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Want To Learn Some Unusual Facts About Vienna?
Vienna is known for its’ charm, imperial sights, cultural events, coffee houses, cosy wine taverns, and of course, the world famous Sacher Torte. It is not known for many awkward and unusual facts.
Early this year, and for the seventh time in a row, Vienna was voted as the world’s most livable city.
While all this is true, there are some things that are not known about Austria’s capital.
Curious to know? Here is my list of 10 most awkward and unusual facts about Vienna.
1. BALLERINAS AND FLATS
Girls, young ladies, women, and even grandmothers love to wear ballerinas. Why?
Well, if you have ever been to Vienna or other old cities in Austria, the cobblestone streets could not have gone unnoticed. They are everywhere.
It is tough wearing heels, especially in the city centre. Ever had your heel get stuck in between stones?
Not realising it, then taking another step forward losing your heel or the entire shoe!
Here, we like to make sure we don’t break our legs in the process.
If you are coming here on holiday soon, take my advice and stick to ballerinas or flats.
Only wear heels when necessary.
2. CAR SHARING
I don’t mean carpooling. Over here, most families share one car. In the USA, I noticed that most families have two cars. Maybe more. Here in Vienna, public transportation is not only fantastically networked, but most times faster than driving from Point A to Point B.
Another difference between the USA and Europe. The reason I included this on my unusual facts is that automatic cars are extremely rare here.Tell someone you can’t drive a stick shift (like me) and their eyes pop wide open as if you told them you just recently landed from Mars with your 19 kids in tow.
You will search far and wide here if you are planning on buying an automatic car. Not only that, it will cost you a whole lot more.
3. BE BAG READY
Last year we were in Miami and Chicago on vacation, and it was great to get to the checkout counter in different supermarkets and have someone bag your groceries for you. Same as in other countries we have visited.
Over here, you have to bag your own groceries.
It is funny because you have to be super fast before the items the person behind is buying reaches the end of the conveyor belt. If you are too slow, you get the shady side-eye from the both the customer behind you and the cashier.
I tend to avoid eye contact and just stare down at my groceries, hoping for a quick exit. This falls under the top three of unusual facts because in Austria, not only Vienna, all grocery and retail stores are closed on Sunday.
YUP – all of them.
4. MAN’S BEST FRIEND
Dogs are precious to Austrians. For all you dog owners or pet lovers, Austria is a great place to live in.
The world’s happiest dogs probably live here.
You see, dogs are generally allowed to go everywhere with you. There are, of course, a few (very few – scarce) places where they are banned. If they are not allowed in, you will see a sign posted.
Going out to a restaurant? Bring your dog. Getting your hair done? Sure, bring your dog with you. Heading to work? Surely, you can’t leave your little puppy home alone all day! Get the picture?
5. HOUSES OLDER THAN THE PYRAMIDS
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Ok – that is taking it way too far in terms of over exaggeraing, but you get the idea.
The „Heumühle auf der Wieden” is a tiny house in Vienna and also the oldest preserved house in Vienna.
It was built in the 13th century! Around the time Marco Polo returned to Venice following his journey to China.
Don’t be surprised that that apartments and houses don’t have closets.
You move in and you have to buy wardrobes. A small price to pay to live in such a wonderful place.
6. 8TH GRADE DROP OUT
Kids only have to go to school until they are 14 years old. Now this is not only an unusual fact but also a very scary one. The law requires kids to make the decision to either continue with school, choose a career path or begin a specialty program.
Essentially, they are making life changing decisions at such a young age! Also, at an emotional and hormonal time in their lives, no child should IMO be faced with such a heavy decision.
Mistake are bound to be made. Very scary. Most of us are unable to make that decision at 18, or even 21, let alone 14!
7. DRINKS ON YOU
Now this unusual fact is one that I am completely against. The legal drinking age is 16 for beer and wine!
Say What???? Yes, you read that correctly.
It is 18 for hard liquor/spirits. Teens do not ever worry about being carded. It happens maybe 0.01% of the time.
