Finally someone not saying that Austrian waiters are rude. Thanks. They just expect the same kind of respect they grant you and yes, they are most likely just direct. As are most of us. Cheesr from Vienna! 🙂
Sometimes it’s both 😅 direct and rude. Direct communication you can get used to, but rudeness is hard to ignore. Rolling eyes, not paying the same respect to all guests,…
@@KhyatiPuria" Not paying the same respect to all guests". Well a lot of restaurants are for defined groups. I once went in a famous restaurant in the city and I was adjusted as a motorcycle driver. I was treated like shit. But I understand the problem. People simply don't like to mix. In reality people prefer to stay in their race and class. Only a minority likes to cross the invisible borders. And the restaurant owners know that.
@@KhyatiPuria Cheers from Vienna, again :) (remember "bim 1 / 2 not going in circles anymore?") "wie man in den Wald hineinruft, so schallt es auch zurück." the main big difference between the 'old places' and starbucks, McD, etc is: in those places, you're "king guest" in a franchise empire, your word shall be their command. everywhere else, though, it's the other way around: _you_ are the one who wants something from _them_ and you'd rather behave. and, don't get me wrong, even though you claim decades of living here, you two definitely stick out like tourists 😘
I don't think they are rude. They learn to be a Gentleman. Stay in the shadows and let the guest enjoy their meal. And only appear if you make hand sign, ask or at least make eye contact. Though I will say some restaurants are understuffed. And if you go there to the place in high demand (lunch or Saturday/Sunday), then it's no surprise that they don't appear when needed. It just too much going on. Also they got paid a good amount of cash, not like Amricans. Those american waiters have to literally beg you and baby you that you tip then so they can survive another month.
Austria is Not Just Vienna... Waiters are friendly If you treat them friendly... And yes waiters expect Tip... We are very upset when We don't recieve tip... I don't Like the Video because 8 of those 11 are wrong... Austrian hast spoken
I am Austrian, and you are spot on with explaining the Austrians formality with our Dr. & Magister, Dr.Dr. etc. It is because Austria was a Monarchy a long long time ago. I find it annoying sometimes
I am Austrian, I have a Mag, I was severely abused by my German partner and fired from a dozen jobs. It's a nazi country, Austria should change its name to Naziland, that way foreigners will know what to expect
But the American way of adressing everybody by their first name and acting like we were long term friends is also annoying. I prefer the Austrian way to keep workplace contacts formal.
With the switch years ago from Mag. und Dr to BSC and MSC and PhD that is going to fade out anyways. Those new titles aren't usable in german for adressing someone. And you can notice it in doctors waiting rooms. Mag. Dr and Ing. are still used to adress the patients, but no one calls someone "Frau Master of science Schneider" Or "Frau Master Schneider" or "Herr Bachelor Egger" that is like a tongue twister and so it will end. Me personally without being a Dr. or Mag. i find the "new" ones somewhat dreary and uninspired.
Wer mit der undemokratischen Entscheidung des dzt. BP Bellen nicht einverstanden ist, möge bitte die Petition für den Rücktritt desselbigen auf open petition unterstützen und teilen!
As native Austrian, I like your videos as they are mostly clichee-free and close to reality compared to other UA-camrs claiming to know Austria well. As you correctly stated Austrians are very direct, I have to correct two statements in your video regarding eating habits. It is NOT generally common at all in Austria to eat lunch at 11:30! It is sometimes a habit among co-workers who have to start work very early e.g. 7am and have become very hungry before noon accordingly to go for lunch ahead of the crowds at 12:00 or 13:00 (typical time of Austrian lunch bandwidth, especially within working class). But that´s it. You cannot derive a general early lunch statement here because this will incorrectly resonate with international viewers. The same goes for the cold dinner statement that is misleading. This is also NOT a general rule in Austria, but rather a habit for specific segments of population only, e.g. people living alone or keeping a "eat less late" plan. For many Austrian families dinner is the only time to eat together during the week, so a warm dinner is in fact quite common, either self cooked or go-out vs. have it delivered. Most people especially within the working population rather have dinner as the main meal during the day, as work not always permits relaxed lunches. And therefore dinners are warm and rather big as hardly anyone has the luxury of great lunches. So maybe you have experienced it otherwise in your surrounding, but as a 50+ years Austrian I can assure you that´s not the norm and it should not be presented as one.
Thanks for clarifying! That’s how I perceived it during my +30 years in Vienna. But yes could be something not the entire population resonates with. Thanks again for sharing your feedback.
@@KhyatiPuriaso .. I grew up in upper Austria with one parent being “born and raised in Vienna”. At least in the “Bundesländer“ (federal states) we as a family who had lunch „late“ around 1-1.30pm made fun of how all our friends were called home for lunch at 11.30 strict. Same when we visited the grandparents- at least 90s more rural Austria had a habit of very early lunch 11.30 to 12 at the latest (again my family was the extreme exception ). Also dinner was always cold in our household with 1950s born parents - it was our only dish for the family together (mother father children) but it was almost always cold plates. This might be different in the cities and today - but what you described is definitely true for rural and more provincial Austria 80s and 90s (I was living in Linz but consider it quite rural ) and my Viennese parent cultivated it all the same. It might be changing with dual earner families today - children now stay in day care longer than I and my siblings did in the 90s. So the need for one hot meal for all might be different today
Nice video and pretty accurate. But you missed that Austria is a country of train travelers. With Vienna beeing one of the best connected city in Europe by train.
Hi K&P- Your videos were very useful with planning our trip to Vienna, Salzburg and Hallstatt mid August. The surprising part about Vienna was the scorching hot temps the week of Aug 13 at nearly 95F . I thought i will escape the summer heat of Texas - USA, and it was a shock. Nevertheless we enjoyed our trip and thanks for the very good info we picked from your videos. One thing outstanding about Vienna was the metro train service, the connectivity and the frequency. Never had to wait for more than 7-8 mins anywhere.
@@KhyatiPuria - Hi just being curious. Does Austria allow non EU citizens to buy properties in Austria. Looking at buying a condo / flat as a 2nd home for longer stays I read some where they don't allow. Is that true. Also can you do a vlog on various options available for long term retiree visa using purely retiree's passive income. Since you guys live there thought you may be familiar with the laws. Thanks!
