There goes my vacation to Switzerland…..Damn the luck!
Voters in the heart of the Swiss Alps on Sunday passed legislation banning naked hiking after dozens of mostly German nudists started rambling through their picturesque region.
By a show of hands citizens of the tiny canton (state) of Appenzell Inner Rhodes voted overwhelmingly at their traditional open-air annual assembly to impose a 200 Swiss franc ($176) fine on violators.
Only a scattering of people on Sunday opposed the ban on the back-to-nature activity that took off last autumn when naked hikers — primarily Germans — started showing up in eastern Switzerland.
German Web sites promoting the activity describe it as “a special experience of nature, free and healthy” and said nude walking in the Alps has roots in antiquity.
The verdant Appenzell region has been regarded as a favorite, with trails the nudists regarded as off the beaten path.
The German sites also promote walks in France and in regions of Germany, where public nudity has roots going back to the 18th century through a movement that has come to be called “Free Body Culture.” Nudism in more conservative areas of Switzerland is less common.
A similar legal move is expected in neighboring Appenzell Outer Rhodes. The nationalist Swiss People’s Party has advised the cantonal parliament it is preparing legislation against “this shameless behavior.”
What kind of drugs do you have to be on to want to go hiking in the buff?!?! I can’t even go hiking in shorts because of all of the scratches and bugs. Having Mr. Happy exposed to that is just unthinkable.
LOL–they did say that it was mostly Germans..I question their sanity.