I was told by a Canadian friend of mine that after drinking beer here in Vienna, over the period of a year when he moved to the USA, the beer tasted like watered down Sprite. I am not a beer drinker, I wouldn’t know how much truth there is to that. LOL. Does that sound accurate to you? I believe him.
Oh, one more thing – open container law is nonexistent here.
8. THE HEAT IS ON
It is so awkward that in a country whose summers get intensely hot, that there is no air conditioning in most places.
Last year, it was burning hot in Vienna. Ok, not Texas or Florida hot, but by European standards, sweltering.
Restaurants, bars, apartments, houses, offices. They all lack air-conditioning. Austrians (or shall I say most Europeans) shun air conditioning.
Here we say, “Open a window, turn on a fan, pull the shades!”.
Awkward and unusual? Less than 1% of the homes are air-conditioned.
I guess you could say we are committed to a better environment.
9. CAN I GET SOME CHANGE?
In Austria, no, Europe (well, countries that use the Euro )the smallest denomination in bills is the €5. In many countries, the smallest bill is “1”.
Having the fiver as the smallest means walking around with lots of coins in your handbag, wallet or pockets.
I fill up a big flower pot with coins and take them to the bank every three months.
You won’t believe how much money you save by doing that. It’s fantastic.
And last but not least……probably the most unspeakable on my list is…..
10. DONUTS OR DOUGHNUTS – WE DON’T HAVE EITHER!
Seriously, there are no doughnuts in Vienna. In Austria. Zero, None.
We have things that sort of look like doughnuts, taste almost like a doughnut, might even be classified as belonging to the doughnut family, but there are no real doughnuts here.
I kid you not. Two years ago the first Dunkin’ Donuts opened in Vienna.
Being a Donut connoisseur, I can tell you that the doughnuts were not the same as other Dunkin’ Donuts I had tasted. Needless to say, the hype didn’t last long and the branch here in Vienna gone completely broke.
Sorry doughnuts, you just cannot compare to some good old Austrian Sacher Torte.
There you have it, my 10 awkward and unusual facts about Vienna and Austria.
And for those of you who were wondering…yes, Austrians really do wear lederhosen and dirndls- they aren’t just for the movies.
What did you think about these awkward and unusual facts? Did you know any or all of them?
Do you know an unusual fact about the city or country you live in?
Share them with me in the comments section below.
Pin this to read or reference to later, and of course, do share. 🙂
114 comments
Thankyou for sharing! I’d never have known these.
Great blog btw!
You might be glad to know that Dublin Donuts is back in Vienna! There is one that I know of in Donau Zentrum. They have “donuts” but they don’t exactly taste the same as in the US.
Dublin Donuts? Is that new? We had Dunkin; Donuts here once but never Dublin. Thanks for the tip. xoxo S.
I really enjoyed this article, super funny and very non-viennoise 🙂
This is excellent and I’ve been planning a trip for a while. Hopefully this year for the Christmas markets. I love beer and my girlfriend loves dogs – great news for both of us!
Great advice about damaged shoes! I remember needing that same advice for when I lived in Florence and just broke a ton of shoes. And the drinking age all around the world is pretty low and I much prefer it that way because then kids don’t abuse it and learn their limits early on. Haha and I much prefer bagging my own groceries even though its not usually the practice, just because it makes the line go faster for people behind me!
I love reading about unusual habits and facts about a country! I can’t believe the drinking age is 16 – that’s way too young!! As for donuts, it reminds me of the time my friend from Italy came to Canada with her husband. She was excited to introduce him to donuts (she was born in Canada) but he didn’t enjoy them at all and couldn’t categorize them either!
I like how you gathered fun and also interesting facts about Vienna. Yes usually in Europe you can drink from 18 legally and yes beer and wine are quite acceptable from 16 haha. I also like how you arranged your blog, keep up the good work :).
No donuts threw me off my seat and flying down a chasm of depression! Vienna being such a beautiful picturesque place to visit, has such unusual facts and some are very amusing as well. Thanks for sharing them, it was a wonderful read.
What an awesome list. I am always surprised when traveling around Europe when I see ladies in high heels walking on cobblestone, it’s crazy. Glad to see you all are smarter than that. 🙂
Wow! Those are truly interesting. That’s why we love traveling; things are never what you expect them to be. We would love to visit Vienna when we have the chance.