@@cookmaster3626definitely possible - for most non eu citizens there is an authority run approval procedure - this requirement is relaxed for some countries citizens where bilateral agreements between the states are in place. You will need an experienced attorney to navigate you through the process for sure - but it’s definitely possible
@user-fb5lj9cz5l Austrians are not similar to thee Germans! Our culture and mentality is quite other h- more similar to tthe Czechs or Hungarians ans we have also influence frrom Italy and the Balkans. Genetically we are nearly identical to Hungarians and similar to the Czechs.
@@user-fb5lj9cz5lIch hab meine Tippfehler aus Zeitmangel nicht korrigiert bzw. hat die Autokorrektur auch noch dazwischengefunkt. Und englisch kann ich schon, ich spreche es täglich, da ich in Südostasien wohne und mich auch englisch nicht nur mit meiner Frau unterhalte. Ich finde nur diese ewigen Vergleiche und Gleichstellungen zwischen Deutschen und Österreichern widerlich. Schließlich ist die deutsche Sprache soetwas wie eine Kolonialsprache in Österreich, die uns vom frühen Mittelalter beginnend, von Franken (und den ihnen unterworfenen Bajuwaren) mit dem Schmäh der Christianisierung, aufgezwungen wurde. Und es gibt noch immer Österreicher, die glauben wir wären auch Deutsche. Selbst über die neueste Pseudodokumentation des ORF über die Geschichte Österreichs, haben sich sogar deutsche Historiker gewundert und sie als sehr bis extrem deutsch bezeichnet. Ja, wenn die Verantwortlichen bei uns die alten, wissenschaftlich längst überholten Lügengeschichten verbreiten lassen, wird's schwierig. Leider sind die Österreicher nicht das einzige Volk das unter einer Art von Stockholmsyndrom ihrer ehemaligen Kolonialmacht gegenüber leidet.
Austrian, Viennese here. Great video! I would like to add, I enjoy a snack at work whenever I find the time and cook a warm dinner at home in the evening. The "restday" Sunday is due to Christian religion and deeply rooted in our culture. My grandmother used to go to church each and every Sunday. I do not ski but love ice skating, cycling, swimming and going to my gym. I do volonteer and enjoy a good street party in my neighbourhood so you are spot on on the community topic! I visited Budapest, Brno, Praha, Bratislava ... and mostly used the train system to go there. I would like to add the fact that Austrians are really good in seperating their trash and recycling. And we do donate a lot for charities even on TV some are broadcasted year after year.
Hello, as an Austrian from Burgenland, I agree with most of the statements mentioned in the video. But I work Monday to Thursday 8 to 5 and Friday 8 to 12:30 and we have snacks in the office at lunchtime. Our only hot meal during the week is in the evening, and it's a big home-cooked meal. At the weekend we like to sleep late and then enjoy our brunch late in the morning, skip lunch and have a great dinner at home or out at a restaurant. So not all Austrians eat a lot at lunchtime.
Myself and my wife (from India), both are above 60 years old, retired, shall be travelling to Vienna in another 3 weeks from now. Your vlog has helped us immensely in the preparation part, a big thanks to both of you. Just 2 brief queries: 1) Is the Vienna 72 hour card (17€) valid for travelling by train from Wien Hbf to Krems Station, and also for OBB S-7 from the airport to Wien Hbf? 2) Do you recommend any specific scenic place within an hour of public transport journey from Vienna Favoriten area for nature sightseeing, please?
No unfortunately not! Those tickets are only valid within Vienna. You need a separate ticket once you leave Vienna city center. We made a video on the airport to Vienna journey. Make sure you watch that to get more details: ua-cam.com/video/JVP9MWxAuhM/v-deo.html
@@KhyatiPuria Thank you very much for your prompt reply ❤️. Is Melk a place worth visiting if we love scenic views within an hour journey from Vienna, or recommend any other place nearby?
@@hannes7348 I would say it depends. It's quite common in a number of office environments, banks, public offices, you name it. When I did a summer internship at the Austrian Office of Statistics (then ÖSTAT)back in my salad days, lunch rush was basically over by 12:15.
@@hannes7348 I worked as a craftsman in Vienna for over 35 years. So get up at 5 a.m. every day and start work at 6 a.m. It wasn't at all unusual to take a lunch break at 11:30, especially since it makes things easier when others don't take a break until 12 or 12:30. (Warum red´ma eigentlich englisch?)
I think it's uncommon. In my company people go for a meal at 11:30 only because we have bigger companies around us and they want to avoid crowds at the usual 12:00 time.
Good video. I am a relatively new immigrant to Austria, having moved here from New Zealand a year ago. I do struggle with the mix of direct and oftentimes indirect communication of Austrians. Also, coming from a relatively egalitarian society such as NZ, the formality and hierarchy of Austria does my head in sometimes. I am torn between sucking it up and becoming more formal just to try and fit in a little bit more (though unlikely as auslanders will always be auslanders here), or maintaining my own identity and the best bits of where I am from, which means I don't care what your titles are, I won't treat you any differently if you are a doctor or making my coffee.
Love this question :) There is definitely no single answer in my opinion. It always depends, but you will get better at fine-tuning based on the situation :)
I guess it strongly depends on the market you’re working for. If your project is in Italy or Germany of course the expectation is different than if you’re having a project in Austria. I still loved Friday afternoons as it was much more relaxed. Nobody planned big moves or updates before the weekend 😂 Puria
Yesterday we started planning for our first family visit to Vienna for August 2025. Already booked the flight. And watched more than couple of your videos as were looking on where to go and what to visit. Do you have any recommendations for accommodations? Airbnb or hotel? Maybe you already have a video that can help! Thanks for you both for creating such an informative channel ❤ from Cyprus
Thanks! The hotel that we always recommend to friends and family is the Bassena in 1220. We just love the price value ratio. It’s in the outskirts but right in front of a U1 station which gets you to center in around 10min. www.trip.com/t/4IUJs7T45U1
Austrians are only direct in the communication that goes socially down, not up. You are expected to be almost Japanese-like circumspect when talking to someone who is higher up in society. If someone is being blunt, this means they believe themselves to be superior to you. For example, a shop clerk will tell a foreigner directly, "this dress does not fit you". But a posh local lady in pearls will get instead, "Does Frau Doctor perhaps want to try one more dress?" Generally, Austria is a very hierarchical society (hence the obsession with titles). Thus every social interaction is also a silly little dominance game. Bluntness is one of the ways to assert superiority.
