Die German Stunde

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KBOO is open to the public! To visit the station, contact your staff person or call 503-231-8032.


Produced by: 
KBOO
Air date: 
Fri, 06/25/2010 - 12:00am
A show for German ex-pats, German wannabees and anyone interested in Germany

How much do you really know about Germans?

Why is going naked on a beach or in a public park in Germany okay and why are there restrictions here? Is the going-naked-movement gaining strength in Oregon and could Germany serve as a model? How do Germans deal with nudity and is there a difference between baring it in the eastern part of Germany versus the west? Germany has fully developed single payer healthcare, so why does a German who worked in Portland and went back to Germany yearn to return here? And then there's the World Cup.

Want more of this? Email amnews@kboo.org or get in touch with host Miriam Widman at diegermanstunde@gmail.com

Danke fuer das Zuhoeren!


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Comments

I liked the approach to your program.  Real people talking. I am a single woman, whom owns Arcadia, a Romantic Getaway, in Shelton WA. I prefer to affiliate my resort under the terms of "European Au Natural" versus "nudist" to communicate to people in this country the quiet sophistication of  the au natural that has been received in Europe for far longer than in our country.  A true sense of relaxation.   "Nudist" is also a word that conjures either "orgies",  "nudist camps "which are either equated as "hippy communes"  to the far pendulum swing of no-sex, non-friendly, retirement people in the co-op clubs.  There is also a pruriant underbelly of Victorian speak, religious no-no, conflicting with the insanity of the fantasy world of TV and movies.  At my private club resort, I see, now 60%,  real people coming out on their weekends off to relax and enjoy, though most, don't dare talk about it in their real lives  to 40%, " times are changing"  the younger generations 30's.  Thank goodness! We are ridding ourselves of the insanity. This is all due to the information age of Internet.  These changes have happened over the 5 years of my 16 years of welcoming guests to my Garden of Eden in WA.  Kathy 
P.S. My heritage is German from both sides of the family. Born in WI, my family ancesters traveled to U.S.A. in 1860's.  However, I found my midwest upbringing stifling in thought, a necessity of conformity, that even today if I mention nudist to midwest folk they are extreme paranoid about nude.  Mention a beer and skinny dipping though to the young, why of course,  but then they just get stoic and dried up by their religious influence as they get older?

It is sad that Kathy has seen fit to throw stones at the mainstream nudist community.  She has long been at odds with it when the mainstream criticized her for her attempt to sell her facility as a nudist club, but at that time her web site advertised the renting of motorized sex toys.  But the most egregious is her attempt to characterize the mainstream nudist clubs as non-friendly, orgies, and other non-true statements.  The MOST friendly people in the world are nudists.  I have met them all over the country and they are welcoming, easy to get to know and friendly.  They are definitely NOT a purient underbelly of society.  What they do prohibit is overt sexual activity.  I know Kathy has struggled to change the image of her club, and I hope she continues in success, but I also hope she stops throwing stones at those she should be aligned with.  The mainstream nudist clubs have people of all ages, and those that enjoy enjoying nudism at places outside of a fenced in campground, such as camping, boating and swimming on beaches, lakes, kayaking, hiking, and any other place to enjoy nature.  But, there is so much more to nudism than just going to a fenced in campground to be nude.  We should be able to go to many many places and enjoy nature, the sun, the breeze, and just being free of the uncomfortable restrictive swim suits and clothes. 
Nudists are tax payers and should be able to use public lands - at least parts of them - nude.  Non-nudists seem to believe that they should be able to use ALL of every bit of public beaches and lands exclusively and not share them with others who prefer to be nude.  Well, the nudists don't mind sharing the beach with clothed people, all the clothed people need to do - if they don't want to see a nude person - is to either look the other way or to go to the other 99% of the beach that nudists will not be.  Why not share and live and let live?  It seems that used to be a main motto of life in the USA, but now more and more people seem to want things to be only their way and are not tolerant. 
Die Fledermaus
 

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