Another funky post is long overdue. I have covered our beds and couches, so I thought it would be time to take a look at another part of our apartments: the bathrooms. This is an area that was quite possibly the scariest part of my first experience of living overseas. So let’s jump right into it:
Our first place overseas was in Athens, Greece. There we had two bathrooms, one of which was located at the back of the house by the washer and dryer. I took one look at it and the mold/mildew it was covered in and shut the door to it and never opened it again. I figured for the 4-5 months we would be there it wasn’t worth it to even attempt working through that mess. Our second bathroom was a typical European bathroom. It was a step ahead though because it already had a shower curtain rod. But the rod extended the whole length of the room, which meant the end of the shower was open so the floor at that end would be soaked with water and need to be mopped up after a shower. It also did not have a holder for the shower head, so I learned who to shower one-handed while holding the shower head in one hand. The old Greek woman who lived in the apartment out back (and may have been the owner of the house) instructed us not to flush the toilet often as well.
Our second overseas home in Poland did not see improvement in the bathroom department. We had one bathroom split into what were essentially two small closets. One small closet housed the toilet….with no ventilation. Enough said. The other was the sink, tub and washing machine. That washing machine flooded twice and always looked like it was about to shake it’s way right out of the bathroom and on down the street.
In Italy, we were once again back to two bathrooms. One bathroom had the washing machine, a sink, a shower (behind the door you can’t see it) and a toilet. That shower was rather sketchy, so we asked to have a shower rod installed in the second bathroom’s tub (the shower/tub is behind the door again) . The shower curtain did not reach around the whole shower though and there was a bidet at the end. We lived there from the time Abby was 17 months old until she was 25 months old. She used to bring books into the bathroom, climb up into the bidet and park herself there to read and watch me shower.
Our next apartment was the apartment I still dream about in Spain. Every time I post pictures of this place I feel a little longing to go back. Both bathrooms were beautiful and functional, so these pictures are a little boring for a “funky” post.
The next season was our first apartment in Turkey. I have completely lost our pictures from that apartment and it ranks right up there with things that nag at me. In that apartment we also had two bathrooms. One had a shower with no curtain whatsoever. We were told they would look at us like we were crazy to ask for one because Turks would simply shower without one, soak the whole bathroom and then squeegee it down when they were done. The second bathroom had a glass shower. But this left us with nowhere to bathe our 3 year-old and 20 month-old. So for 4 months, Abby and Elijah sat in about 2-inch deep water and took a bath in the glass shower.
We were back in Turkey again the next season, this time in a different apartment. And oh how I just about jumped for joy when I saw one of our two bathrooms had a big JET TUB! Not only was I able to give the three kids a bath all at the same time, but I would spend a nice relaxing half hour in there on Saturday mornings. In our bedroom upstairs was the other bathroom that had a shower, sink and toilet. Since we had very little space to store our clothes in our room, we moved a big cabinet into the bathroom and it became our bathroom closet. Once again we were given interesting instructions regarding the toilet: don’t flush any paper. Being the one to empty the trash can would be a nasty job.
Then last year in Brindisi we once again had two bathrooms. When I saw the first bathroom when we got there my initial thought was: dorm room. The two sinks lined up with the shelf above and long mirror took me back to my freshman days at Thompson Hall on the west side of the PSU campus. I wanted to grab a soap dish and my shower slippers and trudge on in there. It was a big bathroom with another jet tub (it started to get a bit crowded stuffing three kids in there). But for about a month we lived without a toilet seat on the toilet. I know they get used to that kind of thing here, but us spoiled Americans not only have seats on them, but we make those seats soft and heated in some places. The second bathroom was a bright, pretty bathroom in our room. The only problem was that in order for the water to come out of the shower head, you had to pull a handle out….and hold it. That left us with either turning the shower on at bursts when we needed it or finding a way to hold it out the entire time while showering with one hand. So I came up with a nice little way to wrap my headband around the handle once I pulled it out so that it the shower water would stay on.
And now this year we are back to two bathrooms again: one with a shower and the other with a tub. We asked for a shower rod a couple of months ago, but I don’t think that is going to happen, so we have been showering in the small shower where you turn and bump your elbows, and then do everything else in the other bathroom. And I can’t even count the number of times I stubbed my toe on the step up in both of the bathrooms when we first moved into the apartment.
How about you? What is the funkiest bathroom you’ve ever had or seen?