Disagree. Completely depends on the situation and people involved. I can be very straight forward and "blunt" with my superiors at work. It isn't in any way a form of trying to show superiority to come to the point, it's needed to be efficient and appreciated by my superiors. (i do work in a technical envirement) The thing in the shop you described does happen (sadly). But in my (40+years) experience, it isn't the norm. (or let's say there are shops/places where it is more likely to happen than in others) But in my experience, it has more to do with greed than hirarchy as they expect the "pearl" lady to leave more money in the shop and that prospect in some (not all) changes the way they adress someone or "blow sugar up their a$$". And it is more likely to happen in places where it is about expensive stuff than normal stuff. (But i can also give examples of places i would actually have expected to encounter such behavior due to my usual way of clothing myself when i absolutely didn't. And was treated with the same respect as the "Herr Director in his suit next to me. Despite my jeans, running shoes and old t-shirt)
-I think the "early" lunch time comes from the traditionally early start of a work day. People who start early eat their breakfast early and the same goes for lunch. In countries like spain for example, where the work day on average starts later and there's a bigger "heat caused" break in the middle, they end their workday later in the evening and eat their dinner later than austrians. So everyting is just shifted to fit the acustomed timetable. -the formality: There is also the saying in austria that "above 2000m sealevel no formality is needed" (maybe a bad translation: "Über 2000m sagt man Du") The strangest thing to me was when entering a HTL at age 14 and the teachers adressed us in the formal way with "Sie". Also the title thing will end pretty soon relatively completely because years ago the education system has switched to the "bachelor" and "master" nomenclature and they do not roll off the tongue in german. The only place i encounter people getting adressed with their title is doctors waiting rooms. But nobody in austria is adressing someone as "Frau MBA Schneider" or "Herr BSC Egger". The old academic titles had names that were better suited for that. (and had a long tradition that just got "ejected" to have the same sad sounding stuff as everybody else.) Btw. i don't have an academic title myself. Because the austrian law categorizes "Ing." not as academic title but as "description of profession" instead. -To the wind farms: the problem with those is that they do not provide electricity when people needed, but when there's wind. So there is a very big need for storing that energy to be able to cover the needs when they arise and gather as much from wind and solar energy when they are available. Batteries aren't safe and reliable and long term stable enough to use them for that amount of energy yet. And so hydroelectric pump stations are currently the best way. Switzerland and Austria have the geography and water for that, and use them for that reason highly effectively. But there's a limit to everything, and especially in austria the green party argues against any hydroelectric powerstation build but is ok with putting wind turbines on mountain tops. (Straight into national parks they are ok with planting huge concrete blocks and destryoing nature to build roads to be able to built the wind turbines up there. And long lines from the turbines back down to the grid. While almost 90% of the energy produced in austria is from renewable sources that only makes up only around 50% of the energy used. We need to reduce our consumption of electricity. But that's not going to happen with everybody and their grandma buying e-bikes, e-scooters, having their wifi router running even when they are not at home, switching to electric cars... (Charging one electric car like a Tesla 3 is equal to the energy consumption of a common household in austria for almost a week. So the strain on a grid system with charching EVs is a real problem especially fast charging.)
I love love love your Videos about Austria. I would like to know, given you have different backgrounds, what restaurants you would recommend when it comes to Indian or Iranian cuisine in Vienna. I am always interested in the most beloved restaurants of people who know the original taste. Thank you!
Thanks 🙏🏽 For Iranian cuisine, I always recommend Pars restaurant. They've been around for decades and never let me down! As for Indian food 🤔, I’d naturally suggest our family’s restaurant in Klosterneuburg, “INdER BURG” 😅, but we also recently discovered a great spot in Vienna called "Zum Mogulhof." It was a lovely experience! Puria 🙋🏻♂️
one tip: you could make a video about all the indirect ways of communication austrians use. because it's not always so direct and that can be very confusing for people who are new residents or who don't speak german very well....
That’s worth a video in itself! 😂 during which time interval do you say Mahlzeit. When you’re eating and somebody enters the room and says Mahlzeit, do you say “Mahlzeit” back or do you say “Danke”? 🤷🏻♂️ 😂
@@KhyatiPuria there is a joke: american woman: oh, those austrians are so in love with music, even when they have lunch or dinner together, they say "mozart". ;-)
On midday when it's lunchtime its nearly common that you can use ,,Mahlzeit" as a greet like ,,Hallo". But to respond your question - When you eating and somebody says ,,Mahlzeit" to you, its like they wish you a good meal. And you respond with ,,Danke", expect the other person is also at eating then you say ,,Mahlzeit" too 😊
Nearly all of these points are not specific to Austria, but pretty much exactly the same in Southern Germany (Bavaria/Baden-Württemberg), even the 11.30am lunch. Luckily you can also do that later :-D
I think the number of voluntary to paid firemen is even higher. There are only 6 "paid unitis" in Austria compared to 4500 "voluntary units". Yes, there are also 308 "company units", but they are only responsible for fires on their respective properties. I couldn't find exact numbers for paid units, but let's assume all 6 units are as big as Vienna (and they are not) then we would talk about around 10000 paid men (and women, of course) compared to the almost 250000 voluntary men. So more like 1:25...
Really? You find is Austrians direct? You have never been to Germany! The Germans are so direct that you have the impression they punch you in your face. We Austrians love the Conditional so much that we try to hide our feelings behind the Conditional.
Of course they are now for relaxation. Just as much as for visiting family or maybe even going to church and rest (originally it is the "day of the Lord" = "Der tag des Herrn").
I loled when they claimed that Austrians are especially environmentally concious. Maybe compared to the US or Asian countries. Not compared to most other European countries.
