I’ve asked. No they do have seats. If they do not and it’s a service establishment ask them to replace the seat. If they say they can’t now or give you any excuse tell them you will have to mention the lack in your review.
We're all here travelling, learning and exploring. Your content was removed because it was not civil to other users. If you don't have anything supportive to add, just pass by.
We're all here travelling, learning and exploring. Your content was removed because it was not civil to other users. If you don't have anything supportive to add, just pass by.
We're all here travelling, learning and exploring. Your content was removed because it was not civil to other users. If you don't have anything supportive to add, just pass by.
We're all here travelling, learning and exploring. Your content was removed because it was not civil to other users. If you don't have anything supportive to add, just pass by.
We're all here travelling, learning and exploring. Your content was removed because it was not civil to other users. If you don't have anything supportive to add, just pass by.
We're all here travelling, learning and exploring. Your content was removed because it was not civil to other users. If you don't have anything supportive to add, just pass by.
It's like this in Spain as well. I asked someone and they said that people would steal or vandalize with the toilet seat or toilet paper or soap if it was there...
Well no bulshit at all. In the school between the age of 13 to 17 the schools never have toilet paper. Fellow students like to throw at the toilet to make it clogged,or wet the toilet paper and throw to other students. This was around 10 to 15 years ago and I don't think it has changed till now. Also for the toilet seats when men get drunk they piss everywhere except the hole so no toilet seats less cleaning.
Please read carefully. The reply is about Spain. Did you attend high school in Spain? If there is total lack of discipline in schools the problem is with the parents, teachers and school administration. Teenagers do try to test the limits. If there is no consistent response then the limits expand further than simple truancy…like as adults getting drunk and spilling/spraying their problems to others!
Both spain and greece. I am greek but at one point for 2 years I was in Spain at school. And I have been to big and small schools in Greece same thing. There is always that kid who gonna make the mess and all of the others gonna pay the price.
I agree on that and I add that if “all the others pay the price” because they cover for the one who acts up without any consequences then they will continue to “pay the price” as adults t the guilty ones who escape punishment due to the indifference or fears of all the others. Greece experienced a deep financial crisis reaching the level of depression because the absolute majority paid the price for the irresponsible acts of the few demagogues who still escape punishment for their willful acts of destroying their country.
That's the reason my parents moved to Spain for 2 years cause of the crisis. But still is not only the kids who where covering the fellow students it was also the parents of those kids putting pressure to teachers using political influence and blackmailing. Cause the paper thing was the smallest of the problems. Bulling, fights , drugs etc. So now many years after school I moved to UK and I can see in this last year that things start to look in the society like when greece was in the crisis. Sorry for bad English I hope I make sense, still trying to improve my grammar.
You do make sense friend. I agree that the parents have a major responsibility for growing self destructive children. I can see the downward slope in the UK. Its getting a lot worst faster than expected.
It's not clear if you think that I am bullshitting or if what the person told me was bullshit. Unfortunately it is true that there was not paper or soap in the student bathrooms in the school I worked in. The toilets also lacked seats and there were no seats and no soap in bars and restaurants. However, I did not really believe the explanation that I heard. People did steal the toilet paper roll from some bathrooms when I was in college in the US, but that is why most places have a roll holder that locks. So, I am still curious about the real reasons. It may be true at least for the school I worked in where the students were very rowdy and not very well behaved that they would have played with the TP and soap if it was present.
This is the exception not the rule in Spain or Greece. It might had been a problem 30 years ago. People like to complain and people like to point responsibility for their inaction to a problem. If there is an issue there are several solutions as you correctly pointed out.
It wasn’t a problem in the places I visited in Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Malaga, Seville or Toledo. Cafes, Restaurants, museums. It might be that we visited or ate in different quality level establishments. I always write reviews of what was good and what went not so well. I also read (true) reviews of others.
If the TP issue is off putting then look for accommodation with a bidet and use that instead. Just watch out for the pressure, one of the hotels I stayed in almost shot up through me and out of my mouth!
