Never trust a guide book!

This week it's be all go as we've been apartment hunting in Vienna. Over the course of five days, we've seen 6 apartments, been to two business meetings, drank many Ottakringer beers and eaten just a few slices of delicious cakes. While the apartment hunt has been tiring, it's other things that have taught us a lesson, so to speak. 

Always trust your guidebook?

This move has been in the planning for many years. Given we're moving to a foreign country, it's often wise to do a 'bit of research' into your chosen home. To aid me in my quest, Lynda lovingly bought me a little guidebook to the Austrians, the culture and the history of one of Europes oldest countries. In this hallowed text, I learnt many things about the 'Austrian way', and without a doubt, this week has shown it to a complete load of bollocks. Let's take a look at just a few 'Austrianisms' that didn't pan out this week. 

1. Time. 

Time and tide wait for no Austrian, so my guide informed me. Punctuality is king. To some extent this is true. I've sat and watched as buses, trains and trams arrive at the exact moment they should, and depart at exactly the right time. This punctuality extends to the Austrians themselves and the guide warned me that 'you should never be late. In fact Austrians consider even being exactly on time for a meeting to be 'late'.' So with this sage advice ringing in my ears, Lynda and I headed off for a meeting at the Vienna Business Agency. We arrived, as all good Austrians should, four minutes early. We were chuffed with ourselves for this feat, made even sweeter by my taking A wrong turn off the tram and slowing us up as I regained my whereabouts. Happily we greeted the receptionist, informed her we were there to see someone. Her response was one of panic, as she informed us we were early and the nice gentleman we were due to meet wasn't quite ready!  This was a mockery! Had the book been wrong or was this just a simple 'one off'?  Errrr, no. Later that day at a second meeting, due to start at 6pm, we found ourselves waiting 18 minutes!  So the score Austria 1 - Book 0.

Keep it formal.

'Austrians really appreciate a title' so the guide informs. From Doctorates to degrees, Austrians wear them with pride. Formality is appreciated. The guide tells me I should 'never greet a fellow person informally, even if you know then quite well.' It tells me even something as simple as greeting your neighbour, whom you've lived next to for twenty years, should be addressed as 'Herr or Frau'. So every email passed between us and our estate agent began with 'Guten Morgen Herr Gerzabek'.

Herr Gerzabek however was way more laid back, and as the week went on, we found he was very informal. Talking on the phone with a fellow collegue, He'd simply state, 'hey, it's Wolfgang.' So the guide was kind of wrong again. Austria 2 - Book 0.

Follow the rules, or you'll be sorry! 

'Rules are Rules' so sayeth the book. Austrians love rules and will enforce them when needed. That goes for the general public and not just the authorities. There are stories of people forgetting to validate their tram tickets, only to get caught by the transit authorities. The people on the tram then join in with the guards and publicly Berate the hapless offender. The same is true for jaywalkers, with old ladies telling off those who dare cross the road when the little man is still red. 

Wolfgang, our tame estate agent however laughs in the face of such rules, as we saw him crossing a road to reach a tram stop not 50 meters from a crossing. Even worse was the driver who helpfully slowed down and motioned for us to cross. Then there's the gas. Speaking with Fredrich at the Vienna Business Agency about old buildings and insurance, he told us of the how his apartment block was put on notice due to a gas leak. So far, iso good. He continued to tell us however that the gas had been leaking for years and the gas board had been checking it every so often, but found the leak to be not really worth the effort. The people living in the apartments though had no idea it was even leaking. 

Then there were the apartments we saw that featured bare electrical wiring sticking out of the walls. We checked if we needed to get an electrictian in to fit lights (a UK law requirement) but no, have a bash yourself! And don't even start me on the walking ladder technique that seems for stick two fingers up to 'Health and Safety rules'. Austria 3 - Book 0.

Final scores Austria 3 - Book 0

It's fairly clear that whilst it's possible to get a feel for a place, it's history and it's culture from a guide, you never really learn what it's really like until you experience it for yourself. Those Crazy Austrians are just like us crazy Brits and the crazy French and so on. They're a mix of all sorts of people and personallites. A guide is just that, a guide, as the truth is often somewhere inbetween what's written and what your personal experience is.