Hm. Most other European countries? Where is recycling more ubiquitous? Whenever I come back to Vienna from travelling abroad I feel the urge to thank the MA48 employees for their good job.
@@KhyatiPuria when i moved back home after 3 years in london, finding lunch in vienna was torture (i am from here, i know our cuisine). i loved to be able to go out and get a sandwich or salad bowl literally everywhere. i´m still hoping that one day we will get something similar to pret a manger...
It usually depends on when people start their work day: Earlier start, earlier lunch. Students who won't get up until 10:00 or 11:00 won't eat lunch at 11:30. People who start working at 07:00 are more likely to do. My work days (if it's not a night shift) start at 07:00 and so i am also in the 11:30 group when i can. (I even have had lunch earlier than that, when the day started earlier.)
Many Austrians think that shops being closed on Sundays is inconvenient. This is not "deeply integrated" in our culture, but imposed on us by church and the trade union.
It's like comparing Berlin to Germany... So many differences even from west austria to east austria (Ost-West-Gefälle) make it hard to summarize austria as one stereotype. She is still spot on, on a lot of things in the video
Till to the end of the Austrian-Hungarian monarchy we had a lot of nobility titles. Then in the new tiny Austria the socialdemocratic government of federal chancellor Karl Renner has forbidden the nobility titles by law. An aristocrat was so annoyed about this that he let print on his carte de visite "Ennobled by Charlemagne denobled by Karl Renner". But the Austrians were so used at titles that they urgently needed a substitution and so they used then happily the academic and official titles. And so you can experience till now the Austrian "waltz of titles" ,🤣😂🤣
The formal speech is a bit different, depending if you are in the east or west. In the west it is not that important. Like in Switzerland we are mostly "Per Du"!
That's a common issue unfortunately :D We sometimes mix up the German and English pronunciation of such words. Style and Stil (German for style)...slips through sometimes if you switch languages constantly.
I never get this waiters are strange in Vienna :D stell keine depperte Fragen, kriegst kana depperte Antworten:D Servas I get a soup and whatever. No is there any pork meat in my Schnitzel?? OIda schleich di gschissana :DDDD
Will try balance better between engaging and monotone so it sounds more natural but still engaging. It’s definitely not an easy thing to do but something we will work on.
Wer mit der undemokratischen Entscheidung des dzt. BP Bellen nicht einverstanden ist, möge bitte die Petition für den Rücktritt auf open petition unterstützen und teilen!
It’s because of people like you that make Austria lame as hell , I can’t wait to move back to my country that has better people, better food, better weather, and a better wage where they don’t speak a pig language with an even more animal dialect like you , get out of here with that nonsense
Well known in Austria, top secret anywhere else: Altaussee de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Datei:Altausseer_See_Seeklause_Trisselwand_20130816.jpg The landscape is unique, the people are unique.
0:34 That is very cliche as there also many Austrians that don't work 0815 (common) jobs such as police, fire department, health jobs, shift work ect. So that's not entirely true. For those who work in goverment or regular office that might be true, yes. Same goes to Sundays. Some people have to work on Sundays. Though some shops have open on Sundays: Petrol stations and shops near main S-Bahn/U-Bahn stations (usually where more lines cross in a station). Also Austria is a country for ballroom seasons. Usually around autumn. We have more than 400 ballroom events (of different kinds) each year. So you can feel like a disney princess! Tipping problem in Vienna? I hear that the first time. Might be around touristy places like 1st district, Ringstraße ect. But as an Austrian I wouldn't stay or buy things in those places.
Last week I just went again to a takeaway coffee shop in the 8th district and was confronted with the same terminal, which asks you to select a tip before you can pay.
Finally someone not saying that Austrian waiters are rude. Thanks. They just expect the same kind of respect they grant you and yes, they are most likely just direct. As are most of us.
Cheesr from Vienna! 🙂
Sometimes it’s both 😅 direct and rude. Direct communication you can get used to, but rudeness is hard to ignore.
Rolling eyes, not paying the same respect to all guests,…
@@KhyatiPuria" Not paying the same respect to all guests". Well a lot of restaurants are for defined groups. I once went in a famous restaurant in the city and I was adjusted as a motorcycle driver. I was treated like shit. But I understand the problem. People simply don't like to mix. In reality people prefer to stay in their race and class. Only a minority likes to cross the invisible borders. And the restaurant owners know that.
@@KhyatiPuria Cheers from Vienna, again :) (remember "bim 1 / 2 not going in circles anymore?")
"wie man in den Wald hineinruft, so schallt es auch zurück."
the main big difference between the 'old places' and starbucks, McD, etc is: in those places, you're "king guest" in a franchise empire, your word shall be their command. everywhere else, though, it's the other way around: _you_ are the one who wants something from _them_ and you'd rather behave. and, don't get me wrong, even though you claim decades of living here, you two definitely stick out like tourists 😘
I don't think they are rude. They learn to be a Gentleman. Stay in the shadows and let the guest enjoy their meal. And only appear if you make hand sign, ask or at least make eye contact. Though I will say some restaurants are understuffed. And if you go there to the place in high demand (lunch or Saturday/Sunday), then it's no surprise that they don't appear when needed. It just too much going on.
Also they got paid a good amount of cash, not like Amricans. Those american waiters have to literally beg you and baby you that you tip then so they can survive another month.
Austria is Not Just Vienna... Waiters are friendly If you treat them friendly... And yes waiters expect Tip... We are very upset when We don't recieve tip... I don't Like the Video because 8 of those 11 are wrong... Austrian hast spoken
I am Austrian, and you are spot on with explaining the Austrians formality with our Dr. & Magister, Dr.Dr. etc. It is because Austria was a Monarchy a long long time ago. I find it annoying sometimes
I am Austrian, I have a Mag, I was severely abused by my German partner and fired from a dozen jobs. It's a nazi country, Austria should change its name to Naziland, that way foreigners will know what to expect
What do you mean by "long long time ago"? We were a monarchy till 1918.
But the American way of adressing everybody by their first name and acting like we were long term friends is also annoying. I prefer the Austrian way to keep workplace contacts formal.
With the switch years ago from Mag. und Dr to BSC and MSC and PhD that is going to fade out anyways.
