The Friedrichsbad (Baden-Baden) Wellness Spa

 

After ten minutes you forget time, after 20 minutes, you forget the world.
– Mark Twain describing his Friedrichsbad experience.

At the Friedrichsbad naked wellness spa you go through 17 stages of relaxation in saunas, mineral water baths, and showers. I spent a day in Baden-Baden to find out exactly how it feels to unplug from the matrix of clothing.

The Conclusion

I approach the spa with hesitation. What will I find inside? A bunch of unattractive, overweight pensioners, where I am the only younger guy? After nearly getting cold feet, I walk inside. Once I pushed myself over the edge, I was pleasantly surprised. Spa visitors were of all shapes and sizes, within a healthy, wide age range.

The conclusion I make: Those who are in the best shape physically, are least likely to be shy naked.

The 17 Steps of Friedrichsbad Commences

I remove my clothes and put it in the locker. Then I walk towards the entrance and scan the plastic micro-chip wristwatch. Next, the attendant hands me a towel and points me to a pair of sandals. The first station is to take a shower. Before you use the facilities, you need to be as clean and fresh as possible. Hygiene standards in this spa are very high.

The Warm Air Bath

The second stage is a mildly heated room with fully reclined wooden chairs. You lie on top of your towel. It’s not enough heat to make you break a sweat, but sufficient to envelop your bare skin with a warm current. Here I relax for the first time since I entered the spa. I deliberately try to clear my mind and meditate, which is not hard to do in this chilled environment. I stay for about half an hour since I enjoy the clarity of mind that my new habitat brings out of me.

Breaking Sweat

Next, I move to the warmer sauna room next door. This is where I start breaking a sweat. It was probably about 60 degrees Celsius. I would have preferred more heat, but at the same time, the reclining chairs are already hot. Only the towel protects you from getting burned by the warm wood below. Still, I really enjoy this room as much as the previous one. Staring at the ceiling, with sweat pouring through my skin pores.

Slowly Unplugging

Now it is time to go to the 4th station. I didn’t stay as long in station 3 as station 2, as the warmer temperature wasn’t as conducive to meditation. Station 4 is once more, another shower. Gotta rinse off the sweat before you journey deeper into the water world.

Station 5 is an optional soap and brush massage, for which you would pay 12 euro extra. I skipped this stage but might have considered it, if it was free. I’m very particular about who I allow to massage me, and it’s not something I’ve ever paid for.

Station 6 is the shower after the extra paid massage. Thus, if you don’t pay for the optional extras, there are only 15 stations in total.

The Steam Bath

Station 7 & 8 is the thermal steam bath. Both stations are in the same room. The only difference is the temperature. Station 7 is 45 degrees Celsius, and station 8 is 48 degrees Celsius.

Sauna Thermo-Dynamics

If you sit on the bottom row of seats in any sauna or steam bath, the temperature is lower. The seats higher up are warmer. This is because warm air is less dense, and thus rises higher than the cold air. In this way, you can choose how intense your sauna session should be.

I skip stage 7 and decide to sit on the top bench throughout. Enjoying the streams of sweat rolling off my back. The only thing I miss is the thick eucalyptus mist you experience in other steam rooms.

Thermal Bath

Station 9 is a pleasant warm thermal bath. Like the first sauna, it’s a nice place to meditate. The warm mineral water soothes your muscles and allows your mind to be as clear as the water you are floating in. Stress levels are now almost completely eliminated. With a transcendental mindset, I plan out and set myself some resolutions and goals for the next few months. I stay about 20 minutes, before heading to the next small bathing room, Station 10.

In Zion

This room is the point where I truly feel like I’ve completely unplugged from the matrix. With vivid imagination, I visualize the holes where the electronic cords were plugged into my lower head and spine. Now, the cords and attachments are as gone as the clothing which I left back in the locker room.

