It was winter of 1973 and I was a new Army recruit. We arrived in Frankfurt, via a chartered 707, and after going through the deplaning process, customs, etc., I made my way to the restroom. The urinals were simply ceramic tiled walls. At the base of the wall was a 3" channel with a drain at the far end. Not a big deal, but while standing there, I notice in my peripheral vision, an old cleaning lady scrubbing the wall and making her way in my direction. Talk about Culture Shock!

After leaving the restroom and walking through the airport, I immediately notice the police officers walking around with machine guns slung over their shoulders, hand on the grip and the other hand supporting the barrel. Wow, talk about more Culture Shock!

And one more story... I was stationed in Southern Germany (FRG then) about 30 kilometers (clicks) West of Munich in a small town called Augsburg. The train station there had a restroom with the same style of tiled walls and a channel at the base of the wall as the airport in Frankfurt. But unlike Frankfrut, they hd tried to modernize the restroom at the train station. The modernization included mounting urinals to the tiled walls, but the urinals were not fitted with supply water and flush valves and the drain holes were not fitted with pipes. Liquids just dropped down to the channel. Too funny!