Naked as an Eichelhäher in Baden-Baden

Really easy, actually, to get it right; difficult to mess it up. This will be a general answer based on many spas I have visited in Germany and the Netherlands, and also my very pleasant visit to the spa at Baden-Baden. All German (and other) spas will have a clothed area. In most places only the sauna world and specific other areas will be nude. Toilets and showers are separate. Changing rooms are usually mixed. Most do not have an open area but have large rooms filled with aisles upon aisles of cubicles which are basically square with a bench on one side, hooks for hanging, and a door on each of the other sides and a latching mechanism which will latch both doors closed at a time. The cubicle walls are maybe 18 inches off the floor and end about 6 feet off the floor. There are no ceilings to the cubicles. When you pay for your time, when you arrive, you get an electronic plastic coin about the size of a Euro but thinner, which goes into a strap which goes around ankle or wrist which is used to track your time and which optional facilities or food you have; when you leave the coin is read and you are told what you owe. I can't remember how Baden-Baden do their lockers but most places the coin thingie gets you into a locker. You take your clothes from the cubicle to the locker and lock them up. Swim, play in the water, relax - all with your suit on. When you want to go to the sauna or regimen area you shower, remove cloths - usually in public - and grab your towel or - very very rarely - your robe and stew. Don't forget the shower. Your suit goes on a hook or in a little locker without a door or a little wallet locker operated by the coin. Wallet lockers are by the pool and in the main locker areas too.

Hello Teresa,
I went there in 2009 and like you, wanted to give it a try despite my concern of public nudity. I got used to it...in about 5 minutes. Details escape me, but I believe signs are posted. No chance to end up naked on the street. The day I went the central pool was co-ed and the rest of it was segregated. My wife met me in the middle and it was an odd feeling being naked with her in public. My New England puritanism can be a bare to live with...sorry, I couldn't resist. Nothing bad happened. I enjoyed it. Almost went nude in the modern spa next door, but my wife was losing a migraine battle and we had to leave.

... continued ... When done, do it all backwards, pay what you owe and go somewhere to chill. People there are all sizes, shapes and ages. There will likely be very few children in the nude areas but there may be some. I remember in one spa - maybe B-B - seeing a 7 year old girl swimming in the enclosed pool like a fish. Maybe it was that 90 percent of her time was spend underwater but she didn't seem to care at all about any of the adults walking past clothingless. Hope this helps. Go and have a wonderful time. Do what everybody else does, use the usual German signs and symbols for male and female around the toilets and clothed showers (the nude ones are mixed), and E N J O Y.

You haven't said which you intend to use, the Irish-Roman Friedrichsbad or the lovely laid back Caracalla. My experience is with the Caracalla, we don't really have any interest in the Irish-Roman experience. The Caracalla may not be the very top best thermal spa in the world but its pretty good.

Nigel: I think the Friedrichsbad ... the all-naked-all-the-time one. And only because I don't want to bother with a swimsuit. The Caracalla is a bit more modern and besuited, yes?

Ah..."the good china"..."bare to live with"... You're cracking me up ;-)

Rickniks are nothing if not witty! ;)

Teresa, I went some 20 years ago to Friedrichsbad with a bunch of 20somethings. Even though it has been a long time, I doubt much about the process has changed. It was virtually foolproof back then. You got a key to a locker, a towel, and some plastic shoes (or slippers or something). You put all your stuff in a locker and proceeded to the first room with your towel and key. Each room was labeled with a number (you went in order) along with the temperature and how many minutes to stay in that room. Everything was pretty obvious. The only place I recall where knowing German came in handy was when we got to the massage room. I remember the woman sternly yelling at me "Setzen Sie ihre schuhe an der wand" or "put your shoes by the wall" ... so when you get to the massage room, take your shoes off :) before you lie on the table. By the way, they won't use the towel to cover "the good china" when you get the massage, so just expect that. I also recall that you lost the towel for good somewhere along the way. I still remember how relaxed and stress-free I felt by the end ...

I think you meant a bear to live with, although bare made a pretty good pun.

Teresa, I had these EXACT same concerns when we visited the Friedrichsbad Bath just a few weeks ago. Let me see if I can walk you through it. When you walk in through the front doors there is a reception type person at a desk where you pay. You can see your choices up above, and you can add on a brush scrub and/or a cream massage. We did the brush scrub and were happy that we added it but we might skip it if we went back since we have now experience it. You walk up the staircase. Straight ahead is some sort of lobby area - we were quite sure what it was for. To the left and right are the changing rooms. We went on a day where men and women are combined so only one side was open. If it isn't a combined day I am guessing they will tell you at the front desk which way you should go left or right. You use your little wristband to get through the turnstile. This is the changing/locker room. It IS where you get naked. We weren't quite sure and were wondering around and a really nice employee walked up and asked if it was our first time since it was pretty obvious that it was! You use your wristband to hold it up to a spot on a locker that unlocks it. You take your cloths off in one of the little changing rooms and put your clothes inside a locker. Remember your locker number! Then at one end of the locker room there is an entrance to the baths. I believe it's always manned by an employee. You show this person your receipt so they know what types of extra things (massage, etc) you may be getting. Once you are in, it's super easy there are signs numbered 1-19 that will direct you along the suggested path you take and how long you should stay at each station. My boyfriend stuck to their suggestions and I moved a little faster or slower depending on how much I liked the station. Some were just a little too hot for me! I hope this helps! Let me know if I can help clarify anything you may be concerned about. You will LOVE IT!

I haven't done the baths in Baden-Baden but I've been to all the major baths in Stuttgart (Rick doesn't point out that there's a ton of mineral springs all over Germany but particularly in the south, and you will find mineral baths there, in addition, even without springs Germans just love their baden and every major town has at least one) and can reassure you that the nudity doesn't seem like a big deal pretty quickly. If you're in doubt, ask the receptionist/cashier about how to go about your stay. Especially in Baden-Baden they will almost certainly speak English. Some larger baden have maps. Every one is somewhat different. I've been to all-adult all-nude baths, more 'family' baths where you wear a swimsuit almost everywhere (except the sauna - you can NEVER wear a swimsuit in a sauna! i speak from personal experience, whoops) and of course the places with the kind of layout like in Baden-Baden where you follow an assigned route of treatments. They are all wonderful though, I'm heading to a local bad tomorrow myself. You will feel like a million bucks when you're done, no matter what, even if it can feel a little stressful and confusing at first.

Thanks for all your helpful (and reassuring!) comments. I'm really looking forward to doing this. And I'll try to remember to report back afterward.

OP here. Well. It was WONDERFUL, and I highly recommend the baths to anyone. My BF and I went to the Friedrichsbad spa on a segregated bathing day, which was probably a good way to be introduced to the whole concept. I got a little confused in the dressing room initially, but the German attendant cheerfully helped me out. The process is, indeed, foolproof, though there are a couple of times where to get to the next room you actually have to go back through a room you were already in. Still, the baths are well signed. When I got to the pool that is next to the mixed-bathing area, I saw my BF go in, so I took a deep breath and also went in. Oddly, being there with a bunch of naked guys wasn't as weird as I expected. There were a couple of men who were also on the RS tour, so that was ever so slightly uncomfortable but not unbearable. Actually, by that time I was so relaxed that the Queen and the Pope could have walked in and I wouldn't have cared. The soap and brush scrub was fantastic too. Anyway, if you're thinking about doing Friedrichsbad but aren't quite sure, just do it. :)

So glad to hear you enjoyed your experience! Thanks for the report!!

Hope the good china is all clean and shiny now. I agree it would be more awkward with fellow RS tour group members than with a group of strangers.