Hi there I just read your post. And being a real viennese I can tell you that most of the things are correct. Exept the thing with school education: there has to be formal training till the age of 16- but most of the pupils stay longer. And we don’t need aircondition because we life in old houses with thick walls – you need a very hot summer to heat them.
I guess to you I am not a “real Viennese”? Hahahahahaha! Your sentence about the school system is no longer accurate. That might have been true when you were in school but that is no longer the case. You can verify this information from the Stadtschulrat ( Vienna Municipal Education Authority). I ensure the information I post on my website is accurate and up to date. Also, not all houses have thick walls either. In fact, quite the contrary, there are lots of houses which do not have thick walls and people choose not to spend the money to have the walls broken down and redone – especially if they are just renters.
I love this! Really cute and very interesting! How fun to learn so many quirky facts about Vienna…all of them making me want to visit the country much more than I did before I read this post!
I really enjoy these kinds of posts. I’m wondering, do many kids actually choose to stop school and start working at 14?
Never heard about those things before. I think I am going to enjoy Vienna. I was shocked also that young people are already allowed to have those drinks and to decide on such a young age. For us, it is really a young age to decide.
I am an aussie and you certainly mentioned quite a few things that are different from here too. Wow kids only need to go to school until 14 – that is certainly different – here the average age is 17 years of age. And what’s with that quirky house – that looks cool.
#7, the legal age in Canada is 18 as well. But I have to agree with your friend, American beer does taste like – I don’t even need to try the good stuff to know that lol.
14 is definitely too young to make those choices – I think Germany has a similar system – Canada makes you pick from College level, University level and Applied level (not doing anything after high school) and they can’t easily switch once they have started the program.
Great post – learned a lot
I’ve never been to Vienna and I would want to visit it one day. Thank you for sharing all these information. I am in-love with cities that were able to preserve old cobblestone streets. Oh and yes, in Denmark, you bag your own groceries too but they have dividers so the items of the person behind you will not mix your paid items upon checkout.
I absolutely love ballet flats! So glad to know some of the history behind the footwear that I love so much. Vienna seems like a beautiful place, too.
The fact that kids only go to school until they are 14 is quite interesting. We would never be able to get away with something like that in the United States for sure.
Houses older than Pyramids!? What!? This is something very interesting. I want to do more research about this now. Thanks for this informative post!
I find it so funny that people read that line in the post and miss the part that says it is just an exaggeration,but as it is now seen in the comments, everyone is thinking that there are really houses here older than Pyramids in Vienna, hilarious! Hahahahaha.
Alright, First question.. What is the deal with that building that’s upside down in the first pic?? That actually set the tone for the “unusual” facts about Vienna. Hard to imagine a life without donuts though 😀 Not very often you get to hear that Dunkin Donuts went broke!!
Love this list but the whole donut thing made me sad.
When we lived in Germany, we visited Austria several times. My daughter took ski trip there with her Girl Scout Troop and we visited Eagle’s Nest.
I was most surprised that at 14 kids are considered old enough to make a decision about their educational future.
I wish we could be a one car family like the ones in Vienna. Our insurance and payment is ridiculous.
I can only imagine!
Thanks for sharing some great insights on Vienna! My brother lived there for 2 years and he was very much fond of the city and its culture! He also told me about the grocery bag. I’d definitely love to visit Austria someday in my life!
Hope you get to visit Ana! If you do, let’s have some coffee and cake!
Wow! Vienna is so different from the US! I don’t know if I could make it without donuts or air conditioning, though.
Loved your post! I remember when I visited Vienna, once of the first things that I noticed after getting off the bus was that people brought their dogs everywhere, even inside the metro! Very interesting, it’s not that common to see in other countries unfortunately
When I stopped through Vienna a few years ago it did strike me as odd that few women were wearing heels, but the reason totally makes sense. Vienna is a fantastic city though, doughnuts or no doughnuts (sob)!
