How I soared in Austrian nudist baths. German public baths

General German baths without complexes...

For a long time I have already read the story of V. Soloukhin about how, back in Soviet time he visited the German common bath and was impressed.

About the topic of German washing with an erotic bias without complexes and without anything at all, see below

Many Russians visiting Germany face serious cultural barriers that separate our countries. The mentality of the Germans is very different from the Slavic. This is due to both cultural traditions and freer European views. The strongest culture shock among Russians is caused by German saunas and baths ...

Joint baths and saunas

Almost all saunas and baths in Germany are shared. This means that men and women, children and old people - all bathe and wash together. the main problem for the Russians is that it is supposed to be done completely naked. Neither the steam room, nor the washing room, nor the pool will let you in a bathing suit or swimming trunks. Rubber slippers are also prohibited.

The Germans believe that any synthetic in a humid and hot environment evaporates dangerous chemical compounds. This not only harms the person wearing synthetic swimwear, but also those around them. You will simply not be allowed into the German sauna in a bathing suit (or swimming trunks if you are a man).

Even if you embarrassingly cover up "causal places", they will look at you in surprise, as if you were a strange person. The Germans are not at all ashamed of their nakedness. Teenage boys can safely swim next to the naked mothers of their classmates, and no one sees anything indecent in this.

Etiquette in German saunas

men, women, children, elderly people- all bathe naked in the same room. In rare cases, some establishments arrange separate days for swimming, but this can only be once a week. On all other days, please cast aside false shame!

If you enter the washing room in swimming trunks, you will be reprimanded and shown to the door. So those wishing to visit the German sauna should tune in to the nudist mood and, above all, get used to their own nudity. Russian people, who are much more shy by nature, have difficulty accepting such orders. Some, even after living in Germany for many years, simply avoid visiting saunas.

But the fact is that German friends or even business partners can easily invite you to a home sauna. And in this case, you will have to strip naked and bathe along with everyone. At the same time, you should behave adequately: do not blush, do not cover your most intimate places and, of course, do not stare at the figures of those around you.

Where can you hide

Sauna in Germany is divided into 2 zones. The first is actually a washing room and a steam room. They are called Textilfrei, which roughly translates to "no clothes zone". In the rest of the rooms there is a lounge area, waterslides and a bar - you can walk modestly wrapped in a towel or swimming trunks. By the way, not all Germans do this. Many continue shamelessly walking around in what their mother gave birth to. Not every Russian is able to accept, let alone understand this.

The most pleasant

The very procedure of bathing in such places is very pleasant and relaxing. In public saunas, you can not speak loudly and in general make any noise in any way. This may allow other guests to enjoy their stay. You can sit or lie on the shelves only on special bath towels which are 2 meters long. You can't touch wood with bare skin. It's not hygienic.

Coming to the beginning of the "aufguss" - pouring stones - should be on time. It is important. During aufguss, a sauna employee pours water with honey, eucalyptus or orange aroma oils on the stones and diligently disperses the steam. At the same time, he entertains visitors: he tells them jokes, jokes. It is impossible to leave the hall at this moment, so as not to release precious steam. You can only leave if you feel bad.

Then you can start swimming. In some saunas, pleasant music is turned on during aufguss, salts, creams or ice cubes for the skin are distributed free of charge. After the procedure, you may be offered a cup of tea, fruit or ice cream. All this is already included in the price of the entrance ticket. Aufguss in saunas are held on schedule, so it is customary to come to them on time so as not to disturb the special beauty of the ceremony.

