Post #19 - Strandlund nudist beach - Nudist destination review

Destination - Strandlund nudist beach.

Location - Copenhagen, Denmark.

Official link - N/A

Review period - 24th June 2019, Monday

Quick review

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Brief background

• This is one of the popular nudist venues in Copenhagen.
• This beach is just 300 meters from Charlottenlund fort.
• It is kind of separated from the nearby textile section which is a large stretch with toilets and eateries.

Detailed review

Weather 

• Clear sky, warm, almost 22 degrees Celsius on the afternoon I visited.

Visitors

• Almost 15-18 people in the nude section. 

Solo visitors present?

• Yes, both males and females. 

Entry 

• Free entry. 
• No "couple only" entry rules.
• Entry was via a narrow way from the open beach area, which was textile.

Nudity rules  

• No board or demarcation for nudity was found, as is mostly the case with European beaches.
• There is no law in Denmark that directly determines where and when one can or cannot be naked. There are only very few restrictions - for example, it is generally allowed to bathe naked on the beaches. For reference - https://www.naturister.dk/lovgivning/. 
• However, it appears that nudity is not permitted in the lawn area, as mentioned in http://strandguide.dk/charlottenlund-fortstrandlund/

Gender ratio

• Women : men was almost 1 : 4. 

States of undress

• Almost 80% among women were naked and almost 100% men naked.
• People were nude only within the beach area, which was very small, may be hardly 30 meters long and only 5 meters wide at some points. 
• The place left for nudity being too small is a reason we do not recommend this beach even on weekends, when the crowd is expected to be more young and diverse. However, we would love to hear your reviews.

Age bracket ratio

• (18-40) : 40+ would be undefined as 40+ was 100%.
• Majority of the visitors seemed to be 60 plus.

Racial composition

• All were whites.

Ethnic composition 

• Mostly Danish locals are expected.
• A lot of people seemed to know each other. Similar to what I had read in the reviews, most of the visitors seems to be locals and knew each other.

Body sizes ratio

• Slim to plus sizes ratio was roughly 3:1.

Interaction level 

• Medium. 
• There was a bunch of people, probably local residents, interacting with each other. Others were keeping it to themselves.

Difficulty level

• Easy - majority naked.
• Here is a fun thing. As I mentioned earlier, the beach was kind of a dug out area, so people sitting nude on the beach won't be visible from nearby. This allowed me to get naked while my friend was only a few meters away, in the next section, as I had requested him to give me some privacy, as we, being Indians, are not comfortable seeing each other naked.

Sexual activities observed

• No.

Activities & facilities

• No facilities in proximity.
• I did not venture out of the small nude beach section because I had read in an article as it was not allowed and also I did not observe anyone doing so. This limited access was an additional negative point. This was unlike in Prague, where the grassy lake-side beaches were available for nude access.

Textile beach next to the nudist section

Post #18 - Sauna Spot Dvorce - Nudist destination review

Destination - Sauna Spot Dvorce.

Location - Prague, Czechia.

Official link - https://www.saunaspot.cz/
Review period - 4th July 2019, Thursday

Quick review

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Brief background

• There are many saunas in the heart of Prague city, many along the Vltava river.
• From wikipedia (citation needed) - In Czech Republic and Slovakia saunas have long tradition and are often found as part of recreational facilities, as well as public swimming pools.
• Saunas became more popular after about the year 2000, when large aquaparks and wellness centers included them. 
• Nudity is increasingly tolerated, many places prohibit the use of swimsuits, however most people cover themselves with a towel. Showers are typically semi-private. Having men and women only days was the norm in the past, but today, men-only facilities are rare, while women-only hours are sometimes provided.

Detailed review

Weather 

• Clear sky, cool, almost 18 degrees Celsius on the evening I visited.
• I checked the temperature later on timeanddate.com by browsing to past dates. 

Visitors

• Almost 10 people were visible to me. 
• There could have been a few more in one of the other 3 saunas (total 4) or in the women's changing room. 

Solo visitors present?

• Yes, males for sure, females may be. 
• Two young women were together.
• It is sometimes difficult to tell if people are together in a sauna because people usually maintain silence.

Entry 

• Paid entry - 240 Czk. 
• No "couple only" entry rules.

Nudity rules  

• Swimwear is not allowed. A towel and a sheet are provided which can be used to wrap up. Nudity is practised everywhere inside. 
• There was no bifurcation of textile/non-textile sauna sections.

Gender ratio

• Women : men was almost 1 : 1, may be one woman less. 

States of undress

• Almost 40% women naked and almost 80% men naked.
• One man and two women stayed completely covered even inside the sauna, while most of the others were getting naked while taking dip into the splash pools.
• Before going to a Czech sauna, I was not sure about the prevalence of nudity. Having been to German saunas earlier and read a lot of articles about them, I had a clear idea about them, however, from the articles I read about Czech saunas, I was left doubtful. I had an impression that may be nudity was not as prevalent as in Germany. I also read many posts by people asking to clarify the same. Having visited a sauna and several outdoor lakeside beaches in Prague, I feel the prevalence was almost same, as in Munich or Frankfurt. However, note that I could visit only one sauna, as it was an off season for saunas and many were closed.

Age bracket ratio

• (18-40) : 40+ was roughly 4 : 1.

Weekday versus weekend feel

• I got a chance to visit the same venue on the same week.
• Quite unexpectedly, for me, the visitors were much less, only 5 people, including 2 men whom I found only in the men's changing room while leaving.

Racial composition

• All were whites.

Ethnic composition 

• Excluding one other man, all others were Czech speaking in the sauna room, with almost 7 visitors where ceremony was going on. The hosts asked to know if they needed to explain in English for the visitors.

Body sizes ratio

• Slim to plus sizes ratio was roughly 3:1.
• Almost 50% of the women and more than 60% men were very fit.

Interaction level 

• Low. Saunas are generally silent places, excluding the ceremony room where the sauna masters do the talking. 

Difficulty level

• Easy because majority are nude inside the saunas and towels/sheets available to wrap whenever needed.
• Splash pools are also a good place to get a feel of getting naked for a brief duration, for beginners.

Sexual activities observed

• No.

Activities & facilities

• Drinks to rehydrate were available at roughly 55 Czk. Not sure about alcohol, neither is it recommended during sauna sessions.
• Roughly 15 minute long sauna ceremonies were going on almost every hour.
• Note - this was an off season (June to almost September) when I visited and that's why they were not having the ceremonies on weekends. However, if I were asked to guess, I would have guessed the opposite - i.e. ceremonies would be available only on weekends, because I would expect more visitors on weekends.

Attractions

• View from one of the saunas and from the relaxing zone which is over the Vltava river.

Ending note

From my visits to Czech Saunas (although the same one, but twice) and those in Germany and Austria, the crowd in Czech sauna, although smaller (again due to off season probably) seems to be slightly more young, gender balanced and fit, on average.