It was great reading about these unsual facts. As a dog lover i am so happy for the dogs living here. But also Im a bit surprised that individuals must choose to study or not at 14 years. I mean in my country people above thirty also opt for additional academics courses . There is no age for learning. Maybe this is one fact that I wouldnt want my child to choose from.
So many interesting points! I love the fact that dogs can come anywhere with you 😀 That point makes me LOVE Vienna, haha. The only downside is the last point about the donuts… but maybe that’d help my waistline 😉
Vienna has long been on our wishlist and everytime we read your posts on Vienna the city seems more alluring. Cobblestone streets and houses older than pyramids sounds so enticing. Hope to visit soon 🙂
Now that is an interesting read – old houses, legal age to drink at 16 and the cobblestone roads…Vienna is an interesting place to stay and visit. Very well compiled.
Super interesting post, love to hear more tidbits like this about places! Useful to know about the cobbled streets and heels, and the drinking age! thanks for sharing 🙂
The drinking age thing is quite common throughout Europe, and I think most of the world. One thing I like about being outside the USA (where I live) is people are not so hung up on alcohol. I’ve also seen the bag-your-own-groceries thing in much of Europe.
Very interesting facts ! Seriously no donuts but am sure there are amazing pasteries.Love that everyone wears flats as I hate heels!
I was smiling when reading that yu were surprising when at the grocery store you had to bag your goods. Here in Europe is so common, but I was surprised as you when in other countries outside Europe I’ve seen someone preparing the bags for me instead 🙂
Hi Polly, I was actually not surprised that I had to bag my own groceries as I am so used to it already, been doing it all my life here. I just thought it was great that in the USA, or when I holiday in Africa, that I don’t have to do it myself.
I can tell you that a lot of these facts apply to the UK as well. We have the lowest bill a fiver too, and everyone owns a dog. However, the strange thing is that if you want to rent a house, your chances of being allowed to have pets are almost 0. We also do bag our own groceries too 🙂
Hi Joanna, I am in London quite a lot and have seen the same things listed in this post in the UK. One thing I was not aware of was renting with pets. Is it because the home owners are afraid that the pets will do damage to the home? I went to the supermarket the last time I was there and had 6 bags to bag and carry! 🙂
My friend almost sprained an ankle on the cobblestones! Definitely go with non high heels. I also can’t believe DD tried to test the market and failed!
How interesting that you cant get a doughnut in Vienna I never knew this. Although they have their own cakes which are just as good such as the famous sachertorte so all is not lost lol
14?!?! That’s sorta insane!!! I can see so many kids choosing to dropout and regretting it a few years later!!!
I loved Vienna! I also love that they are dog-friendly! Houses older than the pyramids? Wow! that is ancient! Thank you for sharing this angle on an incredible city!
LOL….I think you missed some of the post. I said I was just kidding about houses older than pyramids and that it was an exaggeration. 🙂
Sheri, here in Ukraine we only got our first Donuts a year ago lol! And they are sold in a few supermarkets around the country. And we were doing perfectly fine without them. And I honestly don’t see why anyone would want donuts in Vienna, when you have so many desserts there. Yumm!
I think it is the classic case of wanting what you dont have. You have straight hair, but want curly hair, you are tall, wish you were shorter, you have small boobs, want bigger ones, the list goes on and on. We enjoy these treats here on a daily basis and while they are fantastic and delicious we still crave for something else, something as simple as doughnuts. 🙂
So many interesting facts here. I have visited Vienna but hadn’t hear about most of these. I did learn about #1 the hard way. I was in Vienna for a conference and my heels kept getting stuck between the cobble stones. The only option was to walk very slowly and carefully as it was so hot I didn’t want to take my shoes off and have my feet burn. Learned my lesson though. When I go back I will definitely not be bringing any heels.
Awesome trivia on Vienna! Visiting this place has always been on my bucket list. With your post I am all the more inclined to make that happen soon! Thanks for sharing!
Ha ha well told. I had been there for 3 days… yes the packing your own bag did surprise me. I had to hurry.
I was not aware of kids being out of school at 14. That is too early.
Wow this is impressive. I didn’t know any of this. I don’t know if I could do the no air conditioning. No donuts I can live with. I’m sure I would find a good replacement treat! Lol!
