Euro Bathrooms - TravelPUNK Backpacker College Student Budget Travel Message Boards!

scotters · 08-18-2005, 11:56 PM

So I've heard all about the strange and bizarre bathrooms in Europe. Everything from a hole in the ground to the lady who gives you your change while you're taking a wiz.

And then there's the wonderful sharing of the facilities in hostels.

This, I think, is going to be my least favorite discovery of Europe. What tips do the experienced travellers have? Should I bring my own T/P? What time of the morning (or evening) is the best time to take a shower in the hostel? What if I have to go in the middle of BFE, anyone there care if I water their trees? Just looking for overall advise on this subject.

Thanks!

**omisan** · 08-19-2005, 12:50 AM

It really all depends on where you're going in Europe.

For instance, in France, many of the bars/clubs in older neighborhoods will only have one bathroom, so they're unisex. It can be a bit disconcerting for some people, especially when it's a "Turkish Toilet" - basically a basin in the ground with skidpads on either side. They can also be used as urinals. Another thing you might run into in France is the seat-less basin, where if you're a girl or going #2, you have to hover over the thing since it's so wide.

That's about as different as the toilets themselves get...

One thing that's unsettling for a lot of Americans is the lack of ass gaskets. If that sort of thing bothers you, be prepared to spend some time laying TP on the seat. Holland is one notable exception, and you'll notice this bigtime at the airport in Amsterdam: they have these little sanitary wipe dispensers to clean off the public toilet seats. Ooh! They have public pissers on street corners, as well.

Another caveat is the lack of paper towels in some places. Remember those really old-school roller-towel-thingamajigs that recycle the same roll of dishtowel over and over? You'll see a lot of those in less modern facilities. While they're far better for the environment, you might want to consider carrying some Purel hand sanitizer with you.

Speaking of which, it's good to keep one of those pocket-packs of baby wipes/wetnaps in your daypack, and you can pick up portable packets of toilet paper at any camping supplies place - very handy in a pinch.

If you do have to pee in BFE, please remember to do so at least 100 feet away from any water source. While urine is sterile, it's still bad for animals in the water. Otherwise, you'll see people dropping trou and taking a leak all over the countryside

All that stuff may seem trivial to some or TMI for others, but believe me, as someone w/ a phobia of most public facilities, knowing how to approach them can make a trip soooo much easier. Enjoy!!

Arthur · 08-19-2005, 07:55 AM

I'd say omisan said almost everything except be prepaird to pay for public restrooms

**beergal** · 08-19-2005, 08:15 AM

yeah you even have to pay in paddington train station!

**omisan** · 08-19-2005, 09:48 AM

Ohhh yeah - forgot about that one! There are a LOT of pay bathrooms. And what sucks is the ones at Paddington aren't open at all hours, even if the station is. (Believe me, I've tried to go in there after a night out hoping like hell to find a toilet, and ended up having to jump the turnstyles, then getting talked to by the cops...)

And then you get hosed when you find out you don't have the right denomination of coin(s) for the toilet...

That's not so bad in France, where much of the time, an attendant will take your 50 cents, but it is weird when an old lady with a hunchback is watching you pee, then goes and wipes down the urinal. Then you see her making change for toilet patrons with the same ungloved hand. (Toilet at Versailles, btw.)

In Amsterdam, you're expected to put a few coins in a bin on the way out of bar/restaurant bathrooms. It's never enforced, but there's always karma, and when it comes to toilets, I want nothing to do with bad karma! 'Course, the first time, I thought the little metal bucket on the ground by the bathroom door was an ashtray and I threw a cigarette butt in there... ooops!

**urOZm8** · 08-19-2005, 07:31 PM

I remember my most expensive piss was 0.75e when I got off the train in Venice, man I was so annoyed

ev

**Esterina** · 08-19-2005, 07:51 PM

Another good one is to find out how to flush the toilet. Especially in France : a string hanging down, a button on top or on the side, the regular handle, ...

If you go to Eastern Europe, yes, bring toilet paper along, in case. The more east you travel, the more likely you will find yourself "in trouble" if you forgot to. In the trains, especially !

**worldwidemike** · 08-21-2005, 04:02 AM

I alwys keep one of those minipacks of Kleenex in my pocket when I travel. It also functions as emergency toilet paper...

worldwidemike

**beergal** · 08-21-2005, 04:52 AM

ooh i forgot how bad the trains were in eastern europe and i had to hold my pee in for 10 hours on a trip from Bratislava to Budapest! but then i may just be a

snob

**ajb3000** · 08-22-2005, 10:58 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by beergal1@Aug 21 2005, 03:52 AM
ooh i forgot how bad the trains were in eastern europe and i had to hold my pee in for 10 hours on a trip from Bratislava to Budapest! but then i may just be a* * snob

[snapback]74232[/snapback]

You think that was bad? Check out the toilet I had to use on a national train across Bulgaria. It was an 8 hour journey, and yes that reflection is piss on the floor, and looking down the whole in the middle of the toilet does reveal the tracks wizzing past below.

**urOZm8** · 08-23-2005, 06:42 AM

What I would give to take a leak in such a toilet ajb3000, well not really but that is such a classic pic!

ev

**Esterina** · 08-23-2005, 06:49 AM

It is pretty much the same in Romania. My advice : never EVER wear sandals on a train !

quingoff · 08-31-2005, 01:50 PM

Quote:

Speaking of which, it's good to keep one of those pocket-packs of baby wipes/wetnaps in your daypack, and you can pick up portable packets of toilet paper at any camping supplies place - very handy in a pinch.

Wet Ones! there great

**bluepea** · 08-31-2005, 05:27 PM

I don't have anything to add, except that I was sooo glad to be back with normal toilets. In the Barcelona train station, I ended going through all of the bathrooms in search of TP. Then, a huge lack of soap in most countries and if you got hot water, you were lucky. I am not a fan of less than perfect toilets, but you learn to live with it. When you have to go, you have to go.