A TOURiST S ViEW OF PlUmbinG: PART TWO Modern Plumbing: from Fancy tofunky

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1 32 international PLUMBING AROUND THE WORLD MARCH/APRIL 2010 OFFiCiAl A TOURiST S ViEW OF PlUmbinG: PART TWO Modern Plumbing: from Fancy tofunky not All PlUmbinG is made AliKE A TRiP THROUGH EUROPE makes THAT POinT blatantly ObViOUS Right: Legend has it that if you throw a coin over your shoulder into the Trevi Fountain, you will return to Rome. PHOTO BY PAUL SONNER Story by Anne V. Sonner mericans traveling to Europe like to visit the A famous places, enjoy local food and drink, and maybe see a few museums. And then there are those who observe the plumbing. Even without a European plumber to give you a tour, there is a lot to see. In this twopart series, you ll visit ancient, old, and modern plumbing and see some interesting differences between fixtures and practices in Europe and the United States. In Part One, we took a look at ancient plumbing in several countries. Now for some newer stuff, though in Europe new and old are often combined. These photos are not meant to show typical plumbing in Europe. Plumbing products are manufactured in many countries and sold and used all over the world, so there really is no such thing as European plumbing. These photos are of things that we saw, and are for your enlightenment and entertainment. We stayed in hotel rooms ranging from five stars (luxury high-rise) to zero stars (a hostel with a bathroom down the hall, bring your own soap and towels). The bathroom in the five-star hotel double room was twice as big as the bedroom for four people in the zero-star hotel. The worst bathroom we experienced was at a men s room in the Cairo airport. One toilet was a squat-hole a low, square receptacle surrounding a central hole that was overflowing with waste, with markings showing where to put your feet when squatting. Decorative Fountains Fountains with beautiful sculptures are everywhere in Europe, especially Italy. More than 400 years ago, Queen Christina of Sweden visited a famous fountain in Rome. When she was done viewing it, she is said to have remarked, with royal arrogance, You may turn it off now! unaware that Rome s fountains, supplied by aqueducts, are never turned off. Rome s Trevi Fountain was built in the 1600s by the famous sculptor Bernini. It gets its water by gravity from the Aqua Vergine aqueduct. The water from the Trevi then flows through underground piping to the fountains at the Piazza Navonna. Fountains in Europe are used by animals as well as people. This fountain in Belgium provides water for horses that transport tourists in carriages. Drinking Fountains In hot, dry Italy, drinking fountains run 24/7 and have been doing so for hundreds of years. In the fountain shown below, to fill a water bottle, hold it under the water stream. To drink, block the water stream with your hand and the water spurts up through a hole at the top of the pipe. All the water is potable. In Germany, there are no drinking fountains. Also, bottled water in a restaurant can cost more than beer. Why is this? we asked our host. Because beer is essential! he replied.

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3 34 international PLUMBING AROUND THE WORLD This Belgian fountain provides drinking water for horses. PHOTO BY PAUL SONNER MARCH/APRIL 2010 OFFiCiAl New Plumbing in Old Buildings Most of the hotels we visited were in onceelegant old buildings, retrofitted for modern hotel use. Often the high-ceilinged rooms were taller than they were wide or long. This bathroom in a hotel in Amsterdam was added several hundred years after the building was constructed. It measures about 3 x 4 feet, including the shower a little cozy for a room with sleeping accommodations for seven people. We saw many examples of plumbing added a long time after the building was built. In some cases, it was easier to install pipes on the outside of the building rather than in the walls. RIght: Drinking fountains in Rome never shut off. This low-tech fountain provides water for thirsty Romans and visitors. PHOTO BY ANNE SONNER Upper Far Right: A tiny addon bathroom in an old hotel. Lower Far Right: Water pipes were installed outside this old building, rather than in the stone walls. PHOTO BY PAUL SONNER

4 OFFiCiAl MARCH/APRIL 2010 PLUMBING AROUND THE WORLD international 35 Roof Drain Piping Roof drains installed on the outside of buildings drained to the street, back into the building and from inside the building out to the street. A variety of metals are used, sometimes several different kinds on the same pipe. Interesting drainspouts were everywhere. Upper Far Left: The red pipe drains from the roof, the white one from inside the building, onto the street. The dates probably mark floodwater levels from the Seine River. Bottom Left: Dissimilar metals in a drain pipe. Left: Lead drainspouts drain the roof of St. Mark s Basilica in Venice. Below: This Dutch drainspout is a work of art. PHOTOS BY PAUL SONNER