This was so fascinating to read. I never knew any of these, I will now keep these in mind for a visit haha.
I have always wanted to travel to Austria. I knew that they had to most livable city. It seems so cute and quaint compared to some of our big cities. I also knew about the money aspect, not having change. These are really cool facts. They need to get some really good donuts over there!
How interesting! My parents are in Austria right now, and I’ll have to send this over to them! I’ve never been but hope to one day go.
I hope they are having a great time Jessica. There is so much to do and see here. If they need tips on where to go, let me know or send them these links which has some more info on Austria:Discover Vienna and Austria.
This post is so fascinating to me as I had not idea about these things! I’ve always wanted to visit Vienna though as a lover of classical music.
Thank you for the list! Car sharing seems cool but a hassle for me. I already got used to having a car to use whenever I need one. Lmao.
This was interesting! I only spent a day in Vienna but didn’t learn any of these. I agree that 16 is far too young!!!
I have a plethora of ballet flats! I need to go visit and bring my collection. It looks like a great city for couples to visit.
It is perfect for couples, especially in the fall and winter, it gets pretty romantic here and you have so many options of Activities. See here for me more on Austria
What interesting facts! I would love to visit one day, it all sounds wonderful as a visitor. Except the lack of air conditioning. The fact that dogs are welcome most places warms my heart, we love to take our yorkie with us! The big decision about your career choices at 14 is scary. In the US 5th graders are already expected to make these sorts of decisions, but at least they are required to stay in school longer!
Your Yorkie would have so much fun here. There are even dog hotels where the dogs stay alone and have their own “room”, or there are some hotels which allow you to bring your pet and can watch them if you go out for drinks or to the Theater. I think you would love Vienna too 🙂 5th Grade is really early to make those kinds of decisions. That’s too much weight to place on a child’s shoulders.
This is super interesting. I’d love to travel there (and bring my pup)
I definitely could not only do one car. There isn’t any public transportation where I live — my husband and I couldn’t both get to work!
WOW, That’s so different for me Taylor Anne, I hardly ever drive anywhere. LOL. I much prefer public transportation. It is clean, fast, reliable and they are very punctual.
I couldn’t imagine trying to wear heels on cobblestone! I have a huge love for Ballerina flats and it sounds like I would fit in perfectly in Vienna 🙂
You most certainly would! If you ever come over to visit, please let me know. 🙂
Car sharing is cool! It saves you money and space on buying car for each family. And this gestures make you more connected as family 😀
I loved reading this. It is so fun learning interesting things about far away places. But seriously, no doughnuts??! Ha!
Woah? What I thought that doughnuts existed across the world, how strange that it does not have doughnuts. Plus the drinking age is so young!
We visited Vienna a few years ago and it was so lovely! Moving abroad, most of these rules are true across Europe, and it was a HUGE shock for me (an American) !! For sure I get a donut every time we fly back to the states. But the Austrian cakes are so delicious 🙂
Yes Austrian cakes are awesome and also a reason I will never be thin! 🙂 You are right most of these are more common in Europe, a different lifestyle to the USA. In Africa for example, lots of these laws don’t exist and parents just make judgments on what is best for their kids according to their maturity and responsibility level.
What a great list. I always wear flats or sneakers when traveling. Vienna is on my bucket list.
I’m always fascinated to learn about other cultures. It’s so interesting to how different life is in other parts of the world, like only having one car per family and being able to drink at a young age.
Being a former teacher the school item caught my attention. It is hard to. Elise that kids decide their future at that age. I wonder how successful it is?
It’s so nice to know these amazing 10 unusual facts. Few them are sounds weird but I think it’s a part of culture in that place. I would love to go there one day.
I didn’t know this much about Vienna! There’s so much that you can learn. Also, WHY don’t you guys have donuts, that’s crazy! They make the world a better place to live in, really.
These are some interesting things about Vienna. I would love to visit it someday to see the historical sites.
I love to learn cool things about other cultures. I loved being able to drink beer when I went to Germany when I was 19. I guess no a/c is something you get used to but I don’t want to and will enjoy my a/c here. 🙂
I love reading these facts! I didn’t realize how young the drinking age was 16! Wow!
