On your period in Europe - Especially if in Amsterdam

Paying for public restrooms is very common in Europe. Always keep some coins available. You can always stop at a cafe/Starbucks/McDonalds, order a drink or snack, and use the facilities.

Totally. I just wanted to share a tip that I will be using in the future for travel! It’s annoying enough to have to worry about paying for a bathroom, let alone worrying about your period. I don’t know how much people feel comfortable with period underwear or even know about it as an option, so I thought I’d share. The recent brand I purchased is Saalt and the other is Thinx.

Paying for public restrooms is very common in Europe. Always keep some
coins available. You can always stop at a cafe/Starbucks/McDonalds,
order a drink or snack, and use the facilities.

Ditto. It's just the way things are done. To be fair, the same issue exists here in the US. City shops and restaurants often have "Restrooms for customers only" or "No public restrooms" signs in their windows, and hotels have started requiring a room key to open doors to their lobby bathrooms or putting them in out-of-the-way places purposely difficult to find, mostly to make them unavailable to the street community. Some require a code that's only provided when you've made a purchase. It's really tough on folks with very recently potty-trained wee ones in tow, or medical issues requiring RIGHT NOW access to facilities.

As one that occasionally needs a restroom, right now, I've appreciated the kindness that some have extended. I can think of a few restaurants that I dashed into, that were kind when my distress was "obvious".

When I was in New Orleans with my dad, restaurants and hotels were always willing to let him use the restrooms, when he needed something short notice. I remember the ones that were helpful and occasionally will frequent them when we're in the city.

There was one city or maybe the country (either in Munich or Prague???) in which all restaurants and bars that served alcohol must allow everyone, patrons or not to use the restroom. I believe I was told it was a response to public urination. That would have been more than 10 years ago.

I still remember almost 30 years ago when I was attending the Ceremony of the Keys in London at the Tower of London. It began at 9:30 pm and I had come from a London Walk called Hidden Pubs of Olde London Town. I'd had several beers and was rushing to get to the Tower, so I didn't have time to stop and pee. By the time I got to the Tower of London, I was in severe distress. One of the Yeoman Warders took pity on me and let me into his own apartment so I could use the toilet. I have never forgotten that kindness.

I was recently sent this article (thanks, Carrie!) regarding free public restrooms in Copenhagen.

Up until 2011 there was a fee of DKK 2 to use them.

However, during the 2011 budget discussion, one of the female members of the city council voiced an opposition to the fee, claiming that women’s equal rights were violated as men could go for free to one of the seven outdoor municipal pissoirs still in use.

https://www.yourdanishlife.dk/when-you-have-to-go-you-have-to-go-but-where-are-they/

City shops and restaurants often have "Restrooms for customers only" or "No public restrooms" signs in their windows, and hotels have started requiring a room key to open doors to their lobby bathrooms

Narcan is now stocked in unlocked public university restrooms (we have it in 8 restrooms on 4 floors) and public library restrooms in Chicago and other big cities as a response to the many incidents of people found in the stalls overdosed on fentanyl or opioids.

So I can see why a private small for profit business would want to put tighter control on access to restrooms.

Oh, the joys of being a man.

And you don't have to wait in line for 10 minutes to use the washroom during intermission at the theatre.

Hi Karina, I sent you a private message. Come to the Portland RS travel group this Saturday.

Karina, I feel your pain. Last year, my husband and I were having a grand time on a trip, and we decided to extend it by three days. (In fact, we were visiting the Netherlands but not Amsterdam.) This trip extension meant my period would arrive before we got back home. Since I was unprepared, I had to make my feminine purchases at a Dutch shop. Also, I encountered a few museum bathrooms with free products. What I used wasn't my normal stuff, but it did the job. Thanks for the tip about the period underwear.

As for the bathroom situation in Europe, it can definitely be rough, especially in parks and natural areas. At times like those, I envy my husband. When he wants to go, it's so much faster and easier. I always carry a pack of tissues just in case there's no paper (or no toilet). When nature calls, you can't say no.

I actually do not mind paying for a bathroom in Europe. That almost always means that they are clean and stocked with paper and soap. To be able to wander a city and know that I can duck into many metro or rail stations and use a bathroom, is something that I haven't experienced here at home. I am at the age where I have to forego almost all caffeine when I travel or I'll be looking for a bathroom all day, and that's a bummer. And the old 'order a cup of coffee so you can use the bathroom' idea doesn't work for me, obviously. So if there are plentiful bathrooms, I do not mind paying to use them at all.

I had a very stressful half hour in Paris once where I happened upon an available sanisette just in the nick of time. Normally those unmanned self cleaning toilets are not my favorite - in Berlin once I came across some Polizei trying to free someone from one where the door wouldn't open - but I was extremely grateful for it in the moment.

Oh, the joys of being a man.

And you don't have to wait in line for 10 minutes to use the washroom
during intermission at the theatre.

So true. It's much harder for my wife than for me. I have the normal prostate issues of advancing male middle age, but in most places it's easy enough for a male to find a un-obnoxious stealth pee in an emergency. Wife and daughter unfortunately tougher sledding.

Paying for a public bathroom is pretty normal in other countries. I know in Mexico every Roa stop and in many attractions, you have to pay in order to get into the bathroom. Always take coins with you everywhere. I usually try to buy something at the supermarket or cafe with cash in order to get coins.

For emergency use at least:

https://www.backpacker.com/gear-reviews/the-complete-guide-to-female-urination-devices/