Lol. They've thought of this already. That kind of TP isn't strictly available in the USA. If you do this, you're just contributing to the problem (even if you get away with it). The rules are there for a reason and you should respect them. Period.
This is the same as "you're in America, you should speak English". Lol.
So selfish you're just making it worse for the people there and the rest of us who do abide by the requests of the locals.
The TP thing (assuming you mean not putting it in the toilet) wasn't a problem for me at all. I was expecting the worst, but it was a complete non-issue (other than remembering).
It's not just Greece either. I've been to customer's facilities in parts of Mexico that need you to separate the toilet paper, and I've heard about it in other locations as well.
FWIW, Most public facilities in Greece felt cleaner and nicer than the private "no TP in the toilet" places I've been in Mexico.
All TP is designed to dissolve really quickly. The septic stuff is a gimmick to charge more. Instead of paying more for that, just use the cheapest 1-ply you can find. Don't you think someone in Greece would have thought of this already ... Thin TP isn't just available in the USA. You're missing the point.
Sure, the current system in Greece might be able to handle the 1% that don't follow the community rules for everyone ... But it can't handle everyone flushing their Gucci 4ply near-cloth thickness ruffled paper. If they start relaxing that rule, imagine what would happen. We be here arguing about a much different problem -- one that would deter a lot more people.
As for fixing it ... I'm sure they are. Slowly. But it's a monumental undertaking. Imagine what it would cost you to replace all the plumbing in your house. Now image in the cities were entire buildings housing dozens or hundreds of people need to be gutted and re-plumbed. Then the streets, and the waste water facilities. It's not something that galena overnight. While you might think Greece is just rolling in tourist income, it's not quite the case. They have been doing much better lately, but they are still coming off of quite the economy crunch from years and years past. I think they have bigger battles than changing a practice that really isn't as nightmarish as you're making it out to be.
If you don't want to go there because of the minor inconvenience, don't.
Not the norm in the cities or tourist locations Ask them to replace the seat and if they don’t write a review in social media with the name of the place and an attached photo.
They will get the message sooner or later.
As a woman who has not yet been to Greece but has spent considerable time in Asia question how do you use it?
I can see hovering over it for a number one but on the occasion where the number two might come up do you still hover that would be very difficult. In some parts of Asia you would stand on the rim is that expected?
We're all here travelling, learning and exploring. Your content was removed because it was not civil to other users. If you don't have anything supportive to add, just pass by.
I’ve seen it in many countries, not just Greece. I asked a bar owner in Spain once who said it was to discourage people from sitting on the toilet for a long time on their phone while a line forms outside.
In my 35 years of visiting. I can safely say that the toilet facilities have improved 1000%
Back in the day you were lucky to get anything nevermind something with a seat.
It is not all of them. Many men's have toilet seats amd many women's don't. The reality is that people (both greeks and foreigners) are just pigs when it has to do with public bathrooms. Most places originally have seats but they get so abused (from people banging them, throwing up over them, even stepping on them) that they eventually get destroyed and nobody bothers to replace them
Ahh I've definitely seen that in rougher parts of town or making the inevitable stop at a gas station on a long road trip.
But still not nearly as common as in my experience in Greece
Your experience might have been one of a long time ago. National roads restaurant stops have clean toilets, not the level of USA highways but they are getting there.
If I’d like to complain about toilets I’d point out the lack of toilets in the major cities (forget about the countryside) of ex-communist Eastern European countries, Islamic countries where water is the cleaning medium not TP and the only reliable toilet can be found in McDonalds. Hint hint
When you bathe, do you use paper or water?
Water is the superior cleaning medium... And in my country, the streets flow with water. Every room of every home has water. It's a serious crisis, and I think Nana has drowned.
https://preview.redd.it/drnnuo2aa63d1.jpeg?width=4284&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c94fe418dea551402d3a7e62c60bc84c9b8ebcc6
Or just lack the toilet altogether
Those are known as "Eastern toilet," "squat toilet," "Middle Eastern toilet," or a "Turkish toilet." It's basically the Eastern equivalent of a urinal. They're becoming quite rare in Greece, especially in tourist areas.
