European Sauna Advice

[anokia]

Hi there, brown hairy man from Pakistan and I love the saunas. Happy to answer any questions from my fellow sauna peeps. A few questions of my own:

1. Are there different rules for walking from one sauna to another, or from a pool to a sauna, or vice versa, for covering yourself up? Do these rules differ between Netherlands, Germany, Austria and Finland?
2. When waiting outside the sauna or steam room, for a ceremony or infusion, should one be wearing a gown or is it okay to stand naked? Again, country specific rules?
3. Several hotels in Germany, Austria, Switzerland (Zermatt and St. Moritz specifically) and Netherlands have spas inside the hotels, these are much less crowded but sometimes you have American or British guests in the sauna with swimsuits on, sometimes, even shoes on, resting on the bench itself, is there a protocol or polite way to tell these people not to do this? I tried reporting to staff but they did not want to offend paying guests.

[terriuk]

Unless there are rules displayed, we would generally have swimwear (f= bikini /m= trunks), and a towel -
adjust to fit in the rest of people, or your comfort level..

though whoever is first in, usually sets the pace!

[rudolfm]

1.Finland is usually not mixed and nude. In a mixed public sauna, expect suits unless told otherwise.
2. Read the "Hausordnung/Huisregels/House rules" on their website or ask when entering. Watch the others, if anybody is nude it is allowed.
3. If nude is allowed, be nude. Don't copy bad manners of others.