And Speaking of Public Toilets...

...I finally used one here! F and I were waiting for some friends so we could all take a cab to another friend's party lastnight, and I had to pee wicked bad. So F suggested that I go in the public toilet nearby.

I was scared and skeptical of what I might find behind the closed doors, but I had to pee far more badly, so I took the risk and inserted my 30 cents. This entry fee gave me 20 minutes of bathroom time.

The doors slid open with a whoosh (like sliding doors in spaceships). I cautiously peered in, checking for anything unsavory. Coast clear, I gingerly stepped in. The floor looked like it was made out of metal (looked sort of like the steps on escalators), and was separated into blocks. I then realized that there was music playing! (More specifically, Muzak.)

Then it was hand washing time. I didn't want to touch anything there, and I didn't have to. The picture below shows the sink area.

As you can see, there are pictures for soap, water, and hand dryer. All I had to do was 1) put my hand under the soap pic and liquid soap was dispensed onto my hand, 2) move my hands to the right, where water was dispensed so I could lather up and rinse, and 3) position my hands under the dryer to finish.

I pushed the door open button, the Muzak stopped, doors opened, and I emerged from the silver pod into the fresh air. After the doors closed, F and I listened as the pod cleaned itself - we could hear the water being sprayed around inside, and the sound of the floors being slid open to drain the water. Brilliant.

And this ends my tour of the high culture of Dusseldorf.