Those new titles aren't usable in german for adressing someone.
And you can notice it in doctors waiting rooms. Mag. Dr and Ing. are still used to adress the patients, but no one calls someone "Frau Master of science Schneider" Or "Frau Master Schneider" or "Herr Bachelor Egger" that is like a tongue twister and so it will end.
Me personally without being a Dr. or Mag. i find the "new" ones somewhat dreary and uninspired.
Wer mit der undemokratischen Entscheidung des dzt. BP Bellen nicht einverstanden ist, möge bitte die Petition für den Rücktritt desselbigen auf open petition unterstützen und teilen!
As native Austrian, I like your videos as they are mostly clichee-free and close to reality compared to other UA-camrs claiming to know Austria well. As you correctly stated Austrians are very direct, I have to correct two statements in your video regarding eating habits. It is NOT generally common at all in Austria to eat lunch at 11:30! It is sometimes a habit among co-workers who have to start work very early e.g. 7am and have become very hungry before noon accordingly to go for lunch ahead of the crowds at 12:00 or 13:00 (typical time of Austrian lunch bandwidth, especially within working class). But that´s it. You cannot derive a general early lunch statement here because this will incorrectly resonate with international viewers. The same goes for the cold dinner statement that is misleading. This is also NOT a general rule in Austria, but rather a habit for specific segments of population only, e.g. people living alone or keeping a "eat less late" plan. For many Austrian families dinner is the only time to eat together during the week, so a warm dinner is in fact quite common, either self cooked or go-out vs. have it delivered. Most people especially within the working population rather have dinner as the main meal during the day, as work not always permits relaxed lunches. And therefore dinners are warm and rather big as hardly anyone has the luxury of great lunches. So maybe you have experienced it otherwise in your surrounding, but as a 50+ years Austrian I can assure you that´s not the norm and it should not be presented as one.
Thanks for clarifying! That’s how I perceived it during my +30 years in Vienna. But yes could be something not the entire population resonates with.
Thanks again for sharing your feedback.
@@KhyatiPuriaso .. I grew up in upper Austria with one parent being “born and raised in Vienna”. At least in the “Bundesländer“ (federal states) we as a family who had lunch „late“ around 1-1.30pm made fun of how all our friends were called home for lunch at 11.30 strict. Same when we visited the grandparents- at least 90s more rural Austria had a habit of very early lunch 11.30 to 12 at the latest (again my family was the extreme exception ).
Also dinner was always cold in our household with 1950s born parents - it was our only dish for the family together (mother father children) but it was almost always cold plates. This might be different in the cities and today - but what you described is definitely true for rural and more provincial Austria 80s and 90s (I was living in Linz but consider it quite rural ) and my Viennese parent cultivated it all the same.
It might be changing with dual earner families today - children now stay in day care longer than I and my siblings did in the 90s. So the need for one hot meal for all might be different today
Great video! You pictured the Austrian way of life very well :) Mahlzeit!
Nice video and pretty accurate. But you missed that Austria is a country of train travelers.
With Vienna beeing one of the best connected city in Europe by train.
True!
Great video as usual. I found these videos very useful for my last trip to Vienna this summer. Thanks!
Glad it was helpful!
Hi K&P- Your videos were very useful with planning our trip to Vienna, Salzburg and Hallstatt mid August. The surprising part about Vienna was the scorching hot temps the week of Aug 13 at nearly 95F . I thought i will escape the summer heat of Texas - USA, and it was a shock. Nevertheless we enjoyed our trip and thanks for the very good info we picked from your videos. One thing outstanding about Vienna was the metro train service, the connectivity and the frequency. Never had to wait for more than 7-8 mins anywhere.
Glad you enjoyed your time here! Agree, The public transportation system is a true blessing!
@@KhyatiPuria - Hi just being curious. Does Austria allow non EU citizens to buy properties in Austria. Looking at buying a condo / flat as a 2nd home for longer stays I read some where they don't allow. Is that true. Also can you do a vlog on various options available for long term retiree visa using purely retiree's passive income. Since you guys live there thought you may be familiar with the laws. Thanks!
@@cookmaster3626definitely possible - for most non eu citizens there is an authority run approval procedure - this requirement is relaxed for some countries citizens where bilateral agreements between the states are in place. You will need an experienced attorney to navigate you through the process for sure - but it’s definitely possible
@@dinavienna THanks for the tip.
@ point 3: Austrians are similarly direct as the Germans, but they phrase it more politely. They speak much more in the subjunctive mood.
@user-fb5lj9cz5l Austrians are not similar to thee Germans! Our culture and mentality is quite other h- more similar to tthe Czechs or Hungarians ans we have also influence frrom Italy and the Balkans. Genetically we are nearly identical to Hungarians and similar to the Czechs.
@@user-fb5lj9cz5lIch hab meine Tippfehler aus Zeitmangel nicht korrigiert bzw. hat die Autokorrektur auch noch dazwischengefunkt. Und englisch kann ich schon, ich spreche es täglich, da ich in Südostasien wohne und mich auch englisch nicht nur mit meiner Frau unterhalte. Ich finde nur diese ewigen Vergleiche und Gleichstellungen zwischen Deutschen und Österreichern widerlich. Schließlich ist die deutsche Sprache soetwas wie eine Kolonialsprache in Österreich, die uns vom frühen Mittelalter beginnend, von Franken (und den ihnen unterworfenen Bajuwaren) mit dem Schmäh der Christianisierung, aufgezwungen wurde. Und es gibt noch immer Österreicher, die glauben wir wären auch Deutsche. Selbst über die neueste Pseudodokumentation des ORF über die Geschichte Österreichs, haben sich sogar deutsche Historiker gewundert und sie als sehr bis extrem deutsch bezeichnet. Ja, wenn die Verantwortlichen bei uns die alten, wissenschaftlich längst überholten Lügengeschichten verbreiten lassen, wird's schwierig. Leider sind die Österreicher nicht das einzige Volk das unter einer Art von Stockholmsyndrom ihrer ehemaligen Kolonialmacht gegenüber leidet.
@@konradreinelt5242 Oida lern Englisch. Es geht in Punkt 3 im Video um die Kommunikation, nicht um die Kultur.
