Social Profile
Food: Traditional Austrian dishes are Wiener Schnitzel, boiled beef (Tafelspitz), calf’s liver with herbs in butter (Geröstete Leber), Goulash, Kaiserschmarrn, Palatschinken and Salzburger Nockerln, as well as various types of smoked and cured pork. Viennese cuisine is strongly influenced by southeast European cuisine, notably that of Hungary, Serbia, Romania and Dalmatia. Many of the simpler meals are often made with rice, potatoes and dumplings (Knödel), with sauces. The main meal of the day is lunch. Mehlspeisen is the national term for cakes and puddings, all of which are wonderfully appetising. There are more than 57 varieties of Torte, which is often consumed with coffee at around 1500. Open all day, the Austrian coffee shop (Kaffeehaus) is little short of a national institution and often provides the social focus of a town or neighbourhood.
Spirits such as whisky and gin, together with imported beers, tend to be on the expensive side, but local wines (often served in open carafes) are excellent and cheap. Most of the wines are white (Riesling, Veltliner) but there are also some good red wines from Baden and Burgenland, as well as imported wines from other European countries. Generally the strict registration laws mean that the quality of the wine will be fully reflected in its price. Obstler is a drink found in most German-speaking countries, and is made by distilling various fruits. It is usually very strong, and widely drunk as it is cheap and well flavoured. Most bars or coffee houses have waiter service and bills are settled with the arrival of drinks. All restaurants have waiter service.
Note: There are no national licensing laws in Austria, but each region has local police closing hours. Most coffee houses and bars serve wine as well as soft drinks and beers.
Shopping: High-quality goods such as handbags, glassware, chinaware and winter sports equipment represent the cream of specialist items found in Austria. A 20 to 32 per cent value-added-tax (called MwSt) is included in the list price of items sold. Shopping hours: Shops and stores are generally open from Mon-Fri 0800-1800 (with a one- or two-hour lunch break in the smaller towns). Some shops are open until 1930 on Thursday and on Saturday opening hours are until 1700.
Nightlife: Viennese nightlife offers something for every taste: opera, theatre and cabaret as well as numerous discotheques, bars and nightclubs. There are cinemas of all types, some of them of architectural interest, showing films in different languages. A good way to spend a summer evening is in one of the beer gardens found all over Austria. The wine-growing area around Vienna features wine gardens (Heurigen) where visitors can sample local wines in an open-air setting.
Special Events: For a full list of events celebrated in Austria, contact the Austrian National Tourist Office (see Contact Addresses section). The following is a selection of special events held in Austria in 2003:
Jan 4 International Four Jump Tournament (Innsbruck). Jan 5-19 International Ballooning Week, Tannheim. Jan 11-12 FIS World Cup Race, Ladies (Innsbruck). Jan 24-26 International Hahnenkamm Race (salolm skiing race), Kitzbühel. Jan 25 Snow Festival, Seefeld. Jan-Feb Mozart Week, Salzburg. Feb Carnival Festival, Bad Ischl; Vienna Opera Ball, Vienna. Feb 20-23 Arlberg Open Space – Big Mountain Freeriding, Lech in Vorarlberg. Mar 1-2 2nd International Nordic Night-Sprint. Mar-Apr The Sound of Easter, Vienna; Easter Festival, Salzburg. Apr Easter Bunny Party, Montafon. Apr-May Vienna Spring Festival. May Vienna Festival; International Gourmet Festival, Linz; Austrian Grand Prix, Formula One, Speilberg; Whitsunday Festival, Salzburg; Vienna City Marathon. May-Jun Daffodil Festival, Bad Aussee. Jun 29 Kitz Alp Bike – Mountainbike Marathon, Kizbüehel. Jun-Jul Styriarte, Graz; Innsbruck Dance Summer Festival; Jazz Festival, Vienna. Jul International Milka Chocolate Festival, Bludenz; International Youth & Music Festival, Vienna; Love Parade, Vienna; ‘Generali Open’, Kitzbüehel. Jul-Aug Carinthian Summer, Ossiach/Carinthia; Bregenzer Festival, Bregenz; Salzburg Festival. Jul 10-Aug 24 Innsbruck Festival Weeks of Early Music. Aug Ledehosen Festival, Windischgarsten; Lakefestival, St Gilgen. Aug-Sep International Cycling World Cup and World Masters Road Championships, St Johann. Sep Montafon Pumpkin Festival, Voralberg; International Hadyn Festival, Eisenstadt; 22nd Dumpling Festival, Tirol; 14th International Tirolean Ballooning Cup, Kirchberg; Octoberfestival (including cattle procession), Tirol; CA Tennis Trophy, Vienna. Oct-Nov Styrian Autumn, Graz. Nov-Dec ‘Magic of Advent’ Christmas Market, Vienna; Christmas Market Schönbrunn, Vienna. Dec Rave on Snow, Saalbach-Hinterglemm. Dec 31 Imperial Ball, Vienna.
Social Conventions: Austrians tend to be quite formal in both their social and business dealings. They do not use first names when being introduced, but after the initial meeting first names are often used. Handshaking is normal when saying hello and goodbye. It is considered impolite to enter a restaurant or shop without saying Guten Tag or, more usually, Grüss Gott; similarly, to leave without saying Auf Wiedersehen can cause offence. Social pleasantries and some exchange of small-talk is appreciated. If invited out to dinner, flowers should be brought for the hostess. The Church enjoys a high and respected position in Austrian society, which should be kept in mind by the visitor. It is customary to dress up for the opera or the theatre. Tipping: Widespread, but large amounts are not expected. On restaurant bills a service charge of ten to 15 per cent is included, but it is usual to leave a further five per cent. Attendants at theatres, cloakrooms or petrol pumps, expect to be tipped €0.15-0.22. Railway and airports have fixed charges for portering. Taxi drivers expect €0.22-0.29 for a short trip and ten per cent for a longer one.
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