It was a one of those exceptional days in the Finnish summer: the sun was shining, temperatures were balmy, and the streets were crowded with pleasant and congenial passers-by happy to share a smile with a stranger – all at the same time!
But in a city thronging with tourists from near and far there’s often an almost tangible undercurrent of urgency that invariably centres on one burning question: where’s the loo?
Sometimes, finding a suitable public facility can become a Sisyphean task, as your goal takes on the tempting but maddeningly intangible aura of the fabled city of El Dorado.
But Helsinki City Deputy Mayor Pekka Sauri told Yle News that he’s checked out the competition in many other cities and is confident that Helsinki’s facilities rank alongside restrooms of the finest water in any part of the world.
“After being pretty much across the globe, closely inspecting the toilet arrangements I would say that Helsinki is not much different from anywhere else. Obviously I get feedback about the lack of public toilets – they are never enough but I think it’s the nature of the issue – the public toilets are never close enough,” Sauri declared confidently.
Urgency inversely related to availability
He did have a point; it’s often been observed that there is an inverse relationship between the need to lighten one’s load and a toilet’s availability or proximity.
The problem is compounded for travelers who find themselves in unfamiliar territory and don’t exactly know the lay of the land, let alone the innermost workings of the minds of city planners.
Visiting Helsinki after a trip to France, Australian national Ken said he’d already experienced disappointment looking for public amenities in central Europe.
Although he said he had no overwhelming urge to inspect the porcelain at the time, he already had an eye peeled for possible places of refuge. “I haven’t noticed any public toilet signs in Helsinki. None,” he said emphatically.
Accompanied by her husband and two young girls, Åsa from Sweden shared a similar degree of consternation on the subject of bathroom breaks. “The kids often want to go very quickly. We always look and try to find places but mostly we go to restaurants,” she said, sharing a tip known to experienced toilet trackers in Helsinki.
In the city’s Market Square, an exuberant group of young tourist guides clad in canary yellow t-shirts proclaiming their trade agreed that toilets topped the list of frequently asked questions posed by anxious visitors in need of a pit stop.
“Yes, sure, it’s one of the top ten questions,” guide Anastasia volunteered. “Usually the most asked question is where I can use a free toilet,” chimed in her colleague Jenni.
“Public toilets aren’t on every block but they are there. You put in a coin, use it and they clean themselves up. Apart from the free pissoirs as the French say, we have a few dozen of those across the city, especially the city centre,” official Sauri explained.
Availability not the same as findability
Availability is one thing, and most city denizens have become used to the idea of paying for relief. But location is everything and in the case of public toilets handy locations can make the difference between bliss and despair.
“Maybe there needs to be an international standard and international signage so that no matter where you come from you can say 'Ah! There’s the public toilet.' One criticism I would make not only of Helsinki but also of other countries, is that they don’t give you maps with the public toilets marked on them!” Ken remarked.
Åsa also had some improvement ideas that would no doubt go down well with other toilet seekers. “Maybe a map or an app would be very nice,” she proposed.
Despite the newcomers’ tribulations Pekka Sauri insisted that the Helsinki has come a long way. "Gone are the days when rowdy public celebrations like the annual May Day observances turned the city into a massive piss-fest," he said.
Although Finns aren’t traditionally shy about their bodies and their natural functions, there’s a growing modesty about relieving oneself in public urban spaces, he believes.
Besides, natives have a leg-up on visitors as they are familiar with all the best places to spend a penny, figuratively speaking. They include restaurants and cafés as well as public institutions like libraries and museums.
Sauri had another suggestion to add to the line-up. “The city hall toilets are a work of art with modernist architecture in the basement. They’re worth a visit, not only for relieving yourself, but also for replenishing your cultural resources,” he said by way of invitation.