More Potty Talk

When I first arrived in Amsterdam, my inner feminist was mildly annoyed at the ubiquity of the male outdoor urinal, as compared to the complete absence of any female facilities.  It seemed as if unusual care had been taken to provide men (but not women) with a way to relive themselves at every turn.  For the outdoor urinal is exactly that:  a urinal placed on street corners, in parks and parking lots, roadside, along canals (I'll add that photo later), etc., which are not not part of an enclosed (i.e. private) restroom facility.

The urinals range is design from the barely disguised urinal, like this one in Vondelpark (easily one of ten along a two-mile loop):

To those urinals intended to blend in with their surroundings or backdrop, like this one in front of the 16th-century Grote Kerk cathedral in Haarlem, Netherlands: 

To urban street-corner urinals designed by world renowned architects, like this one in Rotterdam, Netherlands by Dutch architect, Rem Koolhaas.

 In a strange intersection of chapters in my life, Koolhaas also desgined the Seattle Public Library, where I spent many days on the top floor plugging away at my writing.  It also has an amazing kids section in which Abby and Reese spent quite a few hours exploring. And not surprisingly, cool bathrooms.

Seattle Public Library at 4th & Madison, an easy walk from the ferry.

This corner on the top floor was my favorite nook.

Back to urinals.  I'm less annoyed nowadays, than grossed out.  Truth is, as a woman, I don't feel like using the restroom in such an exposed setting; and it's really odd to pass a man--a stranger--peeing on the side of the street in a 3/4 enclosed vertical tube.  TMI!