All my friends who visited Germany and visited the public sauna were shocked...
With public saunas in Germany, the story is like this. After the locker room (cabin) and shower (separately), you in a bathing suit get to the SPA, where there are many pools with different temperatures, color and composition of water, under the roof and on the street. From this part there is usually a door to the Sauna complex. Entering there, you need to take off your swimsuit / swimming trunks in a common (!) locker room, wrap yourself in a large towel or bathrobe (should be with you) and stomp into one of the saunas. After taking off your slippers and going into the sauna, you need to: find a free place, put your towel under your ass and under your feet. It is believed that your sweat should not fall on government benches. In a wet sauna, you don’t need a towel under your feet, or you don’t need it at all. Many visitors do not cover themselves with a towel at all. Appearing in a sauna in a bathing suit leads to meaningful looks. In addition, the sauna staff may come up to you and say that it is not supposed to be like that. Take it off, right now.
Inside the sauna, at different heights from the hearth, beds are arranged in 2-3 rows. The sauna employee pours water on the heated stones, pumping air with a towel towards the visitors who are located on the beds. In some saunas, birch brooms pre-soaked in boiling water are used instead of towels. This procedure is loved by many, the schedule this process, which is called aufgus, is hung out in a conspicuous place, and by its beginning a significant number of people who want to take a steam bath gather on the floors.

Flavoring is often added to the water, before the procedure, the sauna employee gives brief information about the supplement, tells how to behave during the procedure and after it. After aufgus, sauna visitors receive various substances for rubbing into the skin - honey, salt, and so on. In addition, the complex is usually equipped with 1-2 small pools indoor or under open sky, where after a sauna (and a short visit to the shower) you can also plunge naked.
Ordinary visitors to German saunas are people over the age of 30, there are young couples. Sometimes they come with children, it's kind of a tradition. The Germans often go to the sauna with the whole family or in the company of friends or colleagues. They walk around without embarrassment, freely swinging the upper (secondary) or lower (primary) - who has what - signs of sex ...
After talking with compatriots about German saunas, you understand that nudity is taboo in Russia. Nude body is automatically considered pornographic. And it is completely unacceptable if people of different sexes are naked, and even children are nearby. Even people who are by no means of a puritanical upbringing, having learned that saunas are common in Germany, roll out their eyes in surprise: "Is that true!?" and, as a rule, fukat and resent ...
How do you feel about these saunas? Would you like to steam up there? Would you take your children there? Would you hesitate to come there with friends or colleagues? Or even have the experience of visiting them? And what is your reaction?

Saved

Joint baths and saunas

Almost all saunas and baths in Germany are shared. This means that men and women, children and old people - all bathe and wash together. The main problem for Russians is that it is supposed to be done completely naked. Neither the steam room, nor the washing room, nor the pool will let you in a bathing suit or swimming trunks. Rubber slippers are also prohibited.

The Germans believe that any synthetics in a humid and hot environment evaporate dangerous chemical compounds. This not only harms the person wearing synthetic swimwear, but also those around them. You will simply not be allowed into the German sauna in a bathing suit (or swimming trunks if you are a man).

Etiquette in German saunas

Men, women, children, the elderly - all bathe naked in the same room. In rare cases, some establishments arrange separate days for swimming, but this can only be once a week. On all other days, please cast aside false shame!

Where can you hide

Sauna in Germany is divided into 2 zones. The first is actually a washing room and a steam room. They are called Textilfrei, which roughly translates to "no clothes zone". In the rest of the rooms - a lounge area, water slides and a bar - you can walk modestly wrapped in a towel or swimming trunks. By the way, not all Germans do this. Many continue shamelessly walking around in what their mother gave birth to. Not every Russian is able to accept, let alone understand this.

The most pleasant

The very procedure of bathing in such places is very pleasant and relaxing. In public saunas, you can not speak loudly and in general make any noise in any way. This may allow other guests to enjoy their stay. You can sit or lie on the shelves only on special bath towels, which are 2 meters long. You can't touch wood with bare skin. It's not hygienic.

It is difficult to write a reliable story if you yourself, with your own eyes, have not seen something. This article about the German bath helped me to write my very good friend - Andrey. There is no doubt about the reliability of the information, a person has been living in Germany for a very, very long time.

Fans and connoisseurs of the bath, sauna enthusiastically speak of Finnish bath. Someone says that there is nothing better than a Russian steam room. And only sophisticated connoisseurs know about the features of the German bath.

