So we finally took the plunge into a (very) chilly lake. Crazy like a Swiss you say? Yes - but lots of fun.

The Seebad Enge complex, which runs as a pool/bar in summer, and sauna/pool/bar in winter was the venue of our Tuesday evening experience. Bravely led on by a visitor who had done this sort of thing before, we tentatively wandered in. It all seemed a bit foreign at first, but we quickly acclimatised. We went for the full experience - 3 circuits of the complex (sauna/freezing dip in the lake/sit with legs in a big bucket of hot water, repeat as much as you like) - finished up with a beer.

We gave the 'clueless foreigner' game away early. On our first sauna session, a friendly local said 'Are you British?'. When answered in the affirmative, along with a query of 'How could you tell', we discovered:

• We hadn't bought towels into the sauna to sit on
• We still had swimming costumes on
• Some of us still had shoes on (flip-flops)

Whoops! We fixed those up for the next round, but the accents still gave us away.

Top tips for newbies:

• Nakedness is not optional. Towels are perfectly acceptable though!
• Make sure you have a robe, either hired or your own. Very necessary to keep the top half warm when sitting with legs in bucket of hot water.

Here's the link: http://www.tonttu.ch/contents/sauna.html

I would highly recommend giving it a go, if for nothing else than to get a taste of a local custom. You can always skip the freezing skinny dip and focus on the sauna, or just relax and enjoy the view across the lake.

I've never been to Seebad Enge. I like the Sauna complex in Scuol though. Dipping into the cold pool isn't anywhere near as bad as what I imagined it to be like before I tried.

I bet it's full of pervs

As long as you don't bring your family and in-laws with you, I hear it's very common! A great way to meet - nothing to hide

That's what we found as well. Maybe the shock confuses the brain into thinking it's not actually cold? Mind you, we were only in the water for 30s or a minute before giving up!

On a serious note - dipping in the snow/ice cold water isn't recommended for people with heart or blood pressure problem. The rush of blood makes one dizzy. Greatly exhilarating though!

Actually this was one of the reasons given for enforcing the nakedness thing - I guess the idea being that it forces everyone into the same boat.

Haha, well, I was there with my OH and her brother. We somehow managed ok! OH's brother's girlfriend is Swedish though, so he was a veteran of this sort of thing

You're either saying that one ceases being a pervert once he's naked and among naked people. Or that everyone naked where there exists at least one pervert turns the whole group into a bunch of pervs

Either case doesn't sound very enticing... More importantly, are there any hotties?

Let's just say, my wife had many more viewing opportunities than I did!

Probably only if you turn up.

Heard this before; if this is true then most of the Finnish population should be sick

Hopefully I'm not the only hottie then

Maybe because the Finns (and the Russians!) grow up doing this regularly? And it IS good for you (if you don't have heart problems).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sauna

My girlfriend has 3 very hot sisters. I'm not sure I agree with you on that point.

I guess any real perv would expose himself by having an embarrassing problem in the pelvic region.

You're making the assumption that only men are pervs, aren't you? And wouldn't a dip in the very cold lake solve that problem?

Laughed my head off
I love "British Cultural Moments in Switzerland" and that's now on my Top 10 list. Classic!

Thanks for sharing and if we get a babysitter, you'll see us there at the "nur gemischt" session.