For me, the biggest difference while traveling to Europe would be the bathrooms and toilets.
It seems that bathrooms are somewhat of an afterthought in many places. The buildings are super old, and they didn’t build toilets into the buildings the way we are used to. Plus, these are some of the most expensive places to live in the world, so they don’t want to waste square footage on bathrooms. Due to that, most toilets are way down in basements of buildings. And the toilets are cramped, small, no-frills and sometimes it smells unpleasant down there.
Sometimes the toilets - even specific for the ladies rooms - do not have toilet seats. So that means you have to squat, hold all your clothes and purse, and hope that you’re good at hovering over the toilet!
Sometimes toilets require you to pay to use them. I didn’t encounter pay toilets in London, but I did in Paris. You can use your phone for tap to pay if you don’t have coins. And those pay bathrooms aren’t necessarily any nicer than a regular toilet.
The toilet shape is somewhat different than you might be used to, and sometimes they are quite low to the ground. The thing that is different is how to flush. Some toilets have a push button on the top of the tank, some have a push button on the wall behind the toilet, some have a knob you lift up on the tank and some have a pull chain. The basic use is you press the small button for #1 and the large button for #2.
If you need a bathroom, your best bet is to find a café, sit down and order a coffee or a glass of wine. At that point, ask to use the bathroom. Places do not have public bathrooms, so you have to prove to be a paying customer and they will let you use their bathroom. And remember, it’s down in the dungeon!
Showers didn’t seem to have good water pressure. And shower stalls can sometimes be shockingly tiny.
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