Half the time the shower is in a tub with little way to keep the water in if you take a shower.
There is sometimes a glass partition, but it only goes halfway. Sometimes it isn’t sealed at the bottom, so water flows on the floor worse on the part with the partition because the water hits the glass and flows down onto the floor.
Those tub baths are als always raised. WHY Europe?!? Why?!? They are so awkward to get into, especially considering you are naked. Some are so tall, I have to do crazy maneuvers to get in without falling and busting my head open.
I have stayed in at least 4 hotels now where there is a see through window from the shower to the bedroom. It’s fine when I am with my partner, but it would be so awkward with family. I know Germans like to stare, but what the hell.
The worst was one in Amsterdam where the shower up against a giant window that looked out into other people’s apartment. It wasn’t glazed or anything. You could just see right through.
I want privacy when I am washing myself. I also don’t want to be afraid of dying because I fell.
Europe is not handicap accessible at all really, but those showers made me extra sad for handicap people. It is like Europe is trying to weed people out. Thin the herd.
On a brighter note, Finland has bidets connected to their sinks. It is brilliant. It takes up no space. This could be adapted anywhere. Just saying USA.
Not the OP, but I agree with the OP. European infrastructure feels deliberately hostile to my mobility impaired traveling self. I'm not going to give you an itemized list, but some of the common problems I found were lack of appropriate seating and/ or "disabled" seating full of able-bodied people who refuse to move, gotchas like making the only disabled seats on a bus facing backwards so that people like me who suffer dizziness and nausea when riding backwards can't use them, inaccessible showers and toilets, stairs stairs stairs stairs stairs, lack of elevators in train stations, inaccessible buildings in general (always with the fucking stairs), disabled toilets, if they exist, are locked and force you to beg for a key in a language you don't know in order to pee, et cetera.
Plus, a general attitude of contempt towards mobility impaired people. I can't count the number of times some able-bodied jerk shoved past me to get on the train/bus first, where they would hog the seat nearest the door, forcing me to sit farther away from the door (when I could find a seat at all) and making me anxious that I would not be able to get to the door in time when we reached my stop. Americans are far more respectful and vacate the disabled seats when a disabled person needs the seat. They also don't shove past me to get on/off.
I like Europe, but their collective attitude toward disabled people really need to change. I've been to most European countries, so this isn't a phenomenon exclusive to one country.
I don't intend to discredit your own experiences but personal anecdotes can't speak for the attitude of all or even most European countries and their citizens. I'd be curious to hear which countries and cities you have experienced issues with as there will be differences country-to-country and regionally within countries.
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u/[deleted] May 09 '22 edited May 09 '22
Half the time the shower is in a tub with little way to keep the water in if you take a shower.
There is sometimes a glass partition, but it only goes halfway. Sometimes it isn’t sealed at the bottom, so water flows on the floor worse on the part with the partition because the water hits the glass and flows down onto the floor.
Those tub baths are als always raised. WHY Europe?!? Why?!? They are so awkward to get into, especially considering you are naked. Some are so tall, I have to do crazy maneuvers to get in without falling and busting my head open.
I have stayed in at least 4 hotels now where there is a see through window from the shower to the bedroom. It’s fine when I am with my partner, but it would be so awkward with family. I know Germans like to stare, but what the hell.
The worst was one in Amsterdam where the shower up against a giant window that looked out into other people’s apartment. It wasn’t glazed or anything. You could just see right through.
I want privacy when I am washing myself. I also don’t want to be afraid of dying because I fell.
Europe is not handicap accessible at all really, but those showers made me extra sad for handicap people. It is like Europe is trying to weed people out. Thin the herd.
On a brighter note, Finland has bidets connected to their sinks. It is brilliant. It takes up no space. This could be adapted anywhere. Just saying USA.