If you are going to Germany, read this article to be fully prepared and be sure to take a bath! The Germans also understand something in the steam rooms!

Of course, the German bath is completely different from our Russian steam bath with a massive stove. This is more like a sauna, not a bath in the full sense of the word. Although, there are some similar points, but more on that later.

But not all saunas are built near thermal waters, this is an optional condition.

Special german sauna

The Germans do not have such a reverent attitude to the bath, like the Finns or Russians. I asked my friend: “When you enter the sauna, it smells like a bathhouse. There is a feeling that you are definitely in the bath"?

It smells nice in the sauna and, of course, there is a feeling that you are in a sauna. But compared to the Russian bath, these are not the same feelings.

- Andrey

The bath complex itself is divided into two sectors. In one sector, there is a shower, a pool, and in the other, the steam room itself.

The arrangement of the sauna is quite ordinary: shelves and the stove itself. The German sauna does not hold tanks, basins, buckets and brooms.

Swim shorts or swimwear are not allowed in the German steam room. You can steam completely naked.

This is due to the Germans' belief that synthetic fabric is not environmentally friendly, for the same reason it is forbidden to wear slates or rubber slippers in a German bath. These are the rules of pedantic Germans ...

Another one of important rules visiting the bath - keeping silence. Do not distract visitors from the process. Only silence, enjoying the warm air and pleasant aromas!
If one of the ignorant visitors violates this ban, then he may even be reprimanded.

Yes, you won’t hear here: “Give it to the park”, no one grunts or groans at the shelf. Our peoples have a completely different mentality.

But they still know how to give in to the park in the German bath. They just do it their way...

Ceremony Aufgus (Aufguss)

Translated from German, Aufguss means infusion, pouring. I asked Andrey to explain, in plain Russian, what is the meaning of this procedure. And this is the response I got:

Water or ice mixed with aromatic oils… It is for this reason that there is an amazing aroma in the sauna.

The meaning of the procedure is that the stones in the furnace are partially doused with cold or hot water. When infused, the water evaporates and increases the humidity in the sauna. Evaporation of sweat on the skin is complicated and the body heats up even more.

At Aufguss, a special wooden basin is used, from which the stove is poured.

- Andrey

Ceremony Aufgus, there is nothing else than our Russian bath fun to give in to the park! Only each nation has its own park. We can have kvass, beer, birch infusion. But the Germans have aromatic oils.

How is Aufgus

The park is given to the park by a special person „Saunameister“ who is assigned to it. Before Aufgus they open the door and start a large number of fresh air.

The air from the street is driven into the sauna with a towel. This saunamaster then disperses the steam from Aufgus around the sauna with a towel.

- Andrey

The master's movements are more reminiscent of a kind of bewitching dance with a towel in his hands. It's like a real show: moral, physical and aesthetic satisfaction is guaranteed!

The schedule of the ceremony usually hangs in each steam room. You can easily navigate by the start time of Aufgus.

It is quite difficult to say exactly how long Aufgus takes. The duration can last only 6–8 minutes, but there are also record steam deliveries!

Aufgus can last more than 20 minutes. Regardless of the time, you cannot leave the sauna before the end of the ritual.

After the end of fragrant soaring, another ceremony begins - visitors drink beer!

The secret highlight of the German bath

If you are a shy person, then the following fact may shock you.

home secret highlight the German bath is that they do not have a division into male and female halves.

German sauna - shared. Here they like to visit the steam room with the whole family and consider it inappropriate to separate the visit by gender.

Steaming naked is the rule!

Men and women are warming themselves, splashing in the pool, washing in the shower together. And no hesitation! No swimwear!

But still there are saunas in which only women's days for visits. For some, this is a very pleasant departure from the rules. For example, it would be difficult for me to feel comfortable in a sauna completely naked next to men.

