Beating the Heat

Germans are known for being uninhibited about their bodies, and with 60,000 card-carrying naturalists, countless nude beaches, and thousands of mixed-gender "textile-free" leisure spas, the country is justifiably seen by the outside world as a bastion of physical freedom.

But while many outsiders see Germany as a country suffering from a severe lack of inhibition, or at least having a different moral outlook than buttoned-up Britains or puritanical Americans, there really are rules that govern when and where it is appropriate to let it all hang out.

Subtle difficulties of cultural communication

Saunas? Lakes? Certain parks? Go ahead, give yourself some air.

Walking through a good-sized city on a Tuesday afternoon? Better cover up.

But those subtle distinctions were lost on an American tourist, apparently improperly schooled when it comes to a German society with a tendency to let it all hang out, at least in some contexts.

Earlier this week, when temperatures topped 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit), the sightseer stripped down and stuffed his clothes into a bag, which he carried with him as he strolled the streets of Nuremberg, a conservative town in Bavaria.

He apparently thought it was the appropriate thing to do.

Costly cool-down

But city streets in Germany lack signs for Freie Körper Kultur ("Free Body Culture," or "nudist area"), the usual signal that it is OK to walk around in your birthday suit. They are not, in fact, not clothing-optional zones.

Shocked locals contacted the police, who apprehended the surprised tourist. Police said the man wasn't drunk and hadn't been taking drugs, but "he believed it was commonplace to be nude in public in Germany."

"We have been having unusually hot weather here lately but, all the same, we can't have this," a spokesman for police told news services.

The police made him get dressed and pay a 200 euro ($269) deposit pending an investigation into his behavior.