New Year's swimming

150 Viennese in the ice-cold water: “Makes for a good mood”

These two swimmers are really having fun.(Bild: Mario Urbantschitsch)

At the Alte Donau boathouse, 150 intrepid swimmers ventured into the half-frozen water. Some came for the first time and on a spontaneous whim. No one regretted it. 

Outside temperature two degrees below zero, water temperature 2.7 degrees. Nevertheless, around 150 Viennese gathered at the boathouse on the Old Danube for the New Year's swim in the late morning of January 1st.

 There is a thin layer of ice over the water, some of which has to be chopped up first. Then it starts. In swimming trunks and bikinis, the participants descend from the jetty in groups. Under the supervision of the water rescue team and under the guidance of Stefan Kübler. "Be careful with your hands," the "ice bathing pro" calls out to the newcomers. "And breathe deeply."

Preparations on the jetty. The water rescue team keeps a watchful eye.(Bild: Mario Urbantschitsch)

Because it's off into the ice-cold water.(Bild: Mario Urbantschitsch)

The thermometer shows a water temperature of 2.7 degrees(Bild: Mario Urbantschitsch)

Important: Keep your hands out of the water. And headgear is an advantage.(Bild: Mario Urbantschitsch)

Ice bathing pro Stefan Kübler leads the groups. And likes to go into the water himself.(Bild: Mario Urbantschitsch)

"Why" echoes back? "So that the body can achieve the effect better," says Kübler, who trains ice bathing with volunteers every Saturday and Sunday (12.30 pm) at the U6 Alte Donau. Free of charge.

One to two minutes in the water
Most people want to get in and out for a short time. One minute is very good, two is great. Bernadette, Johanna and Dominik are beginners and spontaneously decided to come the day before. Their first thought: fear. After the bath, they are happy. "All the warmth collects in your stomach, only your toes are cold," say the newbies.

Ice bathing strengthens the immune system and gets the circulation going, says coach Kübler. And it's "really good for the mood". "No one has ever come out of the water grumpy," says the cold weather pro.

There was a little reward on top: the Querfeld family invited the ice swimmers to warm up afterwards with hot tea, punch or sparkling wine in the boathouse.