An anecdote immediately comes to mind:

“If a naked man accidentally ends up in a women's bath, women squeal and try to splash boiling water on him ... And if, by chance, a naked girl gets into a men's bath, on the contrary, all men are very happy, friendly. This once again proves the kindness of a man's heart.

Public baths in Russia

In fairness, it is worth noting that in Russia until 1743 there were no divisions into male and female baths.

They went to their own baths in the villages separately, but the city baths were all common. Hence the sayings, familiar to all of us: “There are no generals in the bath”, “Everyone is equal in the bath”.

And the division into visiting the bath was introduced by Catherine the Great. Joint baths existed for only one century, and this is quite a long time.

Conclusion

In conclusion of the story about the German bath, it remains to say that the days of the sauna are not strictly defined. You can walk at least every day.

Women's days are usually Tuesday or Thursday.

Now a few words about the prices for German sauna services. Andrei is talking about visiting cards, but for us these are subscriptions. So:

Pay and hourly rates. The cost depends on the institution, on the owner. I can't say exactly.

On the territory of the sanatorium, for example, visiting the sauna is often already included in the price. On the territory of the pool, the tariffs are lower than if you go specifically to the sauna.

A day card costs approximately 14 euros to 20 euros. Up to 15 hours cheaper, but not by much. There are 10-time cards.

Rates go up on weekends. It's cheap fun!

- Andrey

This is how we got the story about the German bath. Each nation has its own bathing culture, each nation has its own mentality and beliefs.

What seems wild to us, others do not cause hostility. People see the world and themselves in it in their own way.

I did not see anything bad, shameful or shocking in the bathing culture of the Germans.

For them, the sauna is a place of relaxation, physical and aesthetic pleasure. If you are in Germany, go to the sauna. Easy steam and new impressions!

One day in a German bath.

I am a native Muscovite. By profession an engineer. Having lived most of my life in crazy, but infinitely beloved by me Moscow, in last years I live in a tiny, according to our Russian, clean and neat, calm German city in the very center of Germany. I invite the public to get acquainted with my one day. There are 63 pictures under the cut.

Today June 25, 2015 I had a free day and, according to tradition, I decided to devote it to my favorite pastime - a bathhouse.
I have been addicted to this procedure since I was very young. Been there
Often in the famous Moscow Sanduny, Armory and Krasnopresnensky

In recent years, living mainly in Germany, I try to visit the local water park once a week with a solid complex of various baths.

I usually go to a standard 4 hour session, which at a cost
15€ provides disproportionately greater opportunities than the usual
Moscow public bath for the same price - about 600 rubles for 2 hours of a steam room with plastic bowls.
small digression
I hope, dear reader, will show indulgence to some not very high-quality pictures. they were made, for obvious reasons, in extreme conditions ...

So, waking up

and sweetly yawning

2.

spanking in the bath for the bare essentials water procedures- why rub your face in front of the bath

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Now a quick bite than God sent

4.
,

My beech and tablet turn on simultaneously with the opening of my eyes ... and sometimes a little earlier - by touch ...
I usually start any day by checking mail and news on a couple of duty sites.
But the other day there was a very interesting debate on the Dozhd, which the media are talking about, but I have not seen them yet.
A bath is not a bath, but the gap must be filled.

Time however! "Zigel-zigel, ah lu-lu!" Hop in my favorite shorts, lightly cover my belly with an alcoholic T-shirt
I grab my bright red bath bag with all the belongings, which certainly includes: a bathrobe, two large sauna towels, a couple of smaller ones, mittens, slippers, shower gel, etc.

Now quickly into the elevator and dive into the underground garage, where my "184 horses" are in the stall.

The road is calculated by the minute.

And if any nerdy blonde
or a couple of cyclists in love do not arrange a traffic jam, then I, almost without breaking the rules, will rush to the goal in 15 minutes.

