Over the couple of days since our last blog, we have traveled to many different locations and have seen and experienced new parts of the Austrian lifestyle. This has allowed us to see contrasts between their culture and ours. For the most part everywhere we travel has been on city transit. The first difference we noticed was the presence of animals on transit, in particular dogs. Unlike Edmonton dogs are allowed on the busses in Vienna. While everyone appears to be comfortable with these animals on the transit, it appears to be a cultural norm to place muzzles on the animal. However, we do not believe this is an actual witten rule as there are often dogs without the muzzles. Austrian pet owners also seem less friendly with regards to letting strangers pet their animals. In Edmonton it would not be unusual to go up and ask to pet a stranger's dog, in Vienna the owner will often be creeped out and unwilling to give permission. Another difference we noticed while on the transit was how rare small talk was. The Austrian people seem less interested in having conversations with people they don’t know, therefore the transit rides are often quite quiet. Another location we’ve spent a fair bit of time at is in restaurants, the biggest thing we’ve noticed in these environments are the nonverbal actions of the servers in Vienna and how they contrast with servers in Edmonton. In Vienna the servers are less catering and don’t appear to put as much effort into your experience as servers in Edmonton. A good example that we’ve faced on multiple occasions is when it comes to paying for the meal. Servers in Vienna are often reluctant to allow you to pay with card. After asking to pay by card we have received various groans and eye rolls. In Edmonton a server would never do that in fear of leaving a bad impression on the customer and having their tip reflect so. Vienna servers simply don’t appear to put as much effort into working for their tip. In general the servers are less friendly even when it comes to little things like asking for tap water over bottled or taking more time to look at the menu. The Vienna servers always appear to be in a rush allowing them little time to deal with minor inconveniences. We believe that this difference is likely due to the fact that tipping is less common in Austria & servers are not concerned about making a good impression. In Edmonton tipping is more common & the size of your tip will reflect your service.
What do you think the biggest difference between Vienna and Edmonton is?
Below are pictures of places we have travelled over the last few days. The transit talked about above was used to take us to these destinations. The first picture is of the Schönbrunn Palace, and the second of the second of the Weingut Wien. 
Thank you, Chris and Erika for your blog about the cultural differences between Edmonton and Vienna. We also noticed the high frequency of dogs on the public transportation system. It was quite fascinating to see that some of them have muzzles on them. During our pre-departure classes, we read online that a lot of dogs in Vienna are trained to protect their owners and that it is not common to ask strangers to pet their dogs. Also observed is the extent to which the dogs in Vienna are trained. We have yet to see a dog behaving poorly or uncontrolled. After analysing this observation, we have concluded that this may be due to the higher level of sternness that Austrians have. This can also be extended to children as well since misbehaving children are much less frequent than in North America.
ReplyDeleteAnother very large difference between Austrians and Canadians the two of you have outlined which we too have observed are the rudeness in servers. They typically don’t concern themselves with acting polite when presented with a possibly aggravating request. In Canada this is not the case at all. Servers will typically bite their tongue and smile through their frustration. We believe this is due to the large difference in tipping culture between the two countries. Austrians tip little to nothing when dining out, whereas Canadians tips can sometimes multiply the tax three times over.
We enjoyed reading your blog and we hope that the adjustment of cultures yet to come will go smoothly.
Everything you mentioned we have also experienced! The most shocking to us has to be how indifferent servers in Vienna are to their tips! The fact that when you ask to split a bill and the servers get upset is crazy to think about. When you are sitting in a big group it’s not a normal thing to expect one person to pay for all. The main difference we have noticed is how slow restaurants are in Vienna. In Edmonton it is a fast paced environment and when servers come by the table you are expected to be ready with drink and food orders. In Vienna it is normal to spend a good 2-3 hours in a restaurant and even longer. The time between getting waited on, served, and paying is around 45 minutes to 1 hour. It was quite a culture shock as we are used to being in and out of a restaurant in 1-2 hours maximum. We prefer the Edmonton method as we get to do so much more when we get served on quicker. In Vienna, it takes too long and a good portion of your day is getting food. Although, In cafes things move the opposite. You are expected to order, eat, and pay within 15-20 minutes. Overall, the food and drink experience in Vienna is very different and quite a culture shock. Hopefully the food and drink industry is different in the next couple cities we go too!
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