Stadtbad Charlottenburg, Alte Halle

There is a sign at the entrance to the pool saying that it is unsuitable for sportive [lap and competitive] swimmers. This is correct. It is good, however, if you are interested in Kaiser Wilhelm's architecture, as it is quite beautiful.

This Prussian Art Noveau building (built between 1896 and 1898) is remarkable in that it survived the combined efforts of the USAF and the RAF to alter Berlin’s landscape. It’s worth a visit if you’re interested in swimming pool architecture and design. Otherwise, it’s perhaps best to give it a miss and go to the modern Neue Halle next door.

On entering the pool hall, present your bar coded admission ticket to the reader on the right. The pool is flanked by gender-specific locker rooms: lockers require a €1 coin returnable deposit. The customary practice is for users to shower and wash with soap before entering the pool.

The steel-lined pool is both unlaned and unstriped. A rope across the width of the pool delineates the shallow end and acts as the first obstacle for lap swimmers. Diving under it will enable you to encounter the second obstacle – a shallow end that is about two feet (60cm) deep at its shallowest. My first length caused the lifeguards much amusement as my hands hit the floor of the pool. I managed 1,000 metres thereafter by the process of swimming freestyle from the deep end to the rope and breaststroke from the rope to the shallow end. Finally, the third obstacle. The water temperature was 31°C. (88ºF.) – far too hot for a serious swim. Determined to have one, I got out after 500 metres to refresh myself under a cold shower before returning to complete my target. There were only four other people in the pool, so there was nothing by way of competition for water space.

Unlike the previous reviewer, I did not find the attendants rude: they appeared to me to be both friendly and engaging.

The pool has complicated opening hours, with certain time blocks set aside for different groups and activities[:] nude swimming, elderly, women, the handicapped, gay fathers and their children... has the rudest pool attendants in Berlin.