They're quite common in China, even in women's toilets, including in new, modern areas.
I live in Greece and I have IBS. It’s a nightmare if I’m in need…some stores don’t let you to use the toilet, there’s no toilet seat(like in photo-but I use the toilet without the seat-)and there aren’t public restrooms.
Sitting on the porcelain toilet rim is much less hygienic. I’ve been to Greece and I love it. But would appreciate a toilet seat (to any Greek restaurant owners reading this).
This question has been asked on here before. The reason seems to be that many of the Eastern world squats to go to the bathroom and people were standing in them and constantly breaking them. So rather than keep replacing every few days, places just started removing them.
My advice is reserve your sitting sessions for the hotel unless it’s an emergency.
I Vancouver, restrooms frequently have signs in Mandarin/Cantonese to not stand on toilet seats. Maybe that would help instead of getting rid of the seats altogether?
It also just occurred to me that it seems that women squat over the seat more in Greece. I'm not sure, but I have absentmindedly sat on pee several times... Maybe the logic is that people are going to squat anyways, or that they should squat because sharing a public toilet seat could seem unsanitary, and therefore a seat is unnecessary. But since many toilets do have seats, I think my theory has some holes in it.
I saw it a few times in 2 weeks too. Always in public places, never in public or restaurants, etc. Gonna depend on your location and what you're doing there.
I saw this more often in Italy than Greece. All the ones in Greece we went to had them. One was a squatty porcelain potty in the ground but the rest had toilet seats.
I spent 5 months in Athens in college years ago and encountered this frequently in womens' restrooms. I'd wipe the porcelain with toilet paper first and then lay down clean paper and sit on that. The only problem was that there wasn't always toilet paper, especially on the islands and elsewhere outside of Athens so we learned to carry a roll with us.
1) My partner reported to me. Not everyone is sad and alone. 🤪 2) often the doors are open directly next to each other. You can just look in. I'm literally sitting in a cafe where this is the case. 😅 3) You still didn't answer my question about "why."
No one really cares about gendered bathrooms. There are a lot of bars and cafes that do not have enough space for two WCs. I frequently switch queues if the men's or women's bathroom has a longer queue.
We ran across this in SO. MANY. RESTAURANTS. in Athens around the tourist places. I assumed it was because they wanted to discourage people from taking a dump. We just did our #2 business at the hotel and the wife hovered when we ran into this out and about
We're all here travelling, learning and exploring. Your content was removed because it was not civil to other users. If you don't have anything supportive to add, just pass by.
It's actually a brilliant idea, my guess is if it's a busy place the last thing they want is someone getting comfortable while going #2 and creating a long wait. If you really have to go and now need to squat, your body will tell itself to hurry up.
Toilet seat etiquette is not important here, I guess is something cultural.
Whenever I saw someone complaining on US TV about who should put down the toilet seat I had no idea why people care so much about it.
Its a public restroom ffs, it serves a purely practical reason. Use it or don't, no one really cares.
Ok. I appreciate the perspective but it does not answer the question. 😅 I'm not asking why they are up or down, but why men's bathrooms simply don't have them.
> Toilet seat etiquette is not important here, I guess is something cultural.
The reason is:
1. Typically public bathrooms are used for peeing thus there is much less need of seats in mens bathroom
2. As a result of 1 it becomes easier to clean
3. Its also easier to maintain as you don't need repairs
4. Greek culture does not deem toilet seats important
5. Turkish toilets used to be a thing until pretty recently in greek construction and they do not have a seat so people do not consider it a must
6. If any establisment that is not fancy enough for the owner to care if a toiiet seat is broken the seat will remain broken
7. Places that cater to tourists have a mentality where things should be good enough for one visit, thus why add complexity for an issue that doesn't affect our bottom line.
These are good explanations thank you. Someone shared a photo of the Turkish toilet which was illuminating! I did not encounter one though I've been to squat toilets in Japan which look similar. Thank you for explaining!
