Germany's Gay & Lesbian Culture

Germany's Gay & Lesbian culture -conservatively traditional in parts and outrageously non-conformist in others - is legendary and needs to be experienced first hand to be believed. Do you think of Marlene Dietrich's deliciously cruel streak as she toys with the heart of the aging professor or Liza Minelli's body poured into a little black number as she crosses a gorgeous pair of legs in a Cabaret in downtown Berlin? Or maybe you associate our country with the life of King Ludwig the II of Bavaria - just think of what a snappy dresser he was?

But then, Germany always had a tradition of dressing up - if you have visited Cologne during the Carnival season, you know what we're talking about. Here the locals see nothing strange in gentlemen - straight or gay - dressing up as stout and pouting ladies. In fact, this is positively encouraged and the more outrageous the outfit the more admired you are. Or what about the traditional Bavarian leather shorts as much favoured for their incredible practical design as their ability to show off a man's attributes to their best advantage (OK, apart from really hairy knees, that is).

Equally popular in Germany - and almost a tradition - is taking your clothes off. We just love our spa treatments and have been experimenting with H2O ever since bathhouses were established in the Middle Ages. Here, rowdy crowds would meet once a month and everybody would scrub each other's backs - wether they needed it or not. In these establishments, the "entertainment" was an optional extra - along with the choice titbits of food and quantities of malt beverages being served. Admittedly, the town's authorities eventually curtailed the more extravagant outpourings but recently, bathhouses have made a welcome comeback.