Swiftly she weighed her options; it was past closing time in Amsterdam's lively Leidseplein area, meaning she could not duck into a bar to use its facilities, while the nearest public toilet was more than a mile away.
She resorted to squatting in an alleyway, coaxing her friends to cover her as she did so. Police soon turned up, handing her a €140 (£120) fine for public urination.
Few could have predicted what would come next; after a nine-year battle for "urination equality" in which thousands took to the streets, this month Amsterdam said it would begin introducing new public toilets in October.
The day after Piening was fined, she woke up furious about the injustice of it. "There were a lot of urinals for men nearby but I couldn't go anywhere to pee," she said. "I thought: This is an issue."
Piening, then 21 years old, penned a letter challenging her fine, pointing out that Amsterdam was home to 35 public urinals for men and only three public toilets for women. "It doesn't only affect women, but also people in wheelchairs," she said.
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