AUSTRIA

Prime Travel Data
Österreich, capital city, postal codes, telephone codes, languages, electrical voltage,
holidays (dual language), embassy, consulates, USA embassy, guide books, maps, history.

Vienna, known as Wien in Austria, has a subway system known as the U-Bahn, short for Untergrundbahn. Here is part of the U-Bahn system displayed on a map in one of the cars. If you see someone get stuck as the door closes pull the handle under the SOS sign. It happens now and then. It happened to me on a train in Amsterdam. Fortunately someone pulled the emergency handle before the train took off.

Vienna also has an S-Bahn, short for Straßenbahn, known in other cities as a trolly, streetcar, or tram.

The character ß looks something like a B but is in fact a special German letter equivalent to ss. So the big word containing that animal is pronounced strassenban.

Carpe diem. Vivere bene! Gratia Deo.

HOW TO EUROPE: The Complete Travelers Handbook
John Bermont

This entire book is published totally free on-line by the author, photographer, and webmaster, yours truly, with help from my daughter Stephanie. I welcome all questions, comments, and complaints. For contact information please see NOTE TO READERS. Updated 28 January 2016.

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NEED TO KNOW

So here you are in Austria and you need to know some elementary stuff — like how to make a phone call, get local money, or contact the American Embassy to report your stolen passport. Here is a convenient source for that information, plus a bit more.

This web page originally appeared in the first editon of my book How To Europe: The Complete Travelers Handbook in a section titled "Country Data Sheets" over thirty years ago. I've updated and improved it for 2016.

Important information about this data sheet.
Native name	Österreich
Capital	Vienna (Wien)
Postal code	A
Telephone code	+43. See chapter 19, Telephoning to, from, and within Europe.
Language	German
Currency	Euro. See The Euro and Other Currencies.
European Union	Member. See chapter 25, Customs Duty, USA and Europe.
Schengen Agreement	Member. See chapter 3, Passport and Visas.
Time zone	GMT+1. See chapter 28, European Dates and Time Zones.
Electricity	220 volts, 50 Hz. See chapter 11, European Electricity: Travel Voltage Fundamentals..

Recommended books for further information:

There are many books on Austria and Vienna. Michelin Red and Green guides are my favorites but there are a number of good ones. The DK Eyewitness Guides are really nice.

The books that you see listed here are those that I have personally used and am satisfied with, and/or are from publishers whose other travel books are reliable. I am a consumer when it comes to travel guides, and a critical one. Notice that I do not recommend any Frommers, Dummies, Steves, or other inferior guides. For some of the reasons please go to the hoi polloi.

As one example of a substandard guide, I have a 650 page book titled Rick Steves' Germany & Austria which has not a single mention of Düsseldorf or Graz, and dismisses Heidelberg in 4 lines as a "lowlife". That's like leaving Chicago and Newport Beach out of a USA travel guide, and kissing off Kansas City. But this book did include enough pages to promote his whirlwind guided bus tours, videos, backpacks, sink stoppers, and Steves' other branded products. A couple pages of sophomoric German phrases with a contorted pronounciation guide caps off the disaster. Steves is strong on self promotion but weak on meaningful content.

For the good stuff, the links below take you directly to a page at Amazon.com. That page details the guide book, map, or dictionary. In many cases the Amazon.com listing includes readers'comments and sample pages from the book. You then have the opportunity to add the book to your shopping cart and buy it. I buy virtually all of my books at Amazon.com and have had excellent service for years.

Note: emphasis in the titles is mine — to help you in finding the information you need. Don't worry too much about publication dates. Many books are updated every three to six years. The monuments and cathedrals haven't moved in 500 years!

Have a good trip!

NOTE TO READERS

I welcome questions, comments, and complaints. If you have any concerns about your trip to Europe that have not been covered well enough on my web site please do not hesitate to write. Ask, cuss, discuss, or whatever. I read every email and update my pages when I see a question repeating, Then I will not get that question again, hopefully. In some cases readers have been so generous with their time and talent that I have included their emails verbatim, e.g. chapters 22 and 25.

I do not open attachments. I do not click links to web pages of any kind. If you have an item you want me to comment on please send the name of the manufacturer and the model number, or the Amazon.com ASIN number. I will reply in a day or two, usually.

My email address is [email protected].

Do not forget to smell the hyacinths. At your leisure scroll through the Table of Contents of How To Europe: The Complete Travelers Handbook and read all 30 chapters, FREE on line. Good deal! You'll probably find the answers you seek, and some you didn't know you needed.

FREE

This web site is totally free for everyone, and a labor of love for me. To keep it afloat I receive a commission from Amazon.com for all goods purchased through the adverts I have selected, and any other products you might buy when you are on the Amazon site. Amazon has almost everything for sale, except the Brooklyn Bridge and Mount Rushmore.

Please visit my on-line store at . Your support is most gratefuly appreciated. TIA.

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Austria

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Austria
Eyewitness Travel Guides
by DK Publishing

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Michelin the Green Guide Austria

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Michelin Map
Austria

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StreetWise Map
Vienna

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Langenscheidt Standard Dictionary German: German - English / English - German

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You will need one or more of these plug adapters for your appliances and chargers. Grounded Universal 2 in 1 Plug Adapter Type E/F
Adapts grounded USA plugs to European "Shucko" plug used in Austria.

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The best travel guide to all of Europe. Europe on a Shoestring
Lonely Planet

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A comprehensive guide to 3,000 hotels and restaurants in 44 major cities. Main Cities of Europe 2015
Michelin Guide

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Michelin will get you on the right road. Michelin Germany/Austria/Benelux/Switzerland Atlas

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My book will get you started. HOW TO EUROPE: The CompleteTravelers Handbook by John Bermont

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