It’s a visual predicament that many a novice, regardless of their age and sex, has embarrassedly faced when travelling on business.
In some European countries where public nudity prevails without the slightest battening of an eyelid, the question is, what is the acceptable norm?
After a long and tiring business flight to attend a meeting or conference, many a weary traveller will seek out a relaxing sauna at the hotel in preparation for the following busy day ahead. This may seem like a harmless activity, but many questions await those that place their hand naively on the warm condensate hotel sauna door ready to enter.
Before the door is surreptitiously opened, the question of sauna attire immediately springs to mind, that being, have I made the right choice?
Should one be wearing a towel encompassing your naked body, or should the user be equipped in a modesty covering bathing suit? A quandary of potentially awkward scenarios now prevails based on your decision.
You enter the sauna and observe that all the occupants are naked and comfortably sprawled in a very nonchalant manner without any attempt of body concealment.
Scenario 1: No Bathing Suit
Here your response is simple, walk in, take a suitable seating position and casually remove your towel. You are now claiming your role in this microcosm of European society. The key for this new found social acceptance is to act like you do this on a regular basis and are comfortable in your own, and the nudity of others.
Scenario 2: Bathing Suit
This is where things may get awkward. What do you do? Do you leave your towel tightly wrapped around your body with the intent of not showing those naked individuals in the hot and misty room that you are clothed underneath? Do you remove the towel and sit down fully clad in your bathing suit thereby exercising your right not to be naked? Or do you quietly disrobe and join in the unified and accepted state of communal nudity?
Obviously, the choice is indeed yours.
However, another question now prevails. Where does one look? I will let the reader respond to this question.
Note: This situation occurred to the author on a business trip. My response to the above scenarios and the other questions asked will remain private. But, it was interesting to meet many of the sauna occupants at the conference “officially” the following day…
Thoughts that might just be useful in the future 