Things That I Still Can't Get Used to in Austria

I have taught two English classes about Cultural Differences in the last couple of weeks. In our discussions, we talked about things that Austrians and Americans do differently. Some of these things are still a bit weird for me.

Here is a list of things that are still difficult to adjust to here in Austria (and some places in Europe in general), even after a year and a half here.

1. Co-ed fully nude saunas. Oh, and people getting fully nude in gym dressing rooms and having conversations together like it ain't no thing. (The best was when a male painter was in the women's dressing room and this was going on.)
2. No right turns on red lights.
3. Brothels.
4. People changing at the pool from their wet bathing suit into a dry one and laying the wet one in the sun-- while doing the whole thing in front of everyone without covering up or going to a changing room.
5. All stores are closed on Sundays (even grocery stores).
6. Cameras instead of police on highways, resulting in speeding tickets in the mail (trust me, we've had our fair share).
7. Beer is cheaper than bottled water.
8. All the pedestrians, motorbikes, bicycles and busses everywhere. When driving, it is sort of like Frogger. Don't worry, I've only hit 1 motorbike so far. No joke.
9. People drink beer on their lunch breaks.
10. Dogs are allowed to go EVERYWHERE, except the grocery store. (This is Jack's favorite one!)
11. There is no Starbucks in Salzburg (although there are some in Vienna, Munich and other places in Europe). There are very few take-away coffee shops at all. I'm thinking I should open one, I would make a killing.
12. Very few restaurants have take-out. And if you want a doggy bag, it is usually just tin foil since they don't have take-out boxes.

I wrote a similar blog over a year ago but some of these didn't make the list. Even though we find some of these things strange, it is one of my favorite things about living abroad-- learning new things about other cultures.

For instance, in Singapore they have Seaweed and Shrimp flavored Pringles. Strange, but whatever floats their boat...

Culture is the widening of the mind and of the spirit. - Jawaharal Nehru

xx