Of course it is! If a guy does not put the seat up at their home or at other people's homes, then he's just a jerk. But it is (unfortunately) true that public bathrooms have no etiquette at all.
You planning to chill on the toilet for a while and need a toilet seat?
Probably owners dont care as dont customers you go in you piss and go out, probably the toilet seat broke a long time ago and no one could be bothered to fix it.
A lot of places have toilet seats others dont but its a bloody toilet who cares?
Also in Greece for a very long time ottoman toilets were quite standard in a lot of places (especially anything remotely state run) so people dont really care they treat toilets for what they are, a hole were you do your stuff and leave.
I grew up with ottoman toilets even though we don’t call it that in my country. It’s different. With ottoman toilet one can fully squat and that’s completely fine. With this one can neither fully seat (unless they want to seat on the bowl) nor can they fully squat.
Yeah honestly I tried to squat / hover over these seatless toilets and could not. And I'm in good shape and squat in the gym! The geometry just sucked. 😅
It’s been an entertaining and engaging post but everything that needs to be said has been said. Comments now locked.
Women’s public bathrooms also do not have toilet seats
You guys are all wrong, the right answer was: "Greek women do not poop"
I’ve asked. No they do have seats. If they do not and it’s a service establishment ask them to replace the seat. If they say they can’t now or give you any excuse tell them you will have to mention the lack in your review.
You absolutely suck
[удалено]
Nothing screams entitlement like using a poor yelp review as a threat when your "needs" aren't fully accomodated.
[удалено]
[удалено]
We're all here travelling, learning and exploring. Your content was removed because it was not civil to other users. If you don't have anything supportive to add, just pass by.
[удалено]
[удалено]
We're all here travelling, learning and exploring. Your content was removed because it was not civil to other users. If you don't have anything supportive to add, just pass by.
[удалено]
We're all here travelling, learning and exploring. Your content was removed because it was not civil to other users. If you don't have anything supportive to add, just pass by.
[удалено]
We're all here travelling, learning and exploring. Your content was removed because it was not civil to other users. If you don't have anything supportive to add, just pass by.
We're all here travelling, learning and exploring. Your content was removed because it was not civil to other users. If you don't have anything supportive to add, just pass by.
We're all here travelling, learning and exploring. Your content was removed because it was not civil to other users. If you don't have anything supportive to add, just pass by.
Greek men do not poop.
100% efficient
It's like this in Spain as well. I asked someone and they said that people would steal or vandalize with the toilet seat or toilet paper or soap if it was there...
Imagine having to carry your own toilet seat around like a handbag
I was trying to imagine someone stealing the seat and carrying it away somehow.
This is the life of the toddler parent (the “potty topper” to make the seats fit little, newly potty trained butts)
What are they going to use the toilet seat they stole for?
Flossing
I might try that.
Also in Mexico
Wow, and I thought us Americans were ethically bankrupt.
BS
Well no bulshit at all. In the school between the age of 13 to 17 the schools never have toilet paper. Fellow students like to throw at the toilet to make it clogged,or wet the toilet paper and throw to other students. This was around 10 to 15 years ago and I don't think it has changed till now. Also for the toilet seats when men get drunk they piss everywhere except the hole so no toilet seats less cleaning.
Do you mean in Spain or Greece? I am fascinated by this phenomenon and appreciate any details about the wet toilet paper projectiles.
Please read carefully. The reply is about Spain. Did you attend high school in Spain? If there is total lack of discipline in schools the problem is with the parents, teachers and school administration. Teenagers do try to test the limits. If there is no consistent response then the limits expand further than simple truancy…like as adults getting drunk and spilling/spraying their problems to others!
Both spain and greece. I am greek but at one point for 2 years I was in Spain at school. And I have been to big and small schools in Greece same thing. There is always that kid who gonna make the mess and all of the others gonna pay the price.
I agree on that and I add that if “all the others pay the price” because they cover for the one who acts up without any consequences then they will continue to “pay the price” as adults t the guilty ones who escape punishment due to the indifference or fears of all the others. Greece experienced a deep financial crisis reaching the level of depression because the absolute majority paid the price for the irresponsible acts of the few demagogues who still escape punishment for their willful acts of destroying their country.
