Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
»
Bars
About 5% at the bar and 10% at a table.
»
Taxis
About 10%.
Etiquette
Austrians are fairly formal and use irony to alleviate social rules and constraints rather
than debunk or break them obviously.
»
Telephone
Always give your name at the start of a telephone call, especially when
making reservations. When completing the call, say
auf Wiederhören
('goodbye'; cus-
tomary form on phone).
»
Greetings
Use the
Sie
(formal 'you') form unless you're young-ish (in your 20s) and
among peers, or your counterpart starts using
du
(informal 'you'). Acknowledge fellow
hikers on trails with a
Servus
,
Grüss di
(or the informal
Grüss dich
) or
Grüss Gott
(all
ways of saying 'hello!').
»
Eating and Drinking
Bring chocolate or flowers as a gift if invited into a home. Be-
fore starting to eat, say
Guten Appetit
. To toast say
Zum Wohl
(if drinking wine) or
Prost!
(beer), and look your counterpart in the eye - not to do so is impolite and reputedly
brings seven years of bad sex.
Language
In Vienna, regional capitals and tourist areas such as around lakes or in resorts you'll find
a lot of people speak English, especially in restaurants and hotels. In much of the coun-
tryside it's a slightly different picture, where you should equip yourself with a few neces-
sary phrases. Conductors on trains and many bus drivers know enough English to help
with necessities. See Language (
Click here
)
for more information.
