On the way to Wannsee: What two naked men's torsos triggered in me

When we finally got going, because for a brief moment it was truly summer , we drove to Lake Wannsee. The sun was shining, yes, it really was shining. We couldn't believe it and rubbed our eyes. The car windows were rolled down, the breeze blew warmly across our faces. The feeling of freedom that summer and sunshine bring washed over us.

We drove to the lake, which, as we later discovered, was a green mess, not one to swim in. But otherwise, the Wannsee lido was, of course, the absolute best beach and wellness spot near the city, an oasis, the "Bathtub of the Berliners" since 1907 – and still so incredibly charming. Where you can experience Baltic Sea sensations when money and gas don't stretch to the actual beach. But what I want to tell you happened beforehand anyway, during the drive.

As I turned toward Heerstrasse, my gaze fell upon a motorcyclist wearing a helmet but little else. The wind blew across his upper body. And his body was normal, not ideal. I had to laugh; I liked his belly and the contentment he radiated.

Just a few moments later, again in the rearview mirror, I saw another naked man's torso, this time a driver who was probably just too warm, or maybe just really enjoyed the fact that the sun was shining. He was more of the thin type, with shaggy hair (including on his chest). Not the kind who shows off his body because he works so hard on it in his free time and wants to proudly show off his muscles. On the contrary, both men's torsos had an innocence about them; they reminded me of hot days in the early 80s, when almost no one went to the gym. Or even further back, to times when everyone walked around the planet without many clothes.

Today, nudity is a hotly contested concept. Many progressive women, especially in Berlin, barely cover their upper bodies as a self-determined feminist gesture. And they're doing so again at parades like the Pride. That's wonderful. But many also perceive nudity as aggressive, which is understandable. The two men's upper bodies in traffic catapulted me back to another time, when a body was simply a body that could sometimes use some ventilation because it was simply too hot.