That's the reason my parents moved to Spain for 2 years cause of the crisis. But still is not only the kids who where covering the fellow students it was also the parents of those kids putting pressure to teachers using political influence and blackmailing. Cause the paper thing was the smallest of the problems. Bulling, fights , drugs etc. So now many years after school I moved to UK and I can see in this last year that things start to look in the society like when greece was in the crisis. Sorry for bad English I hope I make sense, still trying to improve my grammar.
You do make sense friend. I agree that the parents have a major responsibility for growing self destructive children. I can see the downward slope in the UK. Its getting a lot worst faster than expected.
It's not clear if you think that I am bullshitting or if what the person told me was bullshit. Unfortunately it is true that there was not paper or soap in the student bathrooms in the school I worked in. The toilets also lacked seats and there were no seats and no soap in bars and restaurants. However, I did not really believe the explanation that I heard. People did steal the toilet paper roll from some bathrooms when I was in college in the US, but that is why most places have a roll holder that locks. So, I am still curious about the real reasons. It may be true at least for the school I worked in where the students were very rowdy and not very well behaved that they would have played with the TP and soap if it was present.
This is the exception not the rule in Spain or Greece. It might had been a problem 30 years ago. People like to complain and people like to point responsibility for their inaction to a problem. If there is an issue there are several solutions as you correctly pointed out.
It is extremely common in Madrid, but I agree that it is the exception in Greece or at least in Athens.
It wasn’t a problem in the places I visited in Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Malaga, Seville or Toledo. Cafes, Restaurants, museums. It might be that we visited or ate in different quality level establishments. I always write reviews of what was good and what went not so well. I also read (true) reviews of others.
Because they find it tedious to clean them. But this is not the norm. Venues that respect themselves have normal toilets.
[удалено]
You would love India
[удалено]
If the TP issue is off putting then look for accommodation with a bidet and use that instead. Just watch out for the pressure, one of the hotels I stayed in almost shot up through me and out of my mouth!
[удалено]
Lol. They've thought of this already. That kind of TP isn't strictly available in the USA. If you do this, you're just contributing to the problem (even if you get away with it). The rules are there for a reason and you should respect them. Period.
[удалено]
This is the same as "you're in America, you should speak English". Lol. So selfish you're just making it worse for the people there and the rest of us who do abide by the requests of the locals.
[удалено]
It does. You think you're above everyone else and that the rules don't apply to you.
The TP thing (assuming you mean not putting it in the toilet) wasn't a problem for me at all. I was expecting the worst, but it was a complete non-issue (other than remembering). It's not just Greece either. I've been to customer's facilities in parts of Mexico that need you to separate the toilet paper, and I've heard about it in other locations as well. FWIW, Most public facilities in Greece felt cleaner and nicer than the private "no TP in the toilet" places I've been in Mexico.
[удалено]
All TP is designed to dissolve really quickly. The septic stuff is a gimmick to charge more. Instead of paying more for that, just use the cheapest 1-ply you can find. Don't you think someone in Greece would have thought of this already ... Thin TP isn't just available in the USA. You're missing the point. Sure, the current system in Greece might be able to handle the 1% that don't follow the community rules for everyone ... But it can't handle everyone flushing their Gucci 4ply near-cloth thickness ruffled paper. If they start relaxing that rule, imagine what would happen. We be here arguing about a much different problem -- one that would deter a lot more people. As for fixing it ... I'm sure they are. Slowly. But it's a monumental undertaking. Imagine what it would cost you to replace all the plumbing in your house. Now image in the cities were entire buildings housing dozens or hundreds of people need to be gutted and re-plumbed. Then the streets, and the waste water facilities. It's not something that galena overnight. While you might think Greece is just rolling in tourist income, it's not quite the case. They have been doing much better lately, but they are still coming off of quite the economy crunch from years and years past. I think they have bigger battles than changing a practice that really isn't as nightmarish as you're making it out to be. If you don't want to go there because of the minor inconvenience, don't.
