There are water fountains in every airport in Europe (and pretty much the world, it's regulatory) they are usually located in or near the restrooms.
Not to mention that pretty much every restaurant will give you tap water for free.
Not to mention that pretty much every restaurant will give you tap water for free.
Maybe she just thought it has a bad taste, but it can't have been bad enough that I'd prefer paying 2-3 euros for bottled water.
Modern consumerism at work!
In most of Italy, 30 years ago, asking for a jug of water at a restaurant was absolutely normal; you would order bottles only if you preferred sparkling, or if you were acting stupendous.
By the mid-90s, drinking bottled water at home had become normal even in cities with perfectly working water systems. People worried about hygiene started requiring bottled water in all circumstances, to be opened in their presence (god forbid you would actively recycle glass bottles in your establishment! -- to be fair though, in a country where screwing your fellow man is considered the smart thing to do, charging bottled-water prices for tap water was far from uncommon).
Nowadays, it's expected that water should be served in bottles; it's supposedly more hygienic and it's certainly more profitable for restaurants.
Somebody joked that in Sicily people drink water bottled in the Alps, and in the Alps they drink water bottled in Sicily. It's all great for the economy, of course, and terrible for the environment, but hey, così è la vita.
A barman friend charged a client $X for a round, including a bottle of water. One of his regulars scrunched up his face in thought, did the calculations, and said "Did you just charge $6 for a bottle of water?". The reply: "Did you see her blink?". It's been ridiculously normalised. For the record, my hometown is supposedly famous for excellent tapwater for drinking.
This was not close to my experience and I spoke the country's native language. (Large Western EU country.)
[1] https://www.gov.uk/alcohol-licensing#mandatory-licensing-con...
I'm in Zürich now. There are water fountains everywhere. I believe you're never further than 100m from one, anywhere in the city? The water quality is superb --- better than most bottled water, they say --- and they run off their own distribution network, which means the water fountains operate as the emergency backup for if the main distribution network goes down. They run continuously, too.
Ah, here we go. (People are really keen on Zürich's water fountains. You can get guided tours.) https://zurich1200fountains.wordpress.com/
http://www.heathrowairport.com/static/Heathrow/Downloads/PDF...
Luton don't have nice maps for it but... http://www.london-luton.co.uk/en/faq/6/147/do-you-have-publi...
I also dont recall drinking fountains in Phnom Penh or Saigon's airports.
So I'm not sure what you are talking about. Maybe some of the smaller regional ones?
I didn't say that there wasn't one (now or then), only that I couldn't find one, and that an employee told me there wasn't one—and both those facts are true.
Also... "Responding to Prof Colbourne's comments, a spokesman for airport operator BAA said drinking fountains offering free water were already installed at Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted and Southampton airports."
This is from 2002... http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-355500/Free-water-...
http://www.heathrowairport.com/static/Heathrow/Downloads/PDF...
Gatwick: "once you're through security, you can use our water fountains or any of our food outlets will be happy to provide you with a glass of tap water."
http://www.gatwickairport.com/at-the-airport/flying-out/secu...
One potential hack around this is to find the disabled bathroom, which usually has taps with adjustable water temperature,
Ireland is not in the Schengen area
(If I'm wrong please let me know as I spend ages trying to find it usually).