It’s a hot summer day and it seems that no amount of morning Lüften and afternoon Rolladen closing will cool off your non-air-conditioned home. Your solution: spend the day at your local pool.
The freibad is a great, inexpensive place to enjoy cooling off in the pool and relaxing in the shade. Most towns offer an outdoor pool complex. Many have a slide or two, a few lap lanes, a kids’ pool and a diving board. Characteristically, there will also be a large lawn space. Visiting the freibad is an all-day activity. Germans will bring blankets to lay out on, a picnic and drinks (no glass). A badminton set is also popular. Adults claim a spot of lawn with their blanket and alternate between hanging out reading and taking a dip in the pool to cool off.
Kids run around to swim and play. It’s important to understand that kids (and adults) are expected to behave properly, but it is also freizeit, or free-time, so some amount of goofing around is overlooked. Parents are responsible for teaching their children pool rules and the swimming skills needed. Lifeguard duties don’t generally involve policing patrons for rule-abiding, which may feel a bit lax when compared to the U.S. Instead, German lifeguards are employed solely to ensure everyone’s safety and will only whistle for risky behavior or to react to an emergency.
Kids can run, splash and play at the local German freibad this summer. (Wolfgang Spitzbart | Spitzi-Foto – stock.adobe.com)
There are a wide variety of names for swimming areas in Germany.
Erlebnisbad – a pool for fun, not laps, translated as adventure pool
FKK (Freikörperkultur) – used to indicate a designated nudist area
Freibad – an outdoor pool complex, typically only open in the summer
Hallenbad – an indoor pool complex
Naturbad – a natural swimming facility, often a lake or chemical-free pool
Planschbecken – a shallow paddling pool for babies and toddlers
Schwimmbad – a general word for any kind of swimming facility
Schwimmhalle – the building which houses an indoor pool
Seebad – a coastal or lakeside resort
Sportbad – a pool with lanes for lap swimming
Sprudelbecken – a whirlpool or hot tub
Strandbad – a beach and swimming area of a lake, river or coastline
Therme – a mineral hot spring pool or wellness complex
Waldbad – a pool or lake set in a forest