Austrian, Viennese here. Great video! I would like to add, I enjoy a snack at work whenever I find the time and cook a warm dinner at home in the evening. The "restday" Sunday is due to Christian religion and deeply rooted in our culture. My grandmother used to go to church each and every Sunday. I do not ski but love ice skating, cycling, swimming and going to my gym. I do volonteer and enjoy a good street party in my neighbourhood so you are spot on on the community topic! I visited Budapest, Brno, Praha, Bratislava ... and mostly used the train system to go there.
I would like to add the fact that Austrians are really good in seperating their trash and recycling. And we do donate a lot for charities even on TV some are broadcasted year after year.
Great video enjoyed it a lot as an Austrian :)
Hello, as an Austrian from Burgenland, I agree with most of the statements mentioned in the video.
But I work Monday to Thursday 8 to 5 and Friday 8 to 12:30 and we have snacks in the office at lunchtime. Our only hot meal during the week is in the evening, and it's a big home-cooked meal. At the weekend we like to sleep late and then enjoy our brunch late in the morning, skip lunch and have a great dinner at home or out at a restaurant. So not all Austrians eat a lot at lunchtime.
Wonderful video on Austria and Vienna, as always!
Myself and my wife (from India), both are above 60 years old, retired, shall be travelling to Vienna in another 3 weeks from now. Your vlog has helped us immensely in the preparation part, a big thanks to both of you. Just 2 brief queries: 1) Is the Vienna 72 hour card (17€) valid for travelling by train from Wien Hbf to Krems Station, and also for OBB S-7 from the airport to Wien Hbf? 2) Do you recommend any specific scenic place within an hour of public transport journey from Vienna Favoriten area for nature sightseeing, please?
No unfortunately not! Those tickets are only valid within Vienna. You need a separate ticket once you leave Vienna city center. We made a video on the airport to Vienna journey. Make sure you watch that to get more details:
ua-cam.com/video/JVP9MWxAuhM/v-deo.html
@@KhyatiPuria Thank you very much for your prompt reply ❤️.
Is Melk a place worth visiting if we love scenic views within an hour journey from Vienna, or recommend any other place nearby?
Thanks for the interesting video =)
Lunch at 11:30? In at least half of austria that is NOT common.
It all depends, I suppose. It's definitely not uncommon.
@@ingmargreil As an austrian citizen I would say this is very uncommon. I don't know anybody who has lunch at 11:30 except in hospital.
@@hannes7348 I would say it depends. It's quite common in a number of office environments, banks, public offices, you name it. When I did a summer internship at the Austrian Office of Statistics (then ÖSTAT)back in my salad days, lunch rush was basically over by 12:15.
@@hannes7348 I worked as a craftsman in Vienna for over 35 years. So get up at 5 a.m. every day and start work at 6 a.m. It wasn't at all unusual to take a lunch break at 11:30, especially since it makes things easier when others don't take a break until 12 or 12:30. (Warum red´ma eigentlich englisch?)
I think it's uncommon. In my company people go for a meal at 11:30 only because we have bigger companies around us and they want to avoid crowds at the usual 12:00 time.
Good video. I am a relatively new immigrant to Austria, having moved here from New Zealand a year ago. I do struggle with the mix of direct and oftentimes indirect communication of Austrians. Also, coming from a relatively egalitarian society such as NZ, the formality and hierarchy of Austria does my head in sometimes. I am torn between sucking it up and becoming more formal just to try and fit in a little bit more (though unlikely as auslanders will always be auslanders here), or maintaining my own identity and the best bits of where I am from, which means I don't care what your titles are, I won't treat you any differently if you are a doctor or making my coffee.
Love this question :) There is definitely no single answer in my opinion. It always depends, but you will get better at fine-tuning based on the situation :)
I have always worked on Friday till 6 or 7 pm. Some offices close earlier. In other jobs its a normal working day.
I guess it strongly depends on the market you’re working for. If your project is in Italy or Germany of course the expectation is different than if you’re having a project in Austria. I still loved Friday afternoons as it was much more relaxed. Nobody planned big moves or updates before the weekend 😂
Puria
I worked from 6 to 10:30 or 11:30 at Friday in different companys
@@Oida-Vodawell if you are working from 6 it’s not the length of day that is being cut, just jiggled around! :)
Excepts the early start of lunch, we start about 12:00 it is very similar to Germany.
Okay, wintersports only in the mountain regions.
Normally we do NOT eat at 11.30 but between 12 and 1 ,only if you are up early you might be hungry..cold suppers are unusual for many ...
daheim oder wenn man beruflich jemanden zum essen trifft nicht, ich kenne aber genug, die im büro schon um halb 12 essen gehen.
I loved 11:30 lunch breaks when I used to start working already at 7 AM 😍
Yesterday we started planning for our first family visit to Vienna for August 2025. Already booked the flight. And watched more than couple of your videos as were looking on where to go and what to visit. Do you have any recommendations for accommodations? Airbnb or hotel? Maybe you already have a video that can help! Thanks for you both for creating such an informative channel ❤ from Cyprus
Thanks! The hotel that we always recommend to friends and family is the Bassena in 1220. We just love the price value ratio. It’s in the outskirts but right in front of a U1 station which gets you to center in around 10min.
www.trip.com/t/4IUJs7T45U1
Many things (but nôt all of course) are also common in neighbouring Slovakia and Czechia too😉
Austrians are only direct in the communication that goes socially down, not up. You are expected to be almost Japanese-like circumspect when talking to someone who is higher up in society. If someone is being blunt, this means they believe themselves to be superior to you.
For example, a shop clerk will tell a foreigner directly, "this dress does not fit you". But a posh local lady in pearls will get instead, "Does Frau Doctor perhaps want to try one more dress?"
Generally, Austria is a very hierarchical society (hence the obsession with titles). Thus every social interaction is also a silly little dominance game. Bluntness is one of the ways to assert superiority.
Disagree. Completely depends on the situation and people involved.
