Toiletten (they aren't called bathrooms here, that's only for bathing) are different here. And let me start with what's good about different.
Public toilets are immaculate!!! You typically have to pay to use one (50 cents or so, collected by a nice woman holding a little plate or else a machine). But so worth it, because they're sparkling clean and smell nice. And if for some reason they don't meet your cleanliness requirements, there is always a dispenser of cleaning solution located on the wall, so you can freshen it up a bit if you want to.
But, there is another side to public toilets for men - public urinals. They are everywhere around the city. And totally exposed. Yup - that's a urinal in the middle of the street, next to the canal.
The more modern ones are circular so they can be used by several men at once - see this one right in a square? And men just saunter right up and use them. I find this really, really odd. But it's totally accepted here.
And Dutch toilets are also a bit unusual (At least the older ones - new ones seem to be following a style like we have in the US).
You see, they have a flat shelf area at the bottom of the bowl. And well, how do I put this delicately, that shelf holds solids, uncovered by water. Why? I have no idea. But it does present a cleaning challenge. Which is probably why every Dutch bathroom has a toilet brush next to it, as you see here.
And finally, the typical home
toilet is a tiny, tiny room. Once you get in there and close the door, you realize that it's tough to do what you need to. Sitting on the toilet is similar to squeezing into an airline economy seat - your knees will often be right against the wall in front of you. This means the sinks are also tiny, sometimes it seems like you can only wash one hand at a time. And only with cold water - the Dutch are thrifty and see no need for hot water in the toilet!
I know none of this stuff is likely to show up in a guidebook about the Netherlands. And don't get me started on the new trend in other European countries that involve no toilet seat at all :-) In that case, I'll take the Dutch models!
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