Here I am, in Zion. Mind and body freed, escaped, and reborn into the real world – where everyone is naked. Out there, in the streets of Baden-Baden, they sleepwalk, plugged into the matrix. Not knowing the truth about this mental construct we live in. (O.k. …likely some of them do)

A Spiritual Experience

By now I realize that I’m having a spiritual experience in this nude spa. NOT a physical one. It’s contradictory that being physically nude with others can lead to a healthy, deep, spiritual, meditative state of mind.

There are different ways to enter this state. It can involve both pushing your comfort zone or deep meditation.

Of course, this isn’t sexual nudity. It’s simply going back to the state you were in when you came into this world.

Pushing Onwards

Station 11 is another shallow thermal bath where you lie on your back, with your head rested on the side. Very relaxing, with bubbles gushing up from below.

Station 12 was the cold pool. Most don’t stay in this one very long. Simply move through and enjoy the change in temperature.

 

friedrichsbad nude spa baden baden
The Friedrichsbad cold pool, below the dome. Photo Credit: Friedrichsbad, Baden Baden.

 

The 2 Gender Rule

Next, take a shower right next to the pool. By now you’ll feel 100% at peace with the nudity. Feeling more comfortable naked (in “Zion”) than you do with clothing. Besides, people don’t stare. Maybe a quick peek to see of which gender you are, but there are only 2 genders, so it’s not a problem.

Unlucky 13 and More

Next to the main showers, there is a lukewarm “kinesthetic mineral bath”. Walk through the bath, and get some motion going.

Station 13 is the cold plunge pool. And probably the least pleasant skinny dip you’ll experience at this nude spa. Walk into the water, receive a quick jolt to your body, then walk right back out, feeling rejuvenated.

Station 14 is the drying off station. Take a towel, and make sure you are as dry as you were before station 1.

Station 15 is the lotion room. Here you carefully apply lotion to your whole body. Leaving your skin glowing and embalmed. Feeling like a pupa ready to spin a cocoon.

 

The Cocoon

Now, a member of staff leads me to the sleeping room. She puts a fresh bedsheet on the bed and tells me to get on top. I lie on my back. Next, she expertly wraps a blanket warmly around my body. In Chrysalis mode, I drift in and out of sleep. As relaxed as ever. Glad that I pushed through my comfort zone to attend the Friedrichsbad Nude Spa.

 

The Butterfly

After wrapping up my meditative three hours in the zone where the matrix has no reach, I get up. I stand in the cocoon nest where others are still resting and sleeping horizontally. Now, a butterfly, I spread my arms out and yawn. Flapping my spiritual wings. Ready to fly.

 

Re-entering the Matrix

Lastly, I go to the final stage 17: The Relaxation Room. I make a cup of peppermint tea and sit on the soft reclining chair. After finishing the tea, I head back to the locker room. Here I hack-dial into the matrix once again, by putting my clothes back on.

 

A Brave Stranger

Walking outside, I briefly bump into two of the brave strangers who shared this experience with me, as we moved through the worlds in between this one. How unusual seeing someone with clothes only after you see them naked. However, 30 minutes later you forget their faces, as they go back to their respective holes in the matrix.


Maybe having a cookie
After consulting with the Oracle alongside me
While meditating silently in the thermal waters of the nude spa

 

 

Have you ever visited Friedrichsbad Naked Spa in Baden-Baden? Or any other wellness spa? Comment below with your questions, thoughts, or tips for other travelers!

Apart from Friedrichsbad, another popular European Nude spa is Spa Zuiver in Amsterdam – Read our Review here.

Home » Europe » The Friedrichsbad (Baden-Baden) Wellness Spa

1 thought on “The Friedrichsbad (Baden-Baden) Wellness Spa”

  1. The Friedrichsbad is simply one of my favorite places in the world. The feeling of complete freedom in an architecturally stunning environment is amazing.

    If you happen to be American or otherwise sexually repressed, get over it. No one cares if you don’t wear clothes!

    Bring clean underwear and socks . . .

    Reply

Leave a Comment