I can be very straight forward and "blunt" with my superiors at work. It isn't in any way a form of trying to show superiority to come to the point, it's needed to be efficient and appreciated by my superiors. (i do work in a technical envirement)
The thing in the shop you described does happen (sadly). But in my (40+years) experience, it isn't the norm.
(or let's say there are shops/places where it is more likely to happen than in others)
But in my experience, it has more to do with greed than hirarchy as they expect the "pearl" lady to leave more money in the shop and that prospect in some (not all) changes the way they adress someone or "blow sugar up their a$$".
And it is more likely to happen in places where it is about expensive stuff than normal stuff.
(But i can also give examples of places i would actually have expected to encounter such behavior due to my usual way of clothing myself when i absolutely didn't. And was treated with the same respect as the "Herr Director in his suit next to me. Despite my jeans, running shoes and old t-shirt)
My name is Dr..Dr. Mag. Prof. Joe Pretender Poser ...just joking.I like your videos very much. Because those videos open my eyes for my homecountry
-I think the "early" lunch time comes from the traditionally early start of a work day. People who start early eat their breakfast early and the same goes for lunch.
In countries like spain for example, where the work day on average starts later and there's a bigger "heat caused" break in the middle, they end their workday later in the evening and eat their dinner later than austrians. So everyting is just shifted to fit the acustomed timetable.
-the formality: There is also the saying in austria that "above 2000m sealevel no formality is needed" (maybe a bad translation: "Über 2000m sagt man Du") The strangest thing to me was when entering a HTL at age 14 and the teachers adressed us in the formal way with "Sie".
Also the title thing will end pretty soon relatively completely because years ago the education system has switched to the "bachelor" and "master" nomenclature and they do not roll off the tongue in german.
The only place i encounter people getting adressed with their title is doctors waiting rooms.
But nobody in austria is adressing someone as "Frau MBA Schneider" or "Herr BSC Egger".
The old academic titles had names that were better suited for that. (and had a long tradition that just got "ejected" to have the same sad sounding stuff as everybody else.) Btw. i don't have an academic title myself. Because the austrian law categorizes "Ing." not as academic title but as "description of profession" instead.
-To the wind farms: the problem with those is that they do not provide electricity when people needed, but when there's wind.
So there is a very big need for storing that energy to be able to cover the needs when they arise and gather as much from wind and solar energy when they are available. Batteries aren't safe and reliable and long term stable enough to use them for that amount of energy yet. And so hydroelectric pump stations are currently the best way. Switzerland and Austria have the geography and water for that, and use them for that reason highly effectively.
But there's a limit to everything, and especially in austria the green party argues against any hydroelectric powerstation build but is ok with putting wind turbines on mountain tops. (Straight into national parks they are ok with planting huge concrete blocks and destryoing nature to build roads to be able to built the wind turbines up there. And long lines from the turbines back down to the grid.
While almost 90% of the energy produced in austria is from renewable sources that only makes up only around 50% of the energy used. We need to reduce our consumption of electricity. But that's not going to happen with everybody and their grandma buying e-bikes, e-scooters, having their wifi router running even when they are not at home, switching to electric cars...
(Charging one electric car like a Tesla 3 is equal to the energy consumption of a common household in austria for almost a week.
So the strain on a grid system with charching EVs is a real problem especially fast charging.)
I love love love your Videos about Austria. I would like to know, given you have different backgrounds, what restaurants you would recommend when it comes to Indian or Iranian cuisine in Vienna. I am always interested in the most beloved restaurants of people who know the original taste. Thank you!
Thanks 🙏🏽
For Iranian cuisine, I always recommend Pars restaurant. They've been around for decades and never let me down!
As for Indian food 🤔, I’d naturally suggest our family’s restaurant in Klosterneuburg, “INdER BURG” 😅, but we also recently discovered a great spot in Vienna called "Zum Mogulhof." It was a lovely experience!
Puria 🙋🏻♂️
@@KhyatiPuria Oh, good to know! I'll keep that in my "To go"-list! Thank you!
Yes. As a forty year plus resident of Austria, I can corroborate all this.
, very nice only five hours by Bus from Katowice.
one tip: you could make a video about all the indirect ways of communication austrians use. because it's not always so direct and that can be very confusing for people who are new residents or who don't speak german very well....
Love that!
Dont forget the most powerful word during lunch "MAHLZEIT" ;-)
That’s worth a video in itself! 😂 during which time interval do you say Mahlzeit. When you’re eating and somebody enters the room and says Mahlzeit, do you say “Mahlzeit” back or do you say “Danke”? 🤷🏻♂️ 😂
@@KhyatiPuria there is a joke:
american woman: oh, those austrians are so in love with music, even when they have lunch or dinner together, they say "mozart".
;-)
@@robertheinrich2994 Made my day! 😅
On midday when it's lunchtime its nearly common that you can use ,,Mahlzeit" as a greet like ,,Hallo". But to respond your question - When you eating and somebody says ,,Mahlzeit" to you, its like they wish you a good meal. And you respond with ,,Danke", expect the other person is also at eating then you say ,,Mahlzeit" too 😊
Nearly all of these points are not specific to Austria, but pretty much exactly the same in Southern Germany (Bavaria/Baden-Württemberg), even the 11.30am lunch. Luckily you can also do that later :-D
Almost everybody knows that Bavaria is Austria‘s lost son 😅 just kidding 🙋🏻♂️
@@KhyatiPuria Or vice versa 😝 True story, we´re brothers/sisters in spirit...
I think the number of voluntary to paid firemen is even higher.
There are only 6 "paid unitis" in Austria compared to 4500 "voluntary units". Yes, there are also 308 "company units", but they are only responsible for fires on their respective properties.
I couldn't find exact numbers for paid units, but let's assume all 6 units are as big as Vienna (and they are not) then we would talk about around 10000 paid men (and women, of course) compared to the almost 250000 voluntary men. So more like 1:25...
Really? You find is Austrians direct? You have never been to Germany! The Germans are so direct that you have the impression they punch you in your face.
We Austrians love the Conditional so much that we try to hide our feelings behind the Conditional.
U didnt mention that vienna has the 2nd most unfriendliest people after paris.
Now im angry😂
Sundays are NOT for relaxation. They are for visiting the family...
