{"id":13162,"date":"2021-07-21T23:00:11","date_gmt":"2021-07-21T23:00:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/?p=13162"},"modified":"2021-07-21T19:50:31","modified_gmt":"2021-07-21T19:50:31","slug":"open-water-swimming-german-vocabulary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/open-water-swimming-german-vocabulary\/","title":{"rendered":"Open Water Swimming: German Vocabulary"},"content":{"rendered":"

Guten Tag! Last week, we explored some swimming vocabulary, including the names of different areas of a swimming pool, and types of swimming (breast stroke, front crawl, etc.). This week, we\u2019re taking it outdoors and exploring Freiwasserschwimmen<\/strong> (open water swimming) and the famous Wim Hof Method that involves Eisbaden<\/strong> (ice bathing)!<\/p>\n

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Photo by Tsunami Green<\/a> on Unsplash<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

Wer ist Wim Hof? (Who is Wim Hof?)<\/h2>\n

Affectionately known as The Iceman, Wim Hof is an extreme athlete (der Extremsportler<\/strong>) from the Netherlands (die Niederlande<\/strong>). He holds several world records for swimming under ice and running barefoot half marathons in the snow, and is the founder of the Wim Hof Method \u2013 a combination of breathing techniques (die Atemtechnik<\/strong>), cold water immersion, and meditation, designed to strengthen the human immune system (das Immunsystem<\/strong>). Wim Hof is also famous for having climbed Mount Kilimanjaro (der Kilimandscharo<\/strong>) wearing nothing but shoes and a pair of shorts.<\/p>\n

Perhaps as as result of the increased focus on immune system health, Wim Hof and his methods have grown in popularity over the past few years, with many people experimenting with his breathing techniques, trying out ice baths, or simply showering cold (kalt duschen<\/strong>) for 30 seconds at the end of their hot shower!<\/p>\n

Das Freiwasserschwimmen \u2013 Open water swimming<\/h2>\n
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Photo by K B<\/a> on Unsplash<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

While ice baths are something I have yet to pluck up the courage (der Mut<\/strong>) to do, I do like a bit of open water swimming (das<\/strong> Freiwasserschwimmen<\/strong>), especially when the water is very cold (sehr kalt<\/strong>)! There is something very refreshing (erfrischend<\/strong>) about this, and while there is an initial shock from the temperature (die Temperatur<\/strong>), you do feel amazing once you\u2019re in the water!<\/p>\n

While we\u2019re here, let\u2019s clear up some of the terms surrounding Freiwasserschwimmen<\/strong><\/em>, as it goes by several names in German:<\/p>\n

das Freiwasserschwimmen<\/strong> \u2013 Open water swimming
\ndas Kaltwasserschwimmen<\/strong> \u2013 Cold water swimming
\ndas Eisschwimmen<\/strong> \u2013 Ice swimming
\ndas Winterschwimmen<\/strong> \u2013 Winter swimming<\/p>\n

Note that all the terms above involve the word schwimmen<\/strong> (swimming). Das Eisbaden<\/strong> (ice bathing) and das Winterbaden<\/strong> (winter bathing), on the other hand, are describing \u2018taking a dip\u2019, rather than actually swimming. This is what Wim Hof does when he immerses himself in an ice bath (das Eisbad<\/strong>).<\/p>\n

The most obvious place to do any of the above activities is in the sea (das Meer<\/strong>). However, you could also partake in Freiwasserschwimmen\/baden in a lake (der See<\/strong>), river (der Fluss<\/strong>), or stream (der Bach<\/strong>).<\/p>\n

Check out this video of a man talking about, and then experiencing, an ice bath in a lake (in German). As a bonus, see if you can recognise any of the vocabulary from this post in it:<\/p>\n