Your first ice bath in Berlin

You do not need any training plan to join us. Cold showers can help you get used to the discomfort, but nobody expects you to have taken them before your first dip, and all you really need is to be healthy and willing to try. If you have heart disease or epilepsy, or if you are pregnant, please talk to a doctor first, since we are no medical service.

The minimum is a towel and something waterproof to sit on, for which a plastic bag works fine. Most people also bring a swimsuit and a warm hat, along with dry clothes in a bag and their own tea. A yoga mat or picnic blanket makes sitting on the cold ground far more pleasant, and if the shore is stony you will be glad to have neoprene socks or swim shoes, while a hot water bottle helps a lot afterwards. If you like, you can also bring a donation for the Kältehilfe. In hard frost some of the experienced dippers bring tools to open the ice, and please never break ice with your bare skin.

Please arrive at 10:00 and not much earlier, because waiting on the shore is the coldest part of the morning. Around 10:05 the dip leader gives a short introduction and safety briefing for everyone who is new, and at 10:10 we start the seated breathwork. At about 10:20 we undress and share a loud scream before going into the water together. You stay in as long as you like, since nobody times anyone and it is no competition, and we ask everyone to stay quiet while others are still in the water. Afterwards we get into dry clothes and talk over tea.

In the water you may feel surprisingly fine, but a few minutes after you get out the cold can hit you all at once. This happens to beginners and experienced dippers alike, which is why warm layers and a hot drink matter more after the dip than during it. If you feel unwell, please tell the dip leader.