E, these are like bathrooms at the Hilton compared to some of what I’ve seen. haha
With that said, it is still frustrating living with their quarks, now matter how big or small.
LOL! Our first bathroom in Turkey was big, but the shower was strange.
Then in Nancy, France, we had an awesome shower room/bidet with a lot of room, and the WC was closer to the living room– completely practical, but of course, no sink to wash ones hands, so we had to go to the kitchen or back to the shower room.
Gravelines, however, showed me the glory of European bathroom insanity. The WC was on the main floor, and as is typical, without a sink, but it was straight across the hall from the kitchen. The shower and bidet were upstairs, and oddly enough, the shower didn’t spill out everywhere! The bedrooms were all upstairs, however, so anytime I had to go to the bathroom during the night, I had to risk my life down our slippery spiral staircase. Oh, and I got pregnant in Gravelines, so I’m sure you know how that went.
Frankfurt was the strangest of them all. There was NO WAY for us to have a shower curtain rod, so we spent the year sitting down to take showers. I wish I were fibbing. It was especially challenging, because the tub was very deep, and I was very pregnant. I had to get my husband to come help me up more than once! Also, German toilets are like none other. They tend to have a shelf, which I was told later you are supposed to put a piece of TP on before going #2 in order to avoid streaks. Additionally, the shelf serves the lovely duel purpose of a splash pad. I spent the season scrubbing urine off of the walls. LOL!
I have to admit, all things considered, we’ve ended up with bathrooms that were not nearly as bad as they could have been!
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We’ve had totally different bathrooms in every country we’ve lived in. In Israel, Spain and Croatia we had typical showers; all of them were pretty nice and in Croatia was actually had a spa tub. In Germany we had a big bathroom and a full tub and shower but the toilet did come with the “shelve” Maria mentioned. In France and Poland we had a room with a shower/tub and vanity and then another room with a toilet. At first, I had no idea why someone would separate the shower and the toilet area, however, by the end of the season I realize what a smart idea it was. If someone was in the shower, no one had to wait until you were done until the bathroom was free. This also helped because we did not have a shower curtain!
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we’ve had fairly good luck with bathrooms, praise the Lord!
our first year was the worst. in Leuven, Belgium, our bathroom was similar to Maria’s in Gravelines. the WC was at the front door, toilet, sink, no ventilation, but and adorable Anne Geddes baby poster to help pass the time. the apartment had more of a loft feel, up a very steep spiral staircase was our bedroom and shower. i, too, was in my early months of pregnancy and hated risking life and limb to go to the WC in the wee hours… several times a night. as the season progressed, because of our shower, which had a door and kept the floor dry, we developed a horrible mold on the walls that made me nearly strangle team personnel. but that’s neither here nor there.
next, two seasons in Charerloi, BE in the same apartment. again, separate WC with no ventilation, but it was directly next to the tub/shower. here the shower door boasted only two feet of protection in a nearly six foot tub. we made it work, jt was born here so it was good to have a tub at all!
my favorite bathrooms by far were in Australia. two bathrooms, one with a huge jacuzzi tub the other two shower heads in a wall-to-wall shower. BLISS.
last year was our first year with a washer and dryer in the bathroom, Strasbourg, FR. ousite of having another 2-foot glass panel/splash guard and older WC (it was a bit more difficult to keep clean) it was bearable.
here, Nancy, FR, we have two bathrooms, one near the front door with a shower, dryer and sink. the shower head has no holder and there’s a special trick to keep the water hot that i can’t even explain. the WC is very near our bedrooms which is great w/ a four-year old – again no ventilation. the second bathroom has a tub and sink. we use this as teh main bathroom, but the stopper for the bathtub has recently broken. there is no alternative to keep using it until a plumber comes out so meanwhile, the boys are bathing in an inch of water… poor guys. lol
oh my, i can’t believe i typed so much. sorry Erin!!!
Michele, I am sure you have seen WAY worse. My brother told me about some in Nepal when he was there. Not a pretty picture. I guess they don’t need to be cleaned though, right? Positive side?
Maria, I had to chuckle a little thinking about how I would have sat down to take showers while pregnant. I think I would have hurt myself!
K, the separate room can make sense…no shower curtain is never a good thing though
Nadia, you HAVE had some nice ones. I have heard things in Australia are nice in general. Is that right? And I agree that older bathrooms are always tougher to keep clean! Everything here seems harder for some reason. Why is that?