First of all, Switzerland is a beautiful, very clean country. That is why I was surprised to occasionally smell urine around sidewalks and nooks. Yesterday, I almost walked into a man peeing in a bush in a park; then today I saw a man peeing on the street and another in an outdoor corner. WHAT!?! Why here, in this educated country, are there people peeing in the streets? BECAUSE THERE ARE NO FREE BATHROOMS!! Yes, it's true. Today I had the privilege of paying $2 to use a bathroom. To add insult to injury, exact change is required to enter the bathroom area. This is not good news when you are REALLY in a hurry! Later in the day I stopped in a McDonald's (the chicest McDonald's I've ever seen!) to use the restroom and discovered that the use of their "water closet" was restricted to those who had purchased food there (a code to enter the restroom was on the receipt). If you ever get to travel this beautiful country, make sure you have exact change to enter restrooms and be prepared to avert your eyes if someone just can't make it! [This reminds me of a time, fall 1994, when my dear Danish friend, Martine, went with me to Wal-Mart. She inquired about where we paid to use the bathroom. I thought that was completely hilarious--paying to use the bathroom? Now I fully understand, it's all cultural... :) ]