5 36 international PLUMBING AROUND THE WORLD In Germany, we saw several installations of rainwater collection. In the system pictured below, the rainwater drains from the roof of the house into plastic storage containers and also directly down, perhaps to an underground storage tank. How to Flush? MARCH/APRIL 2010 OFFiCiAl At times flushing the toilet was like taking an intelligence test. Usually there was not a simple handle on the side of the tank like we are used to in the United States and we had to figure it out. Here are photos of several WCs with different flushing mechanisms. Water Closets = WCs In Europe, public restroom facilities are most often called the toilet or WC. This is handy for those who have a limited foreign language vocabulary. Above: Push the button on the floor to flush. Top: A rainwater collection system near Munich, Germany. Above: Paying to use a public toilet in Milan. PHOTOS BY PAUL AND ANNE SONNER Americans accustomed to free, clean public restrooms are in for a surprise in Europe. Restaurants and museums, which you pay for, generally have free facilities. However, in many European cities, public WCs will cost you, if you can find any. Most cost one euro (about $1.60). The most expensive was 1.5 euros, with no assurance of cleanliness. Some have separate prices for standing or sitting. The scene above looks like a subway station turnstile, but is the entrance to public toilets at the train station in Milan, Italy. This one is a no-brainer. Pull the cord and the water comes down by gravity.

6 OFFiCiAl MARCH/APRIL 2010 PLUMBING AROUND THE WORLD international 37 Upper Far Left: On the wall above the toilet, press the big button for solid waste and the small button for liquid. This toilet doubles as a bidet with the use of the sprayer on the right. Middle Far Left: Press the button on the top of the tank. Seats are optional. Bottom Far Left: If you can t figure out how to flush this one, you fail the intelligence test! Left: Here s a hard one. Turn the handle to the 12 o clock position to make the water flow. Turn it back when finished flushing. Bathrooms for Smokers Europeans smoke a lot. This men s room in Innsbruck, Austria, provides an ashtray next to each urinal and toilet for those who can t wait to light up. Below: Each urinal is equipped with an ashtray (on the wall to the right). PHOTOS BY PAUL SONNER

7 38 international Below: This sink has a bottle trap, prohibited in the UPC. The green pipes are for steam for the radiator. PLUMBING AROUND THE WORLD Sinks, Faucets and Traps We saw a variety of lavatories. Many used bottle traps, which are prohibited in the Uniform Plumbing Code. Few had sensor-activated faucets. The faucet markings for hot and cold water were not always obvious. For example, C means hot in Italian ( caldo ). Portable Toilets MARCH/APRIL 2010 OFFiCiAl Among the non-descript porta-potties were several gems. The portable toilet below features a gearshift, which rolls away the waste on a metal belt to the lower storage area. The Eiffel Tower was pictured on a portable toilet in... Florence, Italy. We have no explanation for that. Perhaps most impressive was a portable toilet in Lake Como, Italy, decorated with enormous bees and a quote in Italian by Albert Einstein. Translation: When the bees disappear, to men will remain about four years of life. Right: A different version of our P-trap, with a hose bib, probably for washdown. Upper Far Right: The gearshift in this portable toilet rolls the waste to a storage area below. Lower Far Right: An Italian portable toilet advertising Paris using the Eiffel Tower. PHOTOS BY PAUL SONNER

8 OFFiCiAl MARCH/APRIL 2010 PLUMBING AROUND THE WORLD international 39 Far Upper Left: Are users of this toilet supposed to contemplate the wisdom of Einstein? Far Bottom Left: Various bathroom signs found across Europe. Left: What a job to fix this mess of piping! Below: Plumbing work in Venice, Italy. Plumbing Under the Street Excavations for plumbing repair in European cities often reveal old and new pipes made of various materials. PHOTOS BY PAUL SONNER Thanks to Bob Shepherd for assistance in analyzing photos of unusual plumbing.