Another 5 min. will go to buy a card in a special machine
and an instant striptease in the men's locker room, in addition to which, of course, there is also a women's one, as well as "for couples".
On the way, I fasten the key with the chip on my wrist

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and already running I cross a picturesque courtyard with lawns and various reservoirs
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And exactly at 11.59 I fly into the "sauna-arena"! Phew, did it!
Little explanation 1 . In German public baths, men and women take treatments together and ... completely naked! For the unprepared and highly spiritual horror, right?
But, as you know, it is not recommended to climb into a strange monastery with your charter ... so as not to get hit on your bare ass ... Therefore, once a week you have to shove spirituality away for 4 hours.
True, for especially shy ladies, several steam rooms are allocated twice a week for half a day, but, as a rule, these ladies prefer equality and do not enjoy such a privilege.
By the way, for some reason, such concessions are not granted to us men. Disorder, discrimination. Let's barozzo.
Little explanation 2 .
I raced headlong. I know by heart the schedule for giving steam to the attendant.
And since each time he uses different gadgets, this is important.

Having flown into a large, 50-person steam room, reminiscent of a circus arena, already filled at that time with 10-12 naked "spectators", I climb to the very top and make myself comfortable. According to strict rules ("Ordnung ist Ordnung"), a visitor to the steam room is obliged to sit on his own towel, which must be underlain, incl. and under your feet. Hygiene is above all.
12.

Exactly at 12.00, the attendant (or bath attendant) dressed in shorts and a T-shirt with a tub filled with water with various flavors solemnly enters the arena with the appearance of a bullfighter. After the obligatory briefing and explanations, he begins to gently pour from the ladle onto the stones of a huge round furnace installed in the center of the arena.

13.

After that, the attendant goes around the circle twice, fanning the bathers with a towel. Then the procedure is repeated again, after which, having recommended that visitors enjoy a couple more minutes, the attendant leaves.
Not everyone can endure these "couple of minutes". Even I, with my many years of hardening, somehow lost consciousness twice after such a procedure.
Leaving the steam room, I rinse under the shower and thump in artificial pond. Today the water temperature is +22. Charm!

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With a little splashing, I quickly move into a 120-degree Finnish sauna stylized in a kind of dugout

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With a wood-burning fireplace in which crackle behind the glass
dry logs.

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Here I spend another 15 minutes.

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Then I jump into a round ice font.

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Now it's time to catch my breath ... which I do, having moved to the pool with hydromassage and sea water heated to 36 ° C.

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But there is no time to sit especially - the attendant will not wait. Exactly at 11.30 he will go into a relatively small steam room, about 15 people, and this time he will treat visitors with menthol crystals, thanks to which the steam will immediately disinfect the respiratory tract. This procedure is especially beneficial in the snotty season.

20.

Well, that's all ... Half of the personal program is completed. Usually I make at least 6 visits, for which
to visit all 10 different steam rooms anyway, of course, is not possible.
Now for 15 minutes you can lift yourself up in a deck chair in the sun, and at exactly 11.59 ... Get up !!! Fanfares are calling to the arena!

21.

The next entry, unlike the first one, is interrupted by the bathhouse attendant by handing out a pinch of salt, which we rub into the body. In winter, salt alternates with honey.

After that, I, slightly catching my breath on the lawn in a sun lounger

22.

I wander into the next steam room. This is a round plastic box.
to which wet steam because of which visitors sit as if in a dense fog.

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After surviving in this box for 10 minutes, I douse myself from a wooden tub with ice water

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and head under the huge palm trees to the relaxation zone,

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where, in addition to comfortable, relaxing chairs, there is a bed with a water mattress

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I've been a bit wary of this build lately. Once, having barely plopped down on him, I instantly passed out, and when I woke up I saw the discouraged and condemning looks of vacationers ... The fact is that my wife is sure that the turbines of a jet Boeing are just the chirping of birds, compared to my snoring. Probably lying - after all, I have never heard my snoring.

Next I will have a sauna in which drops of water are supplied to special evaporators. Multi-colored lamps are mounted in its ceiling that change the illumination of the steam room.

