Naked Activities in Europe

see also EZF (the English E-Book)

North of Heidelberg, Germany

...If Man were Meant to be Naked, he would have been Born Naked

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I left the S-Bahn (Suburban railway) station of Neckerhausen, near Heidelberg in Baden-Wurtenberg, Germany, and headed north-west into the woods. I stripped naked as soon as I entered the trees, and placed my clothes in my rucksack. I was only wearing sandals and socks as I began walking up the gentle track in the shaded but warm forest air of mid-September. The sound of furious wood chopping emanated from the trees ahead of me, and the road was busy with driving cars behind me down near the river in the valley below. I headed first left, then right and up a long even slope, the tracks clearly cut for forestry work.
As I steadily gained height, the natural forest noises took over. Occassional twitterings, and 'oohoo's, interspersed by the sound of something hard dropping through the trees from a great height and into the dry leaves of the forest floor - acorns being shelled by a squirrel, perhaps. Outside of the steady pace of my sandals over the soft trail, and the close sound of my light breathing, silence reigned.

I passed a small spring, dug into the dark steep bank of the forest on my right, lined with large stones. Quietly sitting, nearly obscured by the luxuriant foliage around, nearly forgotten up here amongst the trees, it was like a distant memory of when such things were an essential part of the daily existence of everybody. The water ran sweetly out along a thick stone lip, and fell directly in a single thin cord to the moist forest bed below. This was the only water I saw all day long, and was a welcome respite when I returned this way later in the day.
I continued along the gentle slope, up and around the contouring track, past myriad trees where the sun shone, through the high foliage above, to illuminate the dark forest floor. Seemingly, for a single moment, for my benefit alone. As I gained height, hoof prints appeared along the middle of the track, in the soft raised grassy area between the twin hard lines of the forestry road, signs of horse-riding, but no horses and no riders to be seen the whole day long. Some bugs buzzed me sufficiently to make me stop and apply Autan, (mosquito repellant), liquid liberally all over my exposed body.

Forestry had been hard at work, felling trees, and as the track arrived at the ridge above, the view opened out to wide vistas of rounded forest clad hills to the north and east across the valley, as far as the eye could see. A far away town nestled amongst the thick almost carpet-like pile of forest canopy in the distance. I kept walking until I reached the Wolfsgrube, a col in the woods, where several roads and tracks met briefly before going their various ways once more. I continued for another half an hour or so along the ridge, northwards, before deciding, after several hours walking, that I should return reluctantly to town for dinner. Although I had been walking the Heidelberg woods on several occassions, and found them to be generally fairly quiet places, this was the very quietest walk of all. I met a single solitary person during the entire walk. It's definitely a place to earmark for naked hikes.
The route back was quicker, as I took fewer photographs and I knew the route, it was mostly downhill too. Of course I reached the train station at Neckarhausen, just a minute or so after my train to Heidelberg had already departed, but it was warm and pleasant as I sat in the shelter, dressed now of course, awaiting the next train. The walk had been a pleasant amble along forestry tracks most of the way, and I was sufficiently tired to fully appreciate my evening meal accompanied by a fruit-juice schorle, (juice mixed with fizzy water), and a beer.

Let's not forget Steve Gough, Vincent Bethell, and Terri Sue Webb, for their singular battles against ignorance and prejudice in our allegedly enlightened Europe of the 21st century.