'Jay-walking' at every given opportunity while I was back in Ireland so it was quite weird to be in a crowd of people at a set of pedestrian lights, who were all standing there patiently for the green man to light up, even though there were no cars in sight! It seems like everybody is about half-an-hour early for where they have to be!
It's also been a budget affair for me in Vienna...living and mingling with the locals...there really is no better way to get to know the locals, cuisines, sights, and language (well, kinda). The public transport system in Vienna (and probably the rest of Western Europe) runs like military clockwork! So once you get a hold of the transport network map, everything's a piece of piss! I got this weekly travel pass that lets me go on unlimited tram, bus, subway or nightbus routes for the whole week, which has saved me shitloads so far! I have lived very comfortably for 2 weeks in Vienna on only 200 all inclusive...i.e. food, accom, travel, day trip to Slovakia, drinks, etc (about $345 or $25 per day). So I'm cheering. It's just too bad that Australians can't get a working holiday visa here! A rafting company here was looking for someone with some experience in kayaking and photography to work for them over the summer season! Dammit!
Central Vienna
(Vienna's main mall area)
- You have to pay for the priviledge of having a shopping bag at the supermarkets.
- You can buy the newspaper from almost every intersection...on a telegraph pole. You just have to put in your money in a little box and then grab the paper from the plastic pouch hanging on the pole! No locks ...too much trust!
- At the pubs, or at the supermarkets, if you return the bottle of beer (after you've finished with it of course) to the counter, you'll get 0.50 back for every bottle!
- 'Wieselburger' is the name of a popular beer.
- No one in Austria has watched...or even heard of The Sound of Music, unless they are a tourist!
- They have vending machines here that sell everything from your regular sodas and chips, to soups, canned pickles, microwave dinners, milk and even beer!
- You can find people playing Trivial Pursuit, cards, and other board games in pubs. Table soccer is also a rage...partially because it costs about 8 to play a game of pool (that's about $14).
Right: Belevedere Palace, Vienna.