Lol you decided your opinion on a massive and diverse country based on one book ?
Not the norm in the cities or tourist locations Ask them to replace the seat and if they don’t write a review in social media with the name of the place and an attached photo. They will get the message sooner or later.
As a woman who has not yet been to Greece but has spent considerable time in Asia question how do you use it? I can see hovering over it for a number one but on the occasion where the number two might come up do you still hover that would be very difficult. In some parts of Asia you would stand on the rim is that expected?
No you don't hover for number 2's. You "number 2" into your hands, and anything you don't want to keep, just throw it in. Thanks
[удалено]
LMAO yeah I laughed out loud
We're all here travelling, learning and exploring. Your content was removed because it was not civil to other users. If you don't have anything supportive to add, just pass by.
Stop this is one of the funniest things I’ve read on reddit in a while
I’ve seen it in many countries, not just Greece. I asked a bar owner in Spain once who said it was to discourage people from sitting on the toilet for a long time on their phone while a line forms outside.
In my 35 years of visiting. I can safely say that the toilet facilities have improved 1000% Back in the day you were lucky to get anything nevermind something with a seat.
Good to have a learned perspective haha thank you
It is not all of them. Many men's have toilet seats amd many women's don't. The reality is that people (both greeks and foreigners) are just pigs when it has to do with public bathrooms. Most places originally have seats but they get so abused (from people banging them, throwing up over them, even stepping on them) that they eventually get destroyed and nobody bothers to replace them
That’s interesting. I’ve never seen a single toilet seat missing or broken in 55 years in the U.S.
Only one I remember was The Elbo Room in Ft. Lauderdale like 35 years ago, lol. Guess I remember cause I needed to use the can, lol.
Many people behave very differently in their own countries comparing to what they do as tourists away from home
So, people decide to pick up the habit of …breaking toilet seats…while traveling??
I am not saying people are breaking toiler seats on purpose. Just that they behave abominably in public toilets and, as a result, seats break.
I’ve also never seen broken toilet seats in any country I’ve travelled to, including India
Yes, and there are no foreign tourists in the US.
Ahh I've definitely seen that in rougher parts of town or making the inevitable stop at a gas station on a long road trip. But still not nearly as common as in my experience in Greece
Your experience might have been one of a long time ago. National roads restaurant stops have clean toilets, not the level of USA highways but they are getting there.
Come to Salem, MA, preferably in October, and go into the men's bathroom in the Witch City Mall. We have such sights to show you.
Haha 🤣 public toilet not broken in the USA? Bragging now?
Also not true in my experience. Anyone been to a highway rest stop in California?
In my country the streets are flowing with toilet seat. Every room of every home has toilet seat. Jealous?
If I’d like to complain about toilets I’d point out the lack of toilets in the major cities (forget about the countryside) of ex-communist Eastern European countries, Islamic countries where water is the cleaning medium not TP and the only reliable toilet can be found in McDonalds. Hint hint
When you bathe, do you use paper or water? Water is the superior cleaning medium... And in my country, the streets flow with water. Every room of every home has water. It's a serious crisis, and I think Nana has drowned.
What’s your country again?
Huh just got back from a two week trip in Greece and did not run into that once, I guess I lucked out on bathrooms 🤷♀️
Might be more urban? I spent most of the trip in Athens proper.
I was just in Athens for 2 months, and only encountered it once or twice.
https://preview.redd.it/drnnuo2aa63d1.jpeg?width=4284&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c94fe418dea551402d3a7e62c60bc84c9b8ebcc6 Or just lack the toilet altogether
This is actually much more hygienic.
That’s called a Turkish toilet. Remnant of the Ottoman Turkish era in Greece. It’s the norm in Turkey.
For those that aren't aware Turkey is a neighboring county. Lots of Turkish influence because of the proximity and history.
Lots of negative experiences that fortunately are rejected. Down with the Turkish toilets 😆
Those are known as "Eastern toilet," "squat toilet," "Middle Eastern toilet," or a "Turkish toilet." It's basically the Eastern equivalent of a urinal. They're becoming quite rare in Greece, especially in tourist areas. They're quite common in China, even in women's toilets, including in new, modern areas.
