Hey everyone, Dana here! As you may know, if you’ve seen my vlog from Graz from a
few weeks ago, I was in Austria. And while I was there, there were a few things that
I saw or experienced that really surprised me. And as I said in this video, 5 things
you definitely don’t say to Germans, yes I know that Austria is not Germany. Just because
German is spoken in both countries...I realize they are different countries. But still, hearing
German being spoken all around me there, I didn’t really feel like I had gone that
far. And yet, from some of the things going on around me, that I’m going to mention
in this video, it was very, very clear to me that I was in a different country. So then,
let's just jump right into it.
As you know if you saw my Graz vlog, check it out after this video if you haven't seen
it yet, one thing that really surprised me in Austria was the smoking. Smoking in restaurants,
smoking in cafes, I thought I even smelled cigarette smoke in a bookstore once. But maybe
it just wafted in there from a cafe or from outside. But, yeah, either way, there was
a lot of smoking going on. Much more than I’m used to here in Munich. I have gotten
so used to not seeing smoking in restaurants here, that I had to do a double-take and
almost didn’t believe my eyes or my nose when I saw or smelled the cigarette smoke
seemingly all over the place in Graz. And then I was surprised again that night when
in my non-smoking hotel room, in the middle of the night, I was awoken by the really strong
smell of cigarette smoke. Apparently the room next to mine was not non-smoking. In Germany,
are there also smoking and non-smoking hotel rooms? I thought that in Germany all hotel
rooms are non-smoking. But maybe I've got that wrong. So yeah, let me know down in the
comments: smoking rooms in German hotels, yes or no? And what are your thoughts on having
smoking sections in places? I guess for me, I wouldn't really mind having smoking hotel
rooms, if they are far away from the non-smoking rooms. But I've got to say I'm not a fan of
smoking sections, for example, in restaurants. Because the smoke inevitably blows over into
the non-smoking section. And then it's like kind of no point in having the two sections.
But yeah, let me know your thoughts down in the comments.
From traveling around Germany I have noticed that this definitely differs around the country.
In Munich, for example, people walk across the street when the crosswalk light is red
or not at a crosswalk a lot less often than in Berlin. In Berlin I’ve seen people crossing
a crosswalk when a light is red a little more often than in Munich. But both in Cologne
and Munich, for example, I have seen signs telling people not to cross the crosswalk
on a red light, to wait until the light has turned green. So, yeah, people in Germany
in general obviously care enough about jaywalking to make signs about how you should not do
it in at least two cities. So how is it in Austria? Well at least in Graz I was totally
shocked because it seemed to be jaywalking everywhere! First of all, there didn’t seem
to be as many crosswalks in Graz as in, say, Munich. Like sometimes I needed to cross the
street, and I looked left, and I looked right, and I just didn’t see a crosswalk anywhere nearby
for me to use. So people just seemed to be crossing over the street kind of wherever
they wanted to. And, I don't know, maybe that’s just in Graz? Yeah, I don’t know. Let me
know down in the comments.
Another thing that surprised me in Austria was the language. There were definitely different
words being used, for example, and sometimes things were said with an accent. And I tried
my best to understand, and I think I understood a lot of what was being said in Graz, but
definitely not everything. And when I went to the grocery store in Graz, I noticed that
there were some foods labeled something different, so a different thing than they are labeled
in Germany, like Marillen for apricots. And in my Graz vlog, I also noticed in the comments
that some people mentioned that in Austria, some people, I guess very few refer to strawberries,
I guess in dialect or slang as Ananas. Which is the German word for pineapple. Let me know
down in the comments if you’ve ever heard strawberries being called Ananas. I think
that's so interesting. And while I was in Austria, I was also told that in Lungau, Austria,
the phrase “ich muss mich überlegen” is used to mean “ich muss mich umziehen,”
which I was really surprised to hear this. I mean, ich muss mich überlegen usually means
I think, like, I need to consider something, right? Let me know down in the comments. But
apparently in that region it's used to mean that you need to change your clothes. Which
I just find, yeah, super interesting. Interesting, interesting, interesting. Let me know down
in the comments if you’ve heard that before as well!
Quick disclaimer: I wasn’t in Austria for
very long. This was not a long trip, so obviously this could just be my special experience on
this really short journey, but I must say I was pretty surprised by how really friendly
strangers were. Like, people working at restaurants and in stores and in the hotel
where I was staying. They were really, really friendly. Has this also been your experience
in Austria? Let me know down in the comments.
So my question for you is: How have your experiences with these things been? In Austria, in Germany,
in the U.S., in other countries. What differences with these things have you noticed? And would you say that
people in Austria are in general pretty friendly? Please let me know in the comments below.
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Until next time, auf Wiedersehen!