Currently on the RS Scandinavia tour, and tiny bathroom sinks seem to be a thing here. Plus, most have had the kind of stopper that is a fairly large dome that gets pressed to close then pressed again to open, and doesn't actually close fully.
I usually only sink wash underwear, and do a laundromat wash halfway, but I can't imagine even trying to wash more. I don't recall sinks this small in other parts of Europe.
I don't know where you are staying, but older bathrooms can have small sinks. It varies. And neither do I know what you consider a "not tiny" sink.
I've been in a few near-luxury hotels lately, including one in Iceland, where the newest thing in bathroom sinks is a big, surface-mounted rectangle, but only 2.5" to 3" deep. That would be tough to wash in, even though I (force of habit rather than need) travel with a flat rubber sink stopper. I've seen similar sinks for sale at Home Depot in the US.
I’ve not done that trip but after one of my first tours realized washing in the sink was not going to actually work. I started traveling with a 2Gal ziplock bag that I fill with squirts of shampoo or shower gel and water for my laundry. This way I can also lift the bag and soaking clothes into the shower/tub while I go to dinner.
There have been times in a single room that I’ve had a tiny sink….small enough that I didn’t feel I had enough room to wash my face!!
BTW I reinforce my laundry bag with mailing tape and learned that using a name brand was WAY better than a Dollar Store brand!!
This is NOT helpful for your current trip! Sorry!
I use one of these:
https://seatosummit.com/products/ultra-sil-dry-bag?variant=42126660206765
8 litre size. It weighs less than an ounce empty and had been used lots in the past five years. It rolls up small and is stored aganst the side of my bag.
I got mine in Ireland when my ziploc bags let me down. See if there is a sporting goods store near anywhere you will be.
A dry bag is supposed to keep water out but It also keeps water in.
OR
find a supermarket and look for large ziploc style bags.
We stayed primarily in Radisson Blu properties - Oslo, Bergen, Copenhagen. No problem with sinks. Heated towel racks in several locations for quick drying.
Our pattern for all washing out on trips is to take stuff into the showers (including every item) and wash them out when we are washing us out. This avoids the "small sink" problem.
I'm the type of traveler who likes doing laundry at a laundromat (or service) partway through my tour because my clothes just feel, smell, and look cleaner than when I wash items in the sink. I took the Scandinavia tour this past May/June and knew that doing laundry partway through would be a challenge based on previous forum posts. There is a laundromat on Aero, but apparently, it takes hours and hours to dry your clothes there. I skipped that opportunity and held out until Oslo, where I visited Clean Kokos (Skovveien 6, 0257), a small laundromat where all the foreigners come to do their laundry. You download the Miele appWash app and that’s how you pay. It was about a 20-minute walk from the hotel, but in a lovely neighborhood with lots of cafes and small shops. Be sure to read the Google reviews on the Clean Kokos before you go so you understand how the app works (and what to do if it doesn't).
There's another thread about laundry right now
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/packing/laundry-fd05c295-20ba-4cdc-818f-a2a516d90dc2
I agree with Paul, plus I stomp on whatever I’m washing.
We always pack one of these stoppers w/ our Rick Steve's clothes line. Don't often use it, but it works great when needed.
I’ve had some “airplane sinks” in hotels that were impossible, so I just washed them in the shower.
On our Mediterranean cruise, our cabin sink was the size of a large soup bowl which made sink-washing impossible. At the end of a hot day, I jumped in the shower with my clothes, stripped, washed and rinsed everything. I hang dried. Everything was kept fresh and clean. My shirts and underwear are quick dry materials. My socks are cotton; a thirty second blast with a hair dryer in the morning render them warm and crispy.
I started bringing along a flat rubber stopper on every trip after my first one. I don't always use it but it takes up very little space and it's there if I need it.
I still wash undies in the sink with the stopper, but for other clothes I do what others are suggesting, which is to wash them in the bathtub or shower, which works very well.
I wear my clothes into the shower and wash that way. I soap up, take my clothes off, then wash me.
This method also guarantees that I always have clean clothes.
I’m also a fan of washing me and all my stuff all at once in the shower, hand wringing and then rolling the wet clothes in the bath mat or extra towel and stomping on that. Hanging to dry wherever I can. My stuff has always dried overnight-so far.
