English
There are a thousand ways to travel. When you’re young, chances are that you start out with an InterRail around Europe and spending nights in youth hostels barely worth the 10 € per night charge. Since we’ve all been through this, we can attest to the fact that at these times our personal hygiene is somewhat lacking. Showers are usually short and cold, while you sweat more than is desirable while visiting the sights on sunny days and wear the same shoes every day… that ´s why one of the first things you want to do upon arriving home is to take a good shower. In any case, bathing is done a bit differently in each country. Here are some extraordinary examples.
If you travel to Budapest, one of the things that you absolutely must visit one of the city’s spas. While many tourists come here for this experience, many locals come here to wash and purify their bodies. Showering before entering the hot pools is mandatory, but many people skip this and get right in. We are not saying that the pools are dirty but rather that this is a place where people come to wash, either in the pool or saunas, following a tradition that has been around for thousands of years.
On the other hand, if you’re traveling to Central America you may find yourself in a shower stall in which the water heater is not behind the wall but in the shower stall itself. This means that an electric appliance and the water actually touch. Is it dangerous? Very. In fact, a good number of people are electrocuted each year in this area due exactly this. So if you are in Nicaragua or El Salvador and see that your shower has a heater in the stall, it might be good idea to take a cold shower.
Morocco is a country of ancient traditions, and one of the must-have experiences there are the hammams. These spas are different from European ones, since there are separated by sex and you don’t clean yourself but rather another person does it for you. When you go to a hammam, you need to bring your own mat but you can buy black soap there. You enter the bathroom naked. There, you’ll fill a bucket with hot water then you pour some over yourself. Then a man (or woman) there will scrub and exfoliate your body using the soap. You should be prepared that the “massage” might be a bit painful since they are rather energetic about their work. Then, rinse with the remaining water and leave feeling like new. Don’t worry if the person who assists you is naked, especially in a public hammam, and it’s good manners to to help the other person when you are finished.
To shower at home we recommend:
HOUSEBOAT AVIVA
GREATSTAY – GLEDI
ON TREVI 1
These are all examples of unique experiences, but why not take the easy route and rent an apartment in Berlin where you´ll have a shower just like at home and you can leave your worries behind.
