Refurbished in 2017, the Piz Gloria toilets feature a variety of highly-entertaining, humorous and attention-grabbing 007 audio-visual effects which have to be seen to be believed.
The ladies’ loo has music and a shot ringing out as an image of James Bond appears in the mirror beside a bullet hole. In the powder room, there’s an audio of Bond saying, “Tonight, my place — just the two of us.”
In the men’s loos (I’m reliably informed), Bond girl Diana Rigg appears in the mirror when chaps wash their hands and there are signs in the cubicles saying, “Shake, don’t stir” and “Aim like James.”
The overall effect is brilliant. But if you are in a hurry, it’s quite a distraction. After half an hour, my friend came looking for me.
So what’s the relevance of 007 to a restaurant at the top of a Swiss mountain?
If you are a Bond fan you will know that Mt Schilthorn was used as a location for Blofeld’s Lair in the 1969 movie “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service”.
And with the 50th anniversary of the movie coming up next year, the Bond theme is being ramped up to the max by the Schilthorn tourism office. Hence the extravagant loo make-over.
Other Bond-themed attractions at the summit are Bond World 007 and the 007 Walk of Fame.
Not surprisingly, the toilets also caught the attention of judges at the 2018 International Toilet Tourism Awards being named Overall Winner for Contribution to Toilet Tourism.
The judges said: Apart from the wonderful scenery at Mt Schilthorn, the James Bond bathrooms are also now a fun reason to go. The toilets have immortalised James Bond and added a surprising humorous element to sightseeing in the one of the most dramatic locations in Europe.
However, even ingenious, award-winning loos cannot upstage the natural attributes of Mt Schilthorn with its spectacular views of the Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau and more than 200 other peaks visible from the Piz Gloria restaurant as it rotates a full circle in 45 minutes.
And thrill-seekers can stop off at Birg Station on the way up the aerial cableway and get a massive adrenalin rush by doing the vertiginous Skyline Walk and Thrill Walk above, down and along the vertical rock walls of the Birg massif. • www.schilthorn.ch
Six winners in the loo awardsSix toilets in tourism destinations around the world won titles at the awards ceremony in Sydney last month. The toilets were judged for their design, quirkiness, location, accessibility, and economic contribution to their locality.
The Saskatchewan Science Centre in Canada won Best Design for their newly-refurbished restrooms inspired by the boreal forests of northern Saskatchewan. There are floor to ceiling visuals of the deep forest and audio of birdsong and woodland sounds.
The Cummins Mosaic Loo in South Australia won Best Economic Contributor. The local community converted a bland red brick toilet block from the former railway station into a public loo with personality. It feature statues, mosaics and paintings reflecting a more genteel bygone era from the early 20th century.
Best Location went to Hotel La Jolla, California for their 11th floor restroom offering an amazing view of La Jolla and the Pacific Ocean.
Best Accessible Toilet was won by Brisbane Airport which has specialised equipment including an adult change table, hoist and a toilet with removable hand rails for people with severe disabilities. There’s even an indoor loo for guide dogs that travel with people with disabilities.
Bowl Plaza in Kansas, USA won the Quirkiest Experience Award for a public restroom. The bathroom’s walls are covered inside and out with mosaics created by local residents and artists and the entire building is shaped like a toilet tank with a raised toilet lid as an entrance way.
New Zealand has quite a collection including the public toilets in the small Northland town of Kawakawa designed by Austrian artist Friedensreich Regentag Dunkelbunt Hundertwasser. They are built mostly with recycled materials and colourful pottery.
The toilet tourism trend is catching on worldwide so be prepared . . . going to the loo may never be quite the same again.
For more information go to Switzerland Tourism:
https://www.myswitzerland.com/en/home.html