I learned so much! I think I would love Vienna. I prefer stick shift cars – and they are hard to find in the US! Most of the grocery stores in my city here in Wisconsin have you not only bag our own groceries – but we check them out too!
What an interesting list of facts. I love learning.
The ballerina shoes are useful in the old cobble streets of London too! Vienna has some wonderful places to see and things to do
OK I’m officially in love with this place now. I get to bring my dogs with me. How fun. I love it. It’s true in America there are way too many cars and not enough places to take our animals.
I’d love to visit there! I haven’t thought about it much, but it sounds like fun. I’ll remember to wear flats.
I wish mas transit was more available in the US I think it would be so wonderful to walk places. Don’t get me wrong I love my car but the slowed down pace of other countries sounds amazing.
That is crazy that the drinking age there is so young. I did not know that. Many cool facts about a place I’d love to visit soon.
No Doughnuts!? What a travesty! (Honestly, the sweet treat is sometimes necessary). But I love how you chronicled the differences- so many things I didn’t know about Vienna!
Wow. I really enjoyed reading this. So different than here in the US
You have no donuts, but whyyy… Kidding, Vienna is one of those lovely cities in Europe on everyone’s To Visit list. 🙂
Oh absolutely Jelena, it is the best city to live in and if we were to have real doughnuts here, everyone who visited would not return home! 🙂
I don’t think I knew ANY of these facts, but they sure made me laugh. I crave donuts all the time, but we don’t really have any where I live in West Africa either. When I go home, it’s one of my first snacks to eat!
Hi Ivannar, where in West Africa do you live? I have lived in Ghana and Nigeria and no “real doughnuts” there, but some places offer some nice doughnut-like pastries.
It’s 18 to drink here in the UK, so age 16 doesn’t really surprise me, or even both me to be honest.
I really want to visit Vienna, such an interesting country. These facts are very interesting.
This is an awesome list! My husband has visited Vienna and told me about it, but it was great reading your post too! He especially mentioned the cobblestone streets everywhere!
Very interesting list, it’s funny comparing all the differences when you experience living in a another country. I don’t like driving auto’s I’m a manual driver all the way! I actually found when I was looking for a car a couple of years ago, that it was really hard to find manual’s as well, however I’m in Australia.
Lennae xxx
I don’t know how I feel about the school thing! But ballerinas?! Sign me up. I always tell people I wore heels ONCE as a professional. My first day of teaching middle school. #NeverAgain
Hahahahahaha Divya! I can imagine! I would never be able to teach middle school and wear heels – impossible. I work in a school so I know this 🙂
This was so interesting! I did not know you could drop out of school at 14. My son is 14 and I can’t imagine him NOT going to school.
Crazy about the legal drinking age too. 16? I agree with 18 though but 16 would be too young for me.
I think 16 is way to young, kids are still maturing and often cannot assess situations properly when sober, let alone when they are drunk!
Houses older than pyramids!! Now that’s a fact I missed on Vienna. BTW, you from Vienna? Now I feel a little sheepish about my Vienna post. Loved your city BTW. The coffee is so much more superior to what we have here in the USA. No kidding!
This is really interesting. But no doughnuts?! Don’t think I could live without them! ☺️ X
I tell you Paighton, it’s a tough life over here….
I have a cousin who is from Vienna and she always told me how its such a beautiful place. I have not visited but I am going to Europe this December!
Alisha
Sounds like a pretty amazing place to me. I’m especially fond of the fact that dogs are so welcome. I live in a very dog friendly US city and that means a lot to me.
Julie – Dog friendly cities are the best. I don’t think dogs necessarily need to be in restaurants (some love to beg for food from other tables, LOL) but aside from that, I welcome them.
Ohh very interesting list! But NO. 6 really catch my attention.. an in my opinion it makes sense. Kids shouldn’t be carrying very hard load and just enjoy being kids, but it is not bad to teach them to learn to be responsible. I like the concept.
-blairvillanueva
No doughnuts!? That’s absolutely horrible! There are some things that are definitely different from the USA. I do like hearing they loved their dogs though!