Randy Rub-a-Dub-Dub In Euroland, Part 3: Eastern Promises
A year ago I did two surveys of gay bath houses in various western European cities. Now you’ll be thrilled to learn that in the less than two decades since the fall of the Iron Curtain, many of our bent brethren in Central and Eastern Europe have been busily building their sodomitic scenes with a respectable smattering of sex palaces. Nothing that I know of yet in countries like Ukraine, Serbia, Romania, and Lithuania, and Bulgaria — but Czech out the 11 below!
Bratislava, Slovakia For years the Slovaks were lagging in the sex club department, but since fall 2006 the small but spiffy Club Sauna Expert has been steaming away in their capital city, just over the Danube from Vienna. Tuesdays and Thursday “partner days” especially worth trying, since more boys pop in to take advantage of the discount for two dudes entering together. (By the way, the Czech phrases in The Gay Translator should work just dandy here, ano? Slovak’s very similar.)
Budapest, Hungary One of Eastern/Central Europe’s homo hotspots, it probably has the most must-see bath houses of all, because apart from a couple of what you and I think of as “gay saunas,” what blows you away here are the amazing traditional old bath houses that can get pretty cruisy (and even a spot o’ “action,” if you’re discreet). The Gellért is an Art Nouveau classic, while Turkish baths like Király and Rudas (see pic above) are even more amazingly atmospheric, like something out of the Arabian nights (get pics and info in English at SpasBudapest.com). As for out-and-out sex baths, two-year-old Magnum is big and busy, while Sauna 69 is pretty roomy, too, and a fave with younger guys. You’re sure to find Attila the honey here…
Cracow, Poland The most lovely and historic city in Poland (also spelled Krakow) may also be one of its most conservative (it spawned Pope John Paul II and the country’s Catholic Church is based here). But even so, you can get your rocks off at the three-floor Spartakus, right smack across from the famous Wawel Castle. It’s actually been around since way back in 1990, and has held up pretty well. You can even sun your buns on a deck with a fetching Old City view!
Lubljiana, Slovenia In this picturesque little alpine capital, once part of Yugoslavia, it’s time to hit the Gymnasium. Though on three floors, it isn’t huge (just 40 lockers, for example), but it is cute, clean, and the only game in town! Keep in mind it also closes on the early side – 10 or 11 pm.
Moscow, Russia Beefcake Vlad Putin and his thugs may be pretty anti-goluboi, but you can’t exactly say Moscow does not believe in queers; the scene’s booming, including a handful of banyi, several of them pretty elaborate Tops (so to speak) are Mayakovka and Voda (with a pool and everything); for a change of pace, the smaller but fetching Samovolka might also be worth a stop.
Prague, Czech Republic Magical Praha was considered teplá (gay) – relatively speaking, of course — even back during Communist times, but these days it’s positively flaming, with more than a dozen spots to exercise your equipment. Some of those are sex shops, of course, but let’s start with the trio of baths. Biggest , best and most central, with a decade under its, er, towel, is Babylonia (above), tucked down a side street right downtown conveniently near Wenceslas Square and Old Town Square. There are also a couple of small ones a little more off the beaten path, Sauna Marco and Club David (the latter a cozy little two-story spot that used to be a bar of the same name when I lived here). There seem to be as many sex clubs hereabouts; they include the granddaddy of the scene, Drake’s, as well as Alcatraz (under a gay bar, a little fetishy) and several others.
Riga, Latvia A tiny country it may be, but it’s got an increasingly hip, fun capital with a small but reasonably diverse gay scene including two bath houses: Varaviksne (Alfreda Kalnina iela 4. First gay sauna, connected with XXL club and Hotel Centrum. www.gayhotel.lv) and XDREAM Vlub Artilerijas iela 34. Spacious complex consisting of hotel upstairs, sauna downstairs, bar.
St. Petersburg, Russia The banya is a major part of traditional Russian culture, so in this elegant city of the czars regular baths like Yamskiye, Baltiskiye, and Nyevskiye can be cruisy, but it’s kind of AYOR. The best and most surefire option is three-year old 158-B, a bit off the beaten path away from the city center. Some really cool touches here, too, like a pool area tarted up to look like a cave, and a bar area with a log-dacha (cabin) kinda vibe.
Tallinn, Estonia Another tiny Baltic bombshell, Estonia’s got a cool capital with a fairytale Old Town and lots – albeit fairly low-key — of places for fairies to hang out, especially considering its size. The main bath house here, in business since ’ 01, is Club 69, not enormous (it holds around 40) but popular with locals and tourists alike (lots of Scandinavians, naturally — this town is practically in Finland’s back yard). You might also give the Ring Club, a bar/sex club just outside city center, a whirl.
Warsaw, Poland If you’re looking for some Poles (ahem) galore in this country’s capital, you’ve got a threesome to choose from. Probably the biggest and most elaborate (which ain’t saying too much) is Fantom, in business since ’ 94. You might also consider trying the also small Galla and Favola.
Zagreb, Croatia Though not as tourist-popular as Dubrovnik and Split, I can tell you from experience that the country’s capital is a pretty nice city to visit, and certainly with more to do gaywise. That includes two smallish but clean and fetching saunas, Bumerang and David-Aquateam.