My husband and I spend a few weeks in Europe every year, mainly because we have three grandchildren in Portugal. One of the differences I find disturbing in European bathrooms is the lack of a washcloth. There are hand towels and bath towels, but no small washcloths. Last year, I forgot to pack washcloths. I found myself in Paris trying to find one, and we settled on two small dust cloths. We took the two dust cloths to Amsterdam and to Portugal. Our daughter has lived in Portugal so long that she doesn’t have washcloths in her guest bathroom.
A hand towel is too unwieldy to handle when wet. I need something that fits in my hands to soap up and use. It may not mean much to some people, indeed, it may seem petty, but what we become accustomed to using is important for our comfort. I remembered to pack two for my husband and me for the trip this year to Vienna, Budapest, and Portugal, and was I ever glad I did. I also like fluffy washcloths. A thin washcloth is like not using one at all.
I haven’t researched why Europeans don’t use washcloths, and in Airbnbs, only provide the larger towels. But, as an American, a washcloth does a better job for me than trying to wring a larger hand towel, especially as I get older and my strength is not what it used to be. I also think that a hand towel is for guests to dry their hands. It serves as a not-too-subtle reminder to our guests and family members to wash their hands after using the facilities. A bath towel speaks for itself. It would take all day to dry one’s body using anything smaller, and bath towels also need to be fluffy. I am willing to pay more for fluffier towels.
Wanting a washcloth may be another of my American idiosyncrasies, but when I travel, I make sure I have a couple in my carry-on luggage. I don’t want them to get lost with the luggage, because trying to use a hand towel instead doesn’t make me happy. Vacations are meant to be happy times!
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I miss washcloths when I travel as well. Hand towels are too big and awkward. I keep one in my ditty kit.
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I didn’t realize they don’t use washcloths in some European countries.
A couple years ago a friend in my handbell choir went to Sweden, and she came back with washcloths for all of us. Mine has a picture of old-fashioned Swedish houses on it, and it has a texture like construction paper when dry, kind of stiff. When wet, it is a pretty good washcloth, soft and easy to use. When you wash it and throw it in the dryer, it comes out feeling like paper again.
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I have wanted to visit Sweden, Denmark, and Helsinki. But the absence of washcloths in Portugal, France, and Amsterdam was uncomfortable.
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