Above water – water boxes with jinghis khan

The marble plate under legs and buttocks is moderately hot, the column made of mosaic stone in the back is pleasantly cool. I cream my face and close my eyes. Then he pops up, the new catchy tune: American Pope.

Three years ago I survived my herniated disc, spa and outpatient rehabilitation when I ended up here – in mine Gymwhich seems to have arisen to a dream: it has a pool along with sports train, a separate women’s sauna steam bath area and offers aqua courses six days a week. As a dessert, you can linger from the roof terrace into the surrounding offices at the Gendarmenmarkt or the pigeons, which nest under the wooden base ceiling, listen to the cuff.

Over water

private

Anne Hahn is the author of novels and non -fiction and swims through the waters of the world for »ND«.

First the work. First of all, I served with yoga, treadmill and terrible devices until after a few weeks I agreed with myself that Aqua courses fit me best. The course leaders offer two to three of them in the morning, some start eight, others well after nine. Now I do it in time at the beginning of the week and often on Fridays around ten o’clock. We are between ten and twenty, mostly female club members registered via the app, average age 50 years.

Anyone guiding them brings music. We are ready in two rows in the shoulder -high water while swimming behind us on the sports train. The music program is as idiosyncratic as the style of the teacher: from hit music to Zumba, Neue Deutsche Welle and Techno (except brass music and punk) is represented. Then it starts, the coaches gymnastics, we do it. After warming up with pasta or dumbbells.

Some coaches practice complex choreographies with us or twice this, three times that, turn, jump, dance through half the pelvis. With such processes, I like to get tangled up, especially if the arms are supposed to do something different from the legs. It is easier if we quickly box under water with foam dumbbells and jog on the spot. If the jagged trainer is still Dschinghis Khan runs and cheered us on with small HU- and HA calls, we beat the water like obsessed. I run, box and dream. I succeed in mentally long-searched beginnings of text, I come up with a postponed email response or the nightmare that has already been lost last night.

We swing the pasta, plow the water, press the dumbbells – and are happy. Sometimes laughter breaks out, for example when we are supposed to climb the handles of the dumbbells and waddle around on it, or don’t obey the pasta and shoot out of the water. With the final eighth painting with my feet, I grab my swimming glasses on the edge of the pool. Inhale and exhale again, widen chest, clap and end. I dive over the sports track and swim for half an hour. The momentum of my ladies is then through, I often have a sauna and steam bath for myself. Hang up my thoughts until he caught me – the new catchy tune from the course.