Coming to a foreign country, it’s natural to assume that there will be differences between the culture there and that off your home country. However, sometimes it isn’t obvious just how many differences there will be. At the same time, it often might not be automatically intuitive that not everything will be different and that at the end of the day, the countries will share many similarities. I’ve had the opportunity to be in Austria for a few weeks now, and have seen firsthand how the culture is similar and different to that of the United States. While it’s obviously not all the same, it’s definitely not all different either.
1. Everything is closed Sunday.
So you know how most people save all of their work and groceries and whatnot for Sunday? Well, that isn’t really an option here. Restaurants are open, but not grocery stores, which really, really sucks when you have nothing to eat on Sunday and aren’t trying to spend a ton of money.
2. Dogs are literally everywhere.
OK, so I mean I guess there are a lot of dogs at home too, but I was so shocked to see dogs in stores and literally everywhere and have it faze nobody. At home, there is absolutely no chance that I could bring my dog into a store and not get yelled at. Here, it’s incredibly common. And I’m not just even talking small dogs—I mean dogs of all shapes, sizes and breeds.
3. Smoking is too common.
For having been around much longer than the United States, when it comes to smoking they’re really behind. Smoking is so common here, that it’s basically allowed everywhere. It’s very common for smoking to be allowed in restaurants and clubs, and not even in just a certain section, but rather everywhere.
4. Legit public transportation.
At any given moment, about half of the city could be underground. The subway system is so well utilized that it makes it very easy to get from one side of the city to the other in a matter of minutes. There are lines going in every direction and the U-Bahn comes almost exactly every five minutes.
5. Cheap alcohol is everywhere.
And in many cases, it’s cheaper than just about every other drink. It’s incredibly easy to find a two liter bottle of wine for two Euros. And while it sounds like that because it’s cheap, it isn’t good, you would be wrong in assuming that, as everything seems to be better here. Beers are sold cheap too. It’s a literal miracle.
6. You have to pay for water.
I don’t know who came up with the ploy in Europe to charge for tap water, but literally everywhere charges for water. It’s usually around three Euros and it kills me every time I have to pay for it. But what’s nice is that you can drink the tap water in your room as it’s also incredibly clean here.
7. “Sour cream sauce” instead of ranch.
A little confused by this one, but I guess here ranch is called sour cream sauce, or they don’t have it and sour cream sauce is the closest thing to it. Regardless, it’s good but it really never fails to catch me off guard to get blank stares when asking for ranch.
8. McDonald’s is still always open.
Don’t get me wrong, there are so many better places to go, but when you need free Wi-Fi and a place to study, it’s not a bad option. The menu is totally different and foreign, but it still feels homie and it’s essentially a little bit of a safe haven. There aren’t nearly as many, but there are definitely multiple around.
9. Ice isn’t really a thing.
I have yet to see an ice machine, and there really isn’t ice in drinks. When asking for an iced coffee, it is more likely they will put soft serve in your coffee before putting actual ice cubes in your drink. I really have no explanation as to why this, is but it’s definitely a thing.