Today I went to Strandbad Wannsee to check out the shape of nudism in the west of Berlin. I found it looks a little healthier there than at Standbad Muggelsee in the east. The nudist beach at Wannsee is to one end of the development, with screens erected between it and the main bathing area. The nudists themselves are mostly middle-aged, but in better shape than those found on the east side of Berlin – they are slimmer, sport fewer tattoos and seem more interested in sunbathing than standing ankle deep in the water taking photos of each other. On the other side of the fence to the nudist beach are many young people and families with small children. Most seem to treat a visit to Wannsee as an event, a chance to hang out with thousands of others on the biggest inland beach in Europe. The nudists showed less interest in making a spectacle of themselves than the hordes in swimming costumes, but they must know that they’ll be seen by more people at Wannsee than almost anywhere else they might choose to get their kit off. Those going to Wannsee on the whole aren’t there for the swimming – the water is full of algae and besides you have to walk out a long way from the beach before it becomes deep enough to do anything other than paddle. But if you don’t care about swimming and wanna get buck naked in front a bunch of your fellow groovers, then Strandbad Wannsee has it all!