Don’t be an obvious tourist! Rules of behaviour in Vienna.

The city of Vienna likes to present itself as hip, modern and chilled – but also with the necessary touch of art, culture and history. It is also no secret that – despite their wonderful city – the Viennese are often considered to be “grumpy” without reason. But in Vienna the transition between Viennese charm, being a little bit grumpy and politeness is usually quite fluent and very often purely a matter of interpretation.

A visitor can not usually do anything to appease their Viennese counterpart when they are really “grumpy”. However, in order to avoid the rude Viennese if possible and to experience at least a little bit of the much-cited Viennese charm, some rules of conduct can be helpful.

“Talking brings people together …”

This old proverb is always true and for good reason. The Germans and the Austrians apparently have the same language but in reality and when travelling there are often worlds in between. Especially in Vienna.

Of course can get by in Vienna if you speak “German” German (or English for that matter!). As long as you don’t pretend to be Viennese and try to speak “Viennese” or anything similar as a visitor.

 “Grüß Gott”(or “Godly greetings”) has nothing to do with religion
“Grüß Gott” is something which the Viennese automatically say, but it has very rarely anything to do with their religious affiliation. Visitors are well advised to give it a try: it doesn’t hurt and is definitely better than a Germanic “Guten Tag”.

Be particularly careful when ordering coffee
Anyone who orders a "pot of coffee", is either having breakfast in the hotel or has no idea. But more about that later. The important point: “Kaffee” (coffee) is always and without exception pronounced with a long emphasis on the E - as in the French word “café”. There's no way around it.

“Kuss die Hand” or “Let me kiss your hand”
The chances of a lady being greeted this way in Vienna are unfortunately diminishing. However, if it does happen, don’t be afraid and withdraw your hand quickly while blushing: the man will not really touch the back of your hand with his lips but only pretend to do so.

Semmerl, Sackerl and Packerl
The Viennese very often use the diminutive form, which means the words suddenly end in “erl”. This isn’t because they find the things particularly cute (in this case we are talking about bread rolls, carrier bags and packages!) but it is simply a use of language in everyday life. “German” words – like “Brötchen” or “Tüte” – are very rarely used here.