culture shock, part 118

[jay]

The Hotel Platzl here in Munich has a top floor sauna/gymnasium for the use of guests... it has a steam room, sauna, cold plunge, foot washes, tanning booth, showers, lockers and exercise equipment in various rooms (the latter bombarded with German MTV-like videos). It is lovely, done in tile and in a Turkish style. No street shoes are allowed inside.

So, this morning after breakfast I went up for a workout...

... wondered where the men's and women's lockers were, and bathroom, and wondered if I'd wandered into the wrong side. Er. There's only one locker area, and users often exercise in the nude, going from equipment to shower to sauna in nothing or just a bathrobe. Men and women share the same facilities.

Given the social norms at home in California, this wasn't particularly alarming, except that I didn't know these other people... I kept on my T-shirt and shorts (chuckle).

Comments

[quasigeostrophy.livejournal.com]

I was amused at Schiphol Airport my first time in Amsterdam. I was waiting for my flight to Hannover and the women's restroom in the terminal area where I waited was closed for repairs. The sign, in both English and Dutch, read Women's Restroom Closed - Another Available on Level Below or Use Men's. I was standing at a urinal doing my business, and women were walking back and forth behind me to and from the stalls, no one caring. It was nice to be somewhere absent of so many of the hangups we have in this country.