Just back from Europe, and things do not...why are public bathrooms so disgusting. And am talking at very decent restaurants, stores and airports. Is it trendy for Europeans to go into dirty , smelly bathrooms.

I haven't necessarily noticed this myself. Sure in certain places, but I find that there are discrepancies worldwide, not just in Europe.

Along the same line, did you get everything worked out with your "vowels movement" situation?

Forgive me but to where precisely are you referring? 'Europe' is not one homogenised place/continent, all countries are very discinct from each other....

Hmmmmm,

I found that most of the places we went to in Italy and France had very clean toilets.

There was the occasional problem, but much less often than in the US.

I agree with ira and Statia, I haven't noticed this problem myself, in the places I've been.
In fact, I found bathrooms in very public areas like parks and airports to be much more pleasant than similar facilities in the US.

And actually I've found the bathrooms in train stations in Madrid, Seville, Amsterdam, Paris and other cities much cleaner than the frightening ones at Penn Station NYC or Union Station in DC.

I just posted this a little earlier - if you'll be in London and have an iPod you're in luck

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...amp;dirtyBit=1

I can speak to Switzerland last month and the bathroom at the airport, train stations, on trains, restaurants, cafes, even public pools were all spotless. Only once came across a questionable one, a public coin-op off the town square during a busy festival day.

I have been fortunate enough to visit every continent in the world except Antarctica. I have NOT found public toilets in Europe to be worse than anywhere else. I think everywhere we travel, we will come across at least one nasty public toilet, and I have seen my share of those in the US. And to answer your question, no I do not believe it is trendy for Europeans to go into dirty, smelly bathrooms.

We were amazed at the spotless condition of the public restrooms we found in Austria and Germany. Even a little robotic arm on a toilet in Germany that sprayed and wiped the toilet seat after each use! Europe is a big place, you need to specify which cities you're referring to.

Hey, don't knock it. They look pretty good when compared to an outhouse.

I didn't go into that many public bathrooms in Paris, but two I did very briefly visit (at a Montmartre bar and at Sainte-Chappelle) had no toilet paper. I can't recall that happening in a US or Canadian bathroom anytime in the last 10 years or so. Starbucks bathrooms are fine, though, if you need them, or the public ones that cost 40 Euro cents are also fine.

WillTravel, I used a restroom in the auto shop just 2 days ago where there was no paper. Luckily I always carry a reserve supply. Even at home I am prepared for such emergencies.

That's one of the reasons I carry candy bars around. The wrappers can come in handy in a pinch.

LOL!! I never thought of that, Degas. Maybe I'll throw out my package of Kleenex and keep a Snickers in my purse instead. Or is there a candy wrapper that works better?

Butterfingers seem to grip better.

You all must frequent much classier places than I! I've seen some pretty disgusting restrooms in the US. Even Starbucks.

Interesting...my observation is that of all the bathrooms I've gone to in Italy and the UK, they were all impecable, except for 1. And trust me, I go to a to a lot of bathrooms. In fact, last year, the first dirty bathroom I saw in two weeks is when I went to the bathroom at the Newark airport near the customs area.

It would be interesting to know which countries you visited and which cities?

Candy wrappers? Ouch!

I know just what you mean. I stopped in a Home Depot restroom in Florida the other day and it was smelly and disgusting, so the same thing is true here. All US restrooms are disgusting and dirty.

Does the term "generality" mean anything here?