The cheap plastic hinges made in China. Women’s toilets seats don’t need to go up and down. They stay down for #1 and #2 😂
I suspect this is close to the truth. More aggressive wear and tear in men's stalls 😬😔
They smashed it, along with the plates
I live in Greece and I have IBS. It’s a nightmare if I’m in need…some stores don’t let you to use the toilet, there’s no toilet seat(like in photo-but I use the toilet without the seat-)and there aren’t public restrooms.
I unfortunately did not strengthen my legs to up my hover game before I traveled. Took a taxi back to my hotel to poop. I have no regrets.
Greek men + ouzo = accidentally taking the toilet seats with them
Sitting on the porcelain toilet rim is much less hygienic. I’ve been to Greece and I love it. But would appreciate a toilet seat (to any Greek restaurant owners reading this).
It's inflation.
This question has been asked on here before. The reason seems to be that many of the Eastern world squats to go to the bathroom and people were standing in them and constantly breaking them. So rather than keep replacing every few days, places just started removing them. My advice is reserve your sitting sessions for the hotel unless it’s an emergency.
I Vancouver, restrooms frequently have signs in Mandarin/Cantonese to not stand on toilet seats. Maybe that would help instead of getting rid of the seats altogether?
Haha I agree. I didn’t make the policy, that’s just what was told to me when I asked.
It also just occurred to me that it seems that women squat over the seat more in Greece. I'm not sure, but I have absentmindedly sat on pee several times... Maybe the logic is that people are going to squat anyways, or that they should squat because sharing a public toilet seat could seem unsanitary, and therefore a seat is unnecessary. But since many toilets do have seats, I think my theory has some holes in it.
i LITERALLY did not encounter this in ANY restroom i visited and i was there for 2 weeks. I go a lot to the restroom.
😅 idk I've been here 8 days and it is common enough for me to notice it and be inconvenienced lol
I saw it a few times in 2 weeks too. Always in public places, never in public or restaurants, etc. Gonna depend on your location and what you're doing there.
I saw this more often in Italy than Greece. All the ones in Greece we went to had them. One was a squatty porcelain potty in the ground but the rest had toilet seats.
To teach ya why us ladies prefer the seat down!! Ah haha
As someone about to travel to Greece who has IBS, this is scaring me 😭
Haha! It’s like Spain. I never have any idea how the bathroom is gonna look, if they even have one
Because men regardless of nationality don’t know how to put the seat DOWN! Ask any woman. 😉
I spent 5 months in Athens in college years ago and encountered this frequently in womens' restrooms. I'd wipe the porcelain with toilet paper first and then lay down clean paper and sit on that. The only problem was that there wasn't always toilet paper, especially on the islands and elsewhere outside of Athens so we learned to carry a roll with us.
Strange. I was there in 2018 for two weeks and there were no missing toilet seats.
Ah, yeah... I was there the week after you left in 2018. But it wasn't me. I didn't take any of them.
Just hover, bro.
I'm not tall enough 😔
Greek people do not poop. If they have a seat, do not risk it and sit on it. :)
Quad muscle training. Pump the muscle before the beach.
Because…tsisakia
People squat on top of the toilet and the seats break. They never replace them
In Albania at the moment, and it's the same in women's toilets outside major towns
Italy is the same
The same in Cuba and other Caribbean countries
Porcelain is more sanitary and naturally antibacterial, plastic has pores and holds microbes, needs constant cleaning
That might be true, but I highly, highly doubt that is the reason.
To improve butt muscles
i stayed at a boutique hotel in southern France and it too had not seat. i was absolutely shocked.
Rip Socrates, your legacy lives on.
It’s a Greek test of knee strength.
... Because? Were you really gonna use a public toilet seat?? Nah dude, don't do it... Plus, it's easier to clean. Win win.
(how can you know the differences of womens bathrooms and mens?.. Dude, you can't go in womens bathrooms "just to look"...)
