Lads Pissing

Hi everyone, not all of you might find this super exciting but if you’re interested, feel free to read on.

I was on a short holiday in the Netherlands last week. The hotel I was staying in had its own café that was open to anyone, not only to guests who booked a room.
The reception for checking in was in the café and while the woman behind the counter was looking up which room was going to be mine, a man came in.
My Dutch is not that good yet, I'm still learning, but I picked up a few words which I will write down here. By all means, anyone who speaks Dutch, correct me
So, he was saying something like: “Ik ben een meester maar nu ik moet vragen. Het toilet?” (He said something more at the beginning of the sentence but I couldn’t understand).
The woman pointed to the left where a big sign even said ‘toilet’.
He slapped his forehead lightly and said something like: “Ah, kijken.”
I'm not that sure about what I heard and it's not complete since I don't know that many Dutch vocabularies yet and I'm unsure about the grammar but I think he was saying that he's a teacher and usually the students are the ones asking for the toilet but here and now he had to do it. And the thing he said with “kijken” meant that he said “Oh well, there's a big sign, I should've looked more thoroughly before asking”, I guess.
He said it as a sentence but I only understood that single word.

Yes, I know it's nothing great or particularly exciting, he didn't even seem desperate. But I still liked the exchange and his humorous demeanour.
I like hearing people asking for the toilet in general because often they’ll ask because they are too desperate to search the toilet on their own. Maybe he needed to go urgently but just didn’t show any signs

Impressed you're learning Dutch. Normally we Dutch people are expected to speak German when we go to your country, and those of us like me who can't really manage any German it defaults to English.

Interesting that the guy had to interrupt the member of staff who was dealing with you to ask where the toilet was. Embarrassing thing to have to do at any time. Like you, I also like hearing men ask that.

But you weren't in The Netherlands today for Koningsdag (King's Day) then? (Nor was I. I'm away in France at the moment.) Specially for you, here's a Dutch language article about the problems of peeing on that day. With all the crowds on this huge festival day peeing is a real problem. The article suggests that it's easier for men because they can find a tree somewhere, but then rather contradicts itself by pointing out that peeing in the open air is absolutely forbidden, the fine is 140 Euro, and the police will enforce this with no exception for King's Day.
https://nos.nl/artikel/2564913-plassen- ... n-mag-niet

Brian wrote: ↑26 Apr 2025, 21:32 Impressed you're learning Dutch. Normally we Dutch people are expected to speak German when we go to your country, and those of us like me who can't really manage any German it defaults to English.

It's also the case that so many Germans expect all Dutch people to be able to speak German when they go to the Netherlands. Yes, the town I stayed in was just across the border but I think it’s a bit strange to go in another country and expect the people living there to always speak your language. If you don’t speak the country’s language (or just partly) English is always a good way to communicate because almost everyone is capable of speaking it.

Brian wrote: ↑26 Apr 2025, 21:32 Interesting that the guy had to interrupt the member of staff who was dealing with you to ask where the toilet was. Embarrassing thing to have to do at any time. Like you, I also like hearing men ask that.

But you weren't in The Netherlands today for Koningsdag (King's Day) then? (Nor was I. I'm away in France at the moment.) Specially for you, here's a Dutch language article about the problems of peeing on that day. With all the crowds on this huge festival day peeing is a real problem. The article suggests that it's easier for men because they can find a tree somewhere, but then rather contradicts itself by pointing out that peeing in the open air is absolutely forbidden, the fine is 140 Euro, and the police will enforce this with no exception for King's Day.
https://nos.nl/artikel/2564913-plassen- ... n-mag-niet

No, sadly I wasn’t there for Koningsdag but I wished I could have been as I saw them preparing for it and already imagined that there might be pee related incidents. About the article… I’m not gonna lie, I didn’t understand every single sentence
Interesting that people will pee in public although it’s still forbidden on that day - but then I guess there’s nothing else to do if you’re really desperate. Letting people use the toilet in your house for 1€ is actually a nice and helpful idea but imagine dozens of desperate lads trying to enter at once because they’re bursting

SimonWater wrote: ↑27 Apr 2025, 06:26 [...]
Interesting that people will pee in public although it’s still forbidden on that day - but then I guess there’s nothing else to do if you’re really desperate. Letting people use the toilet in your house for 1€ is actually a nice and helpful idea but imagine dozens of desperate lads trying to enter at once because they’re bursting

I love that idea.
Actually most of them probably wouldn't be carrying any cash to pay that 1 euro because practically everyone now pays electronically here all the time. But if the choice is (1) letting loose in front of the crowds and immediately getting that 140 Euro fine, (2) hunting around their friends for anyone who can find them a euro coin to pay the householder, or (3) wetting their pants, I guess most would go for option (2).

Brian wrote: ↑27 Apr 2025, 09:00

SimonWater wrote: ↑27 Apr 2025, 06:26 [...]
Interesting that people will pee in public although it’s still forbidden on that day - but then I guess there’s nothing else to do if you’re really desperate. Letting people use the toilet in your house for 1€ is actually a nice and helpful idea but imagine dozens of desperate lads trying to enter at once because they’re bursting

I love that idea.
Actually most of them probably wouldn't be carrying any cash to pay that 1 euro because practically everyone now pays electronically here all the time.

Oh right, I didn’t even consider that because you can still pay cash basically everywhere in Germany. But yeah, I remember seeing many shops/Cafés in the Netherlands where signs said 'card payment only'. I picture many desperate lads bobbing on the spot, searching their pockets for that one accident preventing coin

Brian wrote: ↑27 Apr 2025, 09:00 But if the choice is (1) letting loose in front of the crowds and immediately getting that 140 Euro fine, (2) hunting around their friends for anyone who can find them a euro coin to pay the householder, or (3) wetting their pants, I guess most would go for option (2).

Definitely option 2, I wouldn’t want to get fined and wetting yourself amongst so many other people - too embarrassing and it would spoil the day.

I wouldn't expect there to be a fine if you accidentally peed your pants, though you might be asked to leave the premises. When there is a large crowd and lots of drinking, appropriate places to pee would be a problem. Householders might be more willing to have women use their toilet than men. Aren't guys suppose to hold it even if they've imbibed a lot more than the women? Desperate women get sympathy, while desperate men get looked upon with disdain.