Granted, beginning this post about my trip to the former Soviet Union, now the Russian Federation, with photos of...toilets....seems unpromising, but stay with me. Back in the day, oh, about 40 some years ago, I first went to Europe and Greece. Way, way before the Euro, which, while it makes traveling simpler, is not nearly so colorful as drachmas and marks and francs. But back to...toilets...and toilet paper.
European toilets back then tended to be about as clean as those in rural US service stations, those often grimy, smelly places tucked away on the side of the station, where we were lucky if they were kept locked so as to deter the local vagrants. Except for the squat toilets in Greece...but never mind. Toilet paper was another story altogether. It was the texture and absorbency of either wax paper or sand paper. And, in Moscow, it was .... red. Seriously. I was going to bring back a square, but we used it. Probably for the best.
Unfortunately, Russian and Finnish tp isn't much better, though the Finnish version slightly edges out the Russian variety, which might explain why most Russians seem to have a rather sour look on their faces: They need Mr Whipple.
Regardless of the quality of the toilet paper, I did appreciate several of the bathrooms, an appreciation which I will now share with you, my dear readers.
I flew into Helsinki, Finland, and stayed in a Eurohostel, where I shared a bathroom. Helsinki is a very expensive city, and I figured the Eurohostel would be clean, which it was...very. Walking into the outer area triggered a recording of chirping birds and the lights. Although I do wish it had been tiled in blue, it was rather pleasant. Now on to a restaurant in St. Petersburg.
Georgian food is delicious, filling, and relatively inexpensive. The restaurant in St. Petersburg, where we ate twice, had five little toilet rooms, and an outer area with additional sinks. Each little room had both sturdy paper towels and individual cloth towels. I followed another woman in, as, without graphics, I was lost in the Cyrillic alphabet. As you can see, the completely enclosed little room is nicely decorated, and I certainly appreciated the privacy, because, as I left, I encountered a man: a unisex bathroom.
European toilets back then tended to be about as clean as those in rural US service stations, those often grimy, smelly places tucked away on the side of the station, where we were lucky if they were kept locked so as to deter the local vagrants. Except for the squat toilets in Greece...but never mind. Toilet paper was another story altogether. It was the texture and absorbency of either wax paper or sand paper. And, in Moscow, it was .... red. Seriously. I was going to bring back a square, but we used it. Probably for the best.
Unfortunately, Russian and Finnish tp isn't much better, though the Finnish version slightly edges out the Russian variety, which might explain why most Russians seem to have a rather sour look on their faces: They need Mr Whipple.
Regardless of the quality of the toilet paper, I did appreciate several of the bathrooms, an appreciation which I will now share with you, my dear readers.
I flew into Helsinki, Finland, and stayed in a Eurohostel, where I shared a bathroom. Helsinki is a very expensive city, and I figured the Eurohostel would be clean, which it was...very. Walking into the outer area triggered a recording of chirping birds and the lights. Although I do wish it had been tiled in blue, it was rather pleasant. Now on to a restaurant in St. Petersburg.
Georgian food is delicious, filling, and relatively inexpensive. The restaurant in St. Petersburg, where we ate twice, had five little toilet rooms, and an outer area with additional sinks. Each little room had both sturdy paper towels and individual cloth towels. I followed another woman in, as, without graphics, I was lost in the Cyrillic alphabet. As you can see, the completely enclosed little room is nicely decorated, and I certainly appreciated the privacy, because, as I left, I encountered a man: a unisex bathroom.
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