Everybody has a different definition of relaxation, which is good 👍🏽
Of course they are now for relaxation. Just as much as for visiting family or maybe even going to church and rest (originally it is the "day of the Lord" = "Der tag des Herrn").
As an Austrian i put Vienna on an extra plate , same as Uk and London... Its not the same.
I loled when they claimed that Austrians are especially environmentally concious. Maybe compared to the US or Asian countries. Not compared to most other European countries.
Would love to hear some examples...besides Scandinavia + Denmark. Those are always different than rest of Europe :)
Hm. Most other European countries? Where is recycling more ubiquitous? Whenever I come back to Vienna from travelling abroad I feel the urge to thank the MA48 employees for their good job.
Thank you! great video! Also, Can you please recommend a good place to get a manicure/pedicure. Thanks again so much!
you are allowed to eat a light lunch - you just need to find some 😄
I think nowadays it's much more accepted and accessible :D you find a good salad or bowl place in almost every neighbourhood.
@@KhyatiPuria when i moved back home after 3 years in london, finding lunch in vienna was torture (i am from here, i know our cuisine). i loved to be able to go out and get a sandwich or salad bowl literally everywhere. i´m still hoping that one day we will get something similar to pret a manger...
@@krempel_und_klumpad Getting there!
Yes and because of Christian Roots. Even though not many are Church Goers nowadays. (Maybe more casual or on Christmas or Eastern Time.
In Austria it is common "knowledge" that *EVERYTHING* you will eat or drink after 16:00 will *iNSTANTLY* kill you! :D
:Wiener Würstelstand enters the chat:
MrDöner: nageh...
Anybody for march intake ???
An Austrian here: We do not have lunch at 11:30.
Hello, an austrian here. I do :D
It usually depends on when people start their work day: Earlier start, earlier lunch.
Students who won't get up until 10:00 or 11:00 won't eat lunch at 11:30.
People who start working at 07:00 are more likely to do.
My work days (if it's not a night shift) start at 07:00 and so i am also in the 11:30 group when i can.
(I even have had lunch earlier than that, when the day started earlier.)
👍👍👍
Many Austrians think that shops being closed on Sundays is inconvenient. This is not "deeply integrated" in our culture, but imposed on us by church and the trade union.
ÖBB ÖBB ÖBB
Wien Linien
Even Linz AG
Failed to mention one of the best priced, managed, connected systems in public Transport...
🤡💩
Vienna is not as the rest auf Austria. So ... Greetings 😉
It's like comparing Berlin to Germany... So many differences even from west austria to east austria (Ost-West-Gefälle) make it hard to summarize austria as one stereotype. She is still spot on, on a lot of things in the video
@@pix_wbmrI would like to call it „Österreich- Wien Gefälle“ 😂
And Vorarlberg is not like Tirol and not like Steiermark and not like... wait... ^^
@@webwerkwien 🤣 Stimmt
Well, I'm offended if I don't get a tip because it means that I did something wrong.
Till to the end of the Austrian-Hungarian monarchy we had a lot of nobility titles. Then in the new tiny Austria the socialdemocratic government of federal chancellor Karl Renner has forbidden the nobility titles by law. An aristocrat was so annoyed about this that he let print on his carte de visite "Ennobled by Charlemagne denobled by Karl Renner". But the Austrians were so used at titles that they urgently needed a substitution and so they used then happily the academic and official titles. And so you can experience till now the Austrian "waltz of titles" ,🤣😂🤣
The formal speech is a bit different, depending if you are in the east or west. In the west it is not that important. Like in Switzerland we are mostly "Per Du"!
Formal addressing person's is typical for big cities, not for rural areas, where everybody adresses everyone else "du".
We don't have a border with Croatia!
That’s why we said indirectly through Slovenia
Hint: ‘style’ should not be pronounced ‘steel’
That's a common issue unfortunately :D We sometimes mix up the German and English pronunciation of such words.
Style and Stil (German for style)...slips through sometimes if you switch languages constantly.
@@KhyatiPuria❤
I never get this waiters are strange in Vienna :D stell keine depperte Fragen, kriegst kana depperte Antworten:D Servas I get a soup and whatever. No is there any pork meat in my Schnitzel?? OIda schleich di gschissana :DDDD
Wizzitors!
😂
Das Reich
This singsong instead of speaking is hard to bear.
Will try balance better between engaging and monotone so it sounds more natural but still engaging. It’s definitely not an easy thing to do but something we will work on.
@@KhyatiPuria or adopt the southern styrian dialect. ;-)
@@robertheinrich2994 not sure if the context of the video will remain the highlight then :D
To be fair shes india . She has bollywood in her blood🤷🏻♂️
It’s painful really
Please do not come . Leave us alone.
Wer mit der undemokratischen Entscheidung des dzt. BP Bellen nicht einverstanden ist, möge bitte die Petition für den Rücktritt auf open petition unterstützen und teilen!
It’s because of people like you that make Austria lame as hell , I can’t wait to move back to my country that has better people, better food, better weather, and a better wage where they don’t speak a pig language with an even more animal dialect like you , get out of here with that nonsense
Well known in Austria, top secret anywhere else: Altaussee de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Datei:Altausseer_See_Seeklause_Trisselwand_20130816.jpg The landscape is unique, the people are unique.
0:34 That is very cliche as there also many Austrians that don't work 0815 (common) jobs such as police, fire department, health jobs, shift work ect. So that's not entirely true. For those who work in goverment or regular office that might be true, yes. Same goes to Sundays. Some people have to work on Sundays. Though some shops have open on Sundays: Petrol stations and shops near main S-Bahn/U-Bahn stations (usually where more lines cross in a station).
Also Austria is a country for ballroom seasons. Usually around autumn. We have more than 400 ballroom events (of different kinds) each year. So you can feel like a disney princess!
Tipping problem in Vienna? I hear that the first time. Might be around touristy places like 1st district, Ringstraße ect. But as an Austrian I wouldn't stay or buy things in those places.
Last week I just went again to a takeaway coffee shop in the 8th district and was confronted with the same terminal, which asks you to select a tip before you can pay.
@@KhyatiPuria Mhm, interesting. As I said that's relativly new to me.