I've been struggling to learn any German at all , and I think these dialects are why!! Austria is one of the few countries that has been sloooowww to take up any kind of smoking laws, because Austrians adore smoking. For a country that's so modern in so many ways the smoking habits here make me feel like its still It's legal at 16 meaning half the population is addicted by It's gross. Topless sun baking is the norm at all public swimming spots, be it beside the Danube, at a public pool or with your kids at the local swim spot.
Nuding up is par for the course, particularly beside lakes. While some areas are specifically reserved for this, people don't tend to look twice at folk of all ages nuding up. Stay tuned for a later post about this and how it positively affects body confidence throughout the country - I reckon us English speaking folk have a lot to learn! There is dairy everywhere. Austrians love any kind of Dairy product - cheese, milk, butter, buttermilk, cream, creamy spreads, creamy sauces on meals, mayonaise in every salad So versatile is their love of Dairy that they literally invented a drink made from 'cheese juice' - as in leftover juice from the cheese making process.
Stefan loves it. The thought of it makes me wanna vomit in my mouth. The diet of Austria is built on the back of a Pig - always served with generous helpings of Potatoes.
Pork cannot be avoided - they sneak it in Schnitzel, in salad, in cordon bleu, even in breakfast as a spread the fat of the pig is made spreadable. The enitre country is an OCD dream of cleanliness. Crossing the border into Austria I swear the fields get more organised, the streets are neater and everything is more orderly. There's a woman on our street who has been spotted sweeping leaves from the footpath at midnight.
No joke - cleanliness is imperative. If cleaning your house isn't enough, they have city wide initiatives in Spring to help clean the city for incomiung tourists Holiday Often. Most Austrian work contracts have 5 weeks annual leave built in. Add to that the many many public holidays throughout the year at least 14 and the 'swing days' if a public holiday falls on a Thursday you can normally get the Friday off too and you have one very relaxed country.
Being smack in the centre of Europe means you can holiday in Italy , Hungary, Czech Republic or just enjoy some of the stunning countryside of Austria. Tough life!
Normally, in any English speaking country when I get in an elevator, I avoid eye contact, clutch my phone and pretend i'm not surrounded by 20 other people in an enclosed space.
Entering and exiting buildings I look busy, stride quickly and leave everyone the hell alone to do the same. Standard human interaction, no? Not so here. I personally love this - it gives your day to day interactions a little more cheer! I got my first Dirndl last weekend for a local 'mini-Oktoberfest' in Tirol and I loooovve it.
They'll lend you the air of authenticity while holding a beer and speaking broken Deutsch in a beer hall. Apparently Trachten are making a comeback in the fashion stakes so you can get yourself ahead of the game, like so Advising others on the benefits of a Dirndl I don't just mean asking which continent, or country.
The first 15 minutes upon meeting anyone new is generally spent dissecting which particular region a person hails from. Points are gained if the correct answer can be picked from a speakers accent, double points if a specific village can be named. Maybe this is a European habit, but for Austrians its seems to be a particularly rewarding game - where if you guess correctly, friendly jibes and stereotypes are exchanged about each respective persons village.
Austrians love a good walk, or hike, or mountain bike, or rock climbing or going for a 'Wandern' - which is a hike that can go for hours. All this incredible countryside encourages outdoor fitness freaks. Then in winter there's skiing, snow boarding, ice skating, or 'touring' which is hiking again , but this time in snow, up a mountain. No idea why they'd want to get all the way up here!
They are waaayy more important here than any other sporting codes. It may seem obvious when you think of the climate, but still surprises me. I'm slowly getting used to the idea of watching ski races on a Saturday afternoon instead of the footy. Because Austria kind of sucks on a national level in popular European sports like soccer, they tend to embrace the stuff they're good at, like skiing.
Just don't tell them they suck, you may be kicked out :. Superflous shot of Austria's best soccer player, Alaba, looking dreamy. The greatest Austrian habit of all - mid afternoon coffee and cake. Join now Log in Email. Password Forgot password? Keep me logged in. Log in. Log in Join now. Austria Vienna Town Talk why people is unfriendly in Vienna? Town Talk why people is unfriendly in Vienna?
By Community Member. Go to latest reply. Cultural offerings: Cheap access to the opera, massive student discounts for World class concerts at the Salzburg Festival or the Wiener Festwochen , exquisite art museums like the Kunsthistorisches Museum , the Albertina , or the Palais Liechtenstein in Vienna, or the ballet of the Staatsoper - thumbs up!
In England a ticket for a non-professional student performance of a play 5 pounds is twice as expensive as an evening in the standing room of the Staatsoper 3. Language: Austrian German is my mother tongue and I love to use it. It is more guttural and softer than standard German in terms of pronunciation, and more metaphorical and expressive in its many regional idioms. Natural beauty and diversity: Easy to believe that one, the Austrian Alps tear the country into dramatic pieces, add lakes, swamps, hills and glaciers among other dramatic features.
Once again this is something I took for granted - but northwest Ohio and East Anglia proved me wrong. The more I appreciate Austria now. Wide-spread prosperity and socialist tradition: At latest since the ies , high taxes ensure an efficient network of public transportation, little poverty, a solid middle-class, excellent public health care, funding for the arts and endowments of museums, and access to education is widely free thus meritocratic.
The good side of the medal compare with the dislikes. Rudeness and interactions: After several years in England, Austrians occur terribly rude to me. Be it the grumpy bus driver, a waiter in a restaurant or the odd old lady in the train - you are never safe of abusive language or complaints. Conformism and homogenous thinking: Ethnically Austria is back to being a diverse place especially Vienna , but Austrians are generally very much into "equality" and a life following a template.
Non-conformists find their niches, but will always have to explain why.
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