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Last year, we posted an article about Germany’s nude hiking debate: to allow or not to allow? This time, Switzerland is in the spotlight. (Oh, those Europeans).
The BBC reports the Swiss courts have ruled that local authorities can cite nude hikers for indecent exposure, even though the country as a whole does not have a national law against public indecency. Recently, a man was hiking through the Alps near the town of Appenzell (which mind you, is an extremely conservative Christian region – in fact, they only allowed women voting rights in 1990 – don’t even get me started) swingin’ right by a family picnic area (“with small children” the article added) and a Christian drug rehab center. So the guy was fined about $100 USD and the Swiss federal court threw out the man’s appeal, saying that nude hikers should look elsewhere for birthday-suit hiking trails.
Read BBC’s article here.
If you dig this type of “free” experience, you can check out the top places to legally hike naked. Locations are all over the world!
Travel Tip for today: Sightseeing
If you’re like us, then you probably enjoy visiting tourist sites every now and again. Whether it’s for the pictures, the experience or the bragging rights to say, “I’ve been there!”, tourist traps can be lots of fun – if only they didn’t have so many…. tourists! Here’s a tip: Go during lunch. Most tour companies (you know, those ones with the large groups of loud people all wearing the matching hats) will take a break from their touring for lunch and it will give you the perfect chance to see the site(s) up close or to snag the coveted photo op without everyone else in your way.
Happy sightseeing!
We’ve seen a ton of hits over the past couple of days from our post about nude hiking in Germany and the Supreme Court debate about nude hiking in Switzerland. (We had no idea the Time Magazine article would be so popular among some our viewers!). For those of you interested in hiking naked in the United States, here is a link to an article written by a man in the Yukon who hikes nude (warning, there are some photos but no “inappropriate” body parts can be seen.) It’s an interesting perspective if you have an open mind.
Read the article here: http://www.yukonalaska.com/nudehiking/
Also, if you’re looking for a survival bracelet to match the color of your birthday suit, we have some colors of paracord that may blend in quite nicely with flesh tones! Stop by our online store to see the survival bracelets and get yours today!
For most Americans, the thought of hiking in your birthday suit or catching a glimpse of a fellow hiker nude in nature would be alarming – given our prudent, rather body-conscious beliefs about the natural human form. Nude hiking is not all that uncommon in Europe, though. Switzerand allows hiking in the nude but is currently debating the ammenity with its Supreme Court. Last year, Germany opened its first nude hiking trail near the town of Dankerode (about 3 hours outside of Berlin, for those unfamiliar with German geography). Apparently, there were signs at the trailhead that read, “If you don’t want to run into any naked people, stop right here!” Seen as a “paradise for nude hikers” the naked trail is causing some scuffles between German naturalists (the nature-lovers, etc.) and traditionalists (everyone else). As you can imagine, there’s plenty to debate over the issue of “bodily freedom”. The trail is right by a family campsite and the owner of the campsite, who originally welcomed the idea of a luxury trail as added revenue, has since changed his mind when it comes to family camping in the nude. Hot words are exchanged, labels are given but what are your thoughts on nude hiking – in Germany or other parts of the world?
Read the original article from Time here:
Hiking in the nude in Germany. Photo courtesy of Matthias Bein.
