird - i take a sauna twice a week for 20 years and i never saw that.

Live and let live - except going in their with your shoes, thats unhygeinic and a discourtesy to fellow users.

On the nudity question i follow local custom - in poland that tends to be naked in a mens locker room or use a towel in a coed sauna. In other countries like germany then fully naked.

Different strokes for different folks,shows the culture and thinking difference across the atlantic.BTW dont the bare feet lead to spread of disease like fungus and bacteria>?

I never saw that during my time in Turkey. Men kept a towel wrapped around their waist, even when being vigorously scrubbed by the guys that wash them (you wash your dangly bits yourself).

In Saunas it doesn't make a huge difference, being very dry and very hot makes it not a nice place for fungus and bacteria. Steam rooms on the other hand, they are basically petri dishes!

It probably depends on the hammam in question :-)

The ones I know best are towels in the busier bits and not in the less busy....

pigsy
"BTW dont the bare feet lead to spread of disease like fungus and bacteria"

Yes possible ,but very unlikely , and if you think that sneakers will protect you from contracting disease through your feet while in sauna then you are very wrong ..."they will not ,as you entered sauna with disease already in you. How you ask ?"

Ever thought about door knob or door handle on sauna door when you were going in ? 😉 or coins or bills when you were paying for sauna usage?Think about that ,rather than little mushroom farm between your toes 😃

Just trying to give you perspective 😉
Cheers

Pigsy what i meant is that you would bring the dirt from outside into the sauna.

I live in the U.S and have never seen ANYONE in a sauna with anything but a towel on.
If someone came in and sat down with cloths on next to me in a sauna my first thought would be
that they must be there just for a little looks see.
But then again I am a puritan white boy.

I have been to a few public saunas in Poland and everybody was on swimsuits and trunks. I studied in Finland however and wearing swimsuit or any other clothes for that matter is actually not allowed in public saunas. It's a norm to go to sauna butt naked there. I guess it's the same in all Nordic countries. I think going to sauna without any clothes is much more hygienic and comfortable.

I saw public nudity in Warsaw & Karkaw very frequently. and I think its good and healthy.

Except for the beaches in Warsaw and Gdansk, I've only seen it once - a crazy person in the Rynek in Wroclaw. Usually too cold in Poland.


Not in my experience. Perhaps a little more covered up than Western Europe, but certainly no clothing. Very unhealthy to wear things in a sauna.

@Jon: beach in .... Warsaw????

Anyway, even the Baltic Sea is too cold, too grey for me so I never go. I need warm and blue sea ;)

I have never been to a sauna in Poland (all the more as for heatlh reasons I can no longer) but I have noticed in a lot of occasions, that Polish girls are shy to undress (even to try a garment on) in front of others. I am a woman and I had several situations with (female) friends of mine not undressing in front of me (they had to go to other rooms) I must say that each time I was not comfortable.

Once again, the religiosity of most Poles ;(

That's called modesty (skromność), a cardinal virtue. But hookers have no qualms about undressing in front of each other. That's called shamelessness (bezwstyd).

spoken like a sad, old, sexually repressed man.... any nice Catholic hospice brochures in your mail this morning, choose wisely ;)