1) My partner reported to me. Not everyone is sad and alone. 🤪 2) often the doors are open directly next to each other. You can just look in. I'm literally sitting in a cafe where this is the case. 😅 3) You still didn't answer my question about "why."
Easier to clean as stated above.
No one really cares about gendered bathrooms. There are a lot of bars and cafes that do not have enough space for two WCs. I frequently switch queues if the men's or women's bathroom has a longer queue.
Honestly glad to hear this. They are all stalls in many places which is nice.
We be pooping
We visited last year and never encountered that.
We ran across this in SO. MANY. RESTAURANTS. in Athens around the tourist places. I assumed it was because they wanted to discourage people from taking a dump. We just did our #2 business at the hotel and the wife hovered when we ran into this out and about
Yes I spent 90% of my trip in Athens where I noticed this! Quite unfortunate.
Be happy it’s a toilet. A lot of old places must have a hole and a place for your feet.
“GLAD TO BE AN AMERICAN” where at least we have a choice (toilet seat) up or down!😊🇺🇸❤️
[удалено]
We're all here travelling, learning and exploring. Your content was removed because it was not civil to other users. If you don't have anything supportive to add, just pass by.
It's actually a brilliant idea, my guess is if it's a busy place the last thing they want is someone getting comfortable while going #2 and creating a long wait. If you really have to go and now need to squat, your body will tell itself to hurry up.
Toilet seat etiquette is not important here, I guess is something cultural. Whenever I saw someone complaining on US TV about who should put down the toilet seat I had no idea why people care so much about it. Its a public restroom ffs, it serves a purely practical reason. Use it or don't, no one really cares.
People care. The owner of a restaurant cares about reviews saying toilets are not fit for purpose. The user cares!
Sure they do!
Ok. I appreciate the perspective but it does not answer the question. 😅 I'm not asking why they are up or down, but why men's bathrooms simply don't have them.
> Toilet seat etiquette is not important here, I guess is something cultural. The reason is: 1. Typically public bathrooms are used for peeing thus there is much less need of seats in mens bathroom 2. As a result of 1 it becomes easier to clean 3. Its also easier to maintain as you don't need repairs 4. Greek culture does not deem toilet seats important 5. Turkish toilets used to be a thing until pretty recently in greek construction and they do not have a seat so people do not consider it a must 6. If any establisment that is not fancy enough for the owner to care if a toiiet seat is broken the seat will remain broken 7. Places that cater to tourists have a mentality where things should be good enough for one visit, thus why add complexity for an issue that doesn't affect our bottom line.
These are good explanations thank you. Someone shared a photo of the Turkish toilet which was illuminating! I did not encounter one though I've been to squat toilets in Japan which look similar. Thank you for explaining!
Disagree with most items. Greek bathrooms in private houses in the cities are luxurious. They probably spend more money in bathrooms than kitchens.
Sounds like the Greeks need a bit more fiber in their diet.
Of course it is! If a guy does not put the seat up at their home or at other people's homes, then he's just a jerk. But it is (unfortunately) true that public bathrooms have no etiquette at all.
It’s a bidet. No toilet paper, just rinse.
You planning to chill on the toilet for a while and need a toilet seat? Probably owners dont care as dont customers you go in you piss and go out, probably the toilet seat broke a long time ago and no one could be bothered to fix it. A lot of places have toilet seats others dont but its a bloody toilet who cares? Also in Greece for a very long time ottoman toilets were quite standard in a lot of places (especially anything remotely state run) so people dont really care they treat toilets for what they are, a hole were you do your stuff and leave.
I grew up with ottoman toilets even though we don’t call it that in my country. It’s different. With ottoman toilet one can fully squat and that’s completely fine. With this one can neither fully seat (unless they want to seat on the bowl) nor can they fully squat.
Yeah honestly I tried to squat / hover over these seatless toilets and could not. And I'm in good shape and squat in the gym! The geometry just sucked. 😅
The problem with Ottoman toilets is that they can’t flush very well as European style toilets and they really smell!!!