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Having faithfully served the legal 15 minutes in it, I dive into another font

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Well, now that the mandatory program has been completed, it's time to make a control weighing

29.

Well, not bad -2.90 kg in 2.5 hours!
So I still have 1.5 hours left ... to rest from rest ...
It wasn't there! Time to run for relaxation-meditation. Action happens here

30.

It's not hot here at all. From somewhere, pleasant relaxing music is pouring from the speakers, and the attendant at this time, in an insinuating voice with German categoricalness, mumbles some spells ...
Hm ... here I also somehow meditated in earnest and with my snoring
slightly corrected the relaxation program for others ...
In our country, they would probably immediately push me in the neck, but tolerance flourishes here.
Well, sir ... however, there is time for business, and an hour of fun - it's time to refresh yourself ...

31.

I think healthy "diet" food from a well-grilled sausage with french fries will not hurt me now ... And, of course, a glass of cold beer by the fireplace ...
Relax in the jacuzzi after lunch

32.

Now you can walk around the complex

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And go to a small ancient dam on a small river.

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However, lunch grams pretty spoiled the result and it's time to evaporate the beer. For this, a small sauna with flavors supplied to a special container installed above the shadows is suitable, where in 15 minutes. I completely eliminate the consequences of my libation

39.

Well, everything is great now. There is still time to finally sunbathe in a sun lounger

40.

In winter, you can sunbathe in this terrible contraption

41.

pancake-like. True, this thing bakes "pancakes" for a fee.
To finish, I myself do not know why, I climb into an infrared sauna with an ionizer.

42.

Nafig it is necessary, I still have not figured it out, but if it's worth it, I have to try it.
Well, now, like everything, it's time to take a shower and get out.
The machine at the exit meticulously counted the time 4:05,

43.

groaned grumblingly, like, well, what to take from them - from foreigners, and opened the turnstile for the exit in front of me - so be it, get out of here.
If I had been late, he would have demanded another 2€ from me. Those. for 17€ I could hang around here all day from 10 am to 10 pm. Sometimes I get stuck like that. At the same time, the ticket to the sauna includes other parts of the water park: various pools, an artificial river, slides, paddling pools, etc.
In addition, nightly celebrations are periodically held in the sauna complex: bonfires are lit, sausages and steaks are grilled, beer flows like water until late at night. In general, people walk purely in German.

Now I'm back in the car

44.

On the way home, you need to drop in for a while in the old part of the city
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There is always a problem with parking. I know of only one place where you can leave your car for free for half an hour, but there are only three parking lots and today they are all busy. So I leave the car in the parking lot.

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and then legs...

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Well, now it's time to head home.
Evening

50.

Therefore, I choose a bypass road, otherwise you can drag yourself for 25 minutes.
On the right is one of the city's "boardeles".

51.

And this is a car dump, where you can throw away an old car for free ... or an unnecessary fighter jet

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Well, the industrial zone is over. This is also a city

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Another minute and I enter my area

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Well here is the house.

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I recently learned that our house is a little younger than the Moscow "Khrushchev".

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They're just following him.

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By the way, this three-entrance house with a garage and lawns is served by one person.
And this is the famous German garbage dump with colorful containers

59.

Any German baby who barely yelled "mom" will answer without hesitation that blue is for paper and cardboard, green is for biowaste, a yellow bag is for packaging, and black is for everything else.
Bashfully turning away, I pass by my bike, which I have been promising to pay attention to for half a year, but for some reason I sneak into the garage every time

60.

Well here it is at home

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We've been lucky with the weather this summer though.

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However, it's good to be distracted by the surrounding landscapes, I'm waiting for LJ (by the way, add me as a friend), FB and other time wasters.
In addition, you need to think about where to rush on Saturday or Sunday. Lately I have taken it into my head to go around the surrounding castles.
ABOUT! Bravo! Inet safely ate the rest of the day.
It's time for the bainka

63.