useful to know
only your mother could give you better advice!
Translation please!
Another useful item to include in your luggage is a German-English dictionary or translator. Many of the travel guidance books contain useful phrases, but if you are going to be in the country for more than three days, a little more advanced translation will come in handy! Many people in Austria speak English, but are not always happy to do so. It is considered more of a compliment if you try to speak a little German-often that will get the ball rolling and then they will speak to you in English!
Here are a few essential phrases you may need during your first few days:
Hello Guten Tag (gooten tag)
Goodbye Auf Wiedersehen (auf veedersein)
Yes Ja (Ya)
No Nein
Please Bitte (bit-uh)
Thank You Danke (dank-uh)
Do you speak English? Sprechen Sie Englisch? (spreken sie English?)
SIGNS
Entrance Eingang
Exit Ausgang
Information Auskunft
Open Offen
Closed Geschlossen
Bathrooms Toiletten or WC
Men Herren
Women Damen
Money, money, money (or lack thereof...)
Most banks in Vienna are open Monday to Friday between 8:00 and 3:30, with a break for an hour between 12:30 and 1:30. There are plenty of ATMs all over the city, just ensure you visit the ones with the "Plus", "Visa" "Cirrus" or "Maestro" signs on them...those are the machines that work on the same network as your bank! As well, there are plenty of money changing places throughout the city, but many of them charge a commission to change currencies.
Find out where the closest ATM is at www.visa.com/pd/atm/main.html
You should also keep up with the exchange rate of your country's currency. This can be found either posted outside banks and exchange places, or on the internet.
Find out the latest exchange rate for your currency at www.x-rates.com
Phone home...
As mentioned before, sometimes it can be very costly to phone home directly from your residence phone. Most Austrians use cell phones or "handies" so if you are going to be in Austria for an extended period of time, you may want to consider this as a cheap alternative to the expensive (and often slow) Telekom Austria option. If not, you might want to use a phone card (which can be purchased at your local Tabak for denominations of 100, 500 and 1000 ATS.
If these options are still too costly for your budget, you may want to look into calling direct--that is directly collect! Most phone companies offer international asscess numbers that you can use to make collect and third-party calls.
Calling direct to Canada? Use Canada Direct or AT&T Canada
Calling direct to the United States? Use AT&T WorldNet
Calling direct to UK? Use AT&T UK
Calling direct to Australia? Use Telstra Travel
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