14 replies to this topic

[Mibbitable]

Well, this summer, me and my fiancée are taking a trip to Austria. It will be the first time I had out of Missouri, and out of the U.S.

Has anybody been there before or know anything about it? Or even lives there? 

Edited by Mibbitable, 04 February 2017 - 04:44 PM.

[Deedee]

Fucking Austria.

Have a nice trip!

[Mibbitable]

Holy hell. If I have the time, i'm definitely going to visit there! Lol

[Anthus]

For all these years, I always thought Fucking was near Dildo, but it turns out that's in Newfoundland.

[Lüt]

Holy hell.

I believe you mean Fucking Hell.

[David]

I have been to Austria before. I went with my high school orchestra from Indiana because our orchestra had the wonderful opportunity to be invited to play at Saint Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna, Austria. It was a really great trip, and we got to visit some really awesome places as well.
 
You should definitely visit the cities of Salzburg and Vienna in Austria. They are both really beautiful and have a lot of places to sightsee, like Saint Stephen's Cathedral that I mentioned above, Schönbrunn Palace, and Hohensalzburg Palace, just to name a few. Personally, I really enjoyed both cities a lot, and there's a lot to do in them.
 
I hope you guys have a great time there in the summer!

[Anthus]

My great great grandmother is actually from Austria. I've never left the US myself though. I hope you have a fun, safe trip, all jokes aside.

[Russ]

It will be the first time I had out of Missouri, and out of the U.S.

Ho boy. Be prepared for a culture shock. The thing that struck me about Europe was how similar and yet how different it is culturally at the same time. I was about 13 when I visited, so I think the things that stuck out to me the most were the little things. Like having to pay for tap water or to use the restroom.

To answer your question, yes, I've been to Austria before. Innsbruck in particular. It's an incredibly beautiful place, and I'd recommend heading there if you get the chance. Though I'm sure the other parts of Austria I didn't see are probably also really beautiful.

[Lüt]

I was about 13 when I visited, so I think the things that stuck out to me the most were the little things. Like having to pay for tap water or to use the restroom.

Yeah - this, this, and this again.

 

When I had a friend come in from Paris over 10 years, we spent about 10 days wandering around Chicago/Chicago suburbs/playing games in the basement like it was no big deal that he was in America for the first time. His main comment was, "it's not so different - it's just a lot of little things that add up over time." Well, 10 years later, I went to Paris as part of a study abroad class for my college honors curriculum, and realized exactly what he meant. After the first day there, me and the guy I was rooming with looked at each other and agreed, "this place just doesn't feel foreign enough." Because in a way, every single place in the world functions essentially the same - people go to school, pick careers, go to work, get paid, buy housing, share hobbies, have families, etc. It's just how they go about it that varies. And by the end of our trip, we decided it was foreign enough.

 

And yeah, the pay-for-bathrooms thing is pretty ridiculous. Us Americans went there and argued that it was a basic humanitarian issue. To be fair, they did have some pretty classy bathrooms though. Also, if you're wandering the street and find a pay-stall, don't try to sneak a second person in when the door opens to let the first person out. The ones in Paris wash down after use. Another person from another group tried that and got soaked. By contrast, we also had to carry water bottles everywhere, since apparently the French don't believe in drinking fountains.

[Mibbitable]

So I should probably bring a little more pocket money? Lol

How does transferring money over there work? 

[Lüt]

When I went to Paris, I traded dollars for euros at my bank out here before I even packed a single thing. I also got a card with a chip in it, because bar strips are pretty much the financial equivalent of a Windows 3.1 computer over there. Most credit/debit cards issued by a bank will have a small fee for foreign conversion, but they never require any extra authentication steps when using them in that country. Some banks also offer cards with no fees - the one I got had no conversion fees for the first year of use, and since it was going to be my only trip out of the US for a long time, I was fine with the limited duration. Also, if you're using cards of any kind, be sure you contact whoever issued them to let them know your travel dates so they won't lock your card down for suspected fraud.

[Sheik]

Like having to pay for tap water or to use the restroom.

Yeah I know. Now after I have lived half a year in the US I always feel positively insulted when I am asked to pay for a tap of water or for the restroom. It is incredible how greedy people can be so that they make you pay to take a piss.

[Lüt]

You know, it's not just that, it's the most obvious question of all: what happens when somebody can't pay?

[Eddard McHorn Van-Schnuder]

I have never in my life paid for tap water or to use the restroom.

 

That said, if they are charging there is probably a reason. If it is one of those public toilets you'll find in some of the larger cities and they charge you, then that money is likely going into things like cleaning and such. Which is fair, because a lot of public toilets with zero restrictions on them look like shit's been thrown all over because it has. I think that is somewhat fair, but if they can't even keep it clean then obviously don't pay for it. Just pee on the door instead, won't make a difference.

[strike]

Lüt- I would say all first world countries are pretty similar, not all countries.

And I have never been to Austria :3

-Strike