Oh, the places I'll go...
August 3, 2010 10:51 AM   Subscribe

Travel-filter: I'm leaving for Europe in less than a month, and I feel wildly unprepared.

In September, I'm leaving the States for a year to study in Austria. My German is passable, but I've never been to Europe before and don't know what to expect.

-I'll be living on an American University campus, not with a host family.

-We are expected/encouraged to travel most weekends

-There are about 40 students from my University who will be living/traveling together; I don't know that many of them yet and am kind of awkward when it comes to, "Oh, hey, you're going to Denmark? Can I come?"

So I'm looking for any advice that you have, whether it's about the best travel items to bring, how to budget money, or how to adapt to Europe in general. Austria-specific advice would be amazing, too.

Thanks so much!
posted by karminai to Travel & Transportation (17 answers total) 1 user marked this as a favorite
 
I don't know that many of them yet and am kind of awkward when it comes to, "Oh, hey, you're going to Denmark? Can I come?"

Organize your own trip to Denmark and invite them. Do this early. (Tagging along is OK in some situations, but doing this avoids the awkwardness you are worried about.)

Also, do you have contact details for any of them? Try to meet up a few at a coffee shop before you go.
posted by grouse at 11:04 AM on August 3, 2010


The AU will make the transition easy. Be personable and try to meet people. When traveling, hostel, it's cost effective and you meet people.

Have a robust backpack, sized accordingly to your travel demands (a weekender can be small). I suggest a money belt pouch you can put under your pants when you're backpacking to avoid getting pickpocketed.

Get used to smaller food portions, less supermarkets and public transportation. Soak in the cultural milieu and the lifestyle differences. Don't feel afraid to break out of the group's shell, as it tends to hinder your ability to absorb the true culture and really immerse yourself in the language, however you can build some great friendships in the program.

Finding a part-time teaching gig (english) is a great way to get more involved in the community and get some scratch on the side.

Get used to less AC/ice/room. Luxury ammenities are expensive in europe. You'll do fine.

Cheers.
posted by Hurst at 11:05 AM on August 3, 2010


In many European countries, including Austria, stores close fairly early on weekdays, and often are only open part of the day on Sundays. You might find some exceptions in areas where there are a lot of tourist attractions and/or students, but before you learn the area, be careful in your grocery planning.

Don't be embarrassed about asking people to speak English if you need to. Just smile and ask nicely. The vast majority of people won't make a big deal out of it, even if they don't know English. And the more you do it, the easier it will be.

Don't bother taking any small electronics (hair dryers, etc.) with you -- just buy them over there. They won't work well even with an adapter, and probably end up fried anyway.
posted by neushoorn at 11:10 AM on August 3, 2010


This is always hard to remember when packing - but if you are travelling to somewhere that people live, chances are there will be services and Things for people who live there.

In other words, don't fret too much about "Omigod, what if I forget my toothbrush!" You can get one there, if you do.

(YMMV for medicines and foodstuffs that may not be sold overseas.)

Have fun!
posted by kellygrape at 11:15 AM on August 3, 2010


My meager experience (week) in Austria suggests that everyone under the age of 60 speaks English - in fact, a friend of mine who tried to practice his German had trouble doing so because everyone wanted to show off their English skills.
posted by notsnot at 11:16 AM on August 3, 2010


Don't limit your social circle to the other students from your home university! Foreign study is way more rewarding when you immerse yourself in the community. I would second not being embarrassed to ask for English when you need it--but you'll have a better time if you don't fall back on English too much. Language is really key to immersion.

Also, Austrian dialect is awesome.
posted by the_blizz at 11:21 AM on August 3, 2010


Relax - Don't Panic.

Bring less stuff than you think: 10 days worth of clothes plus winter gear would be fine.

Bring more money than you think: Europe is expensive and you won't want to miss out on weekend trips.
posted by 2bucksplus at 11:22 AM on August 3, 2010


I spent a year as an exchange student in the UK a couple years ago. One thing that surprised me was the way the exhaustion of travel could accumulate. You say you're "expected" to travel most weekends, but I can attest to the likelihood that you will be absolutely wiped out within a month or two if you do this. Especially on a budget -- nothing is easy when you're traveling on a student budget, and it can really wear on you. You can still see a lot of places in a year at the rate of one new place every few weeks!

Perhaps more importantly, if you jet off somewhere different every time you have a couple days free, you'll never get a chance to really understand what it's like to live in Austria. You may want to consider pursuing a depth of experience by getting to know your own home base really well, rather than the breadth of, say, trying to see every capital in western Europe for 24 hours each.

Oh, and keep an eye on the budget airlines (Ryanair, EasyJet) for seat sales. Going wherever you can get the cheapest flight to (I got a round-trip flight to Dublin for £2.50, total!) is a fun way to plan your travel.
posted by ootandaboot at 11:28 AM on August 3, 2010


My semester abroad program was life-changing. Here are some tips that aren't specific to Austria (I was in London), but will help make the most of your experience:

Don't just hang out with Americans. I know it's easy and comfortable to do that, but go out and make friends with locals. They'll invite you to their homes, introduce you to new people, show you an "insider's" Austria you WON'T get by hanging out with other American students. Several women in my program ended up marrying men they met in London, and I treasure the friends I met while living in the UK and are still friends with decades later.

Get OUT of the city you're in. Explore, make mistakes, laugh. You'll never be able to do this ever again.
posted by HeyAllie at 11:30 AM on August 3, 2010 [1 favorite]


I'm an American in my mid-20s who moved to Poland a few years ago.

• You'll meet everyone when you get here. There may also be some Europeans studying with you. Hang with these people. The Americans will have their own agendas - and budgets - different from yours. Europe has its own study-abroad thing called Erasmus; this is why there are Spaniards and Turks and Slovenians in my corner of Poland. This means that you will, almost certainly, not be surrounded by only either Americans or Austrians or some mix of those people, but French people and Swedes and Bulgarians and Bosnians and Latvians and Dutch folks and someone who grew up in the Hebrides.

• Get into local events! Events.at.

• Bring clothes, toiletries, technology, and maybe some books. We have everything else!

• Vienna is right next to the Balkans and is a major gateway to southeastern Europe. Do not neglect this. Budapest, Belgrade, Sofia, Athens, Bucharest, Lviv, Odessa, Krakow, Ljubljana, Sarajevo, Istanbul...are all doable by train. See below.

• I'll disagree with the giant backpack suggestion and tell you instead to nerd out and get these - you don't need a vacuum, your clothes get/stay tiny, and you can suddenly travel without looking like you've got the world on your back! You *also* save on checked baggage fees for all those cheap flights we've got.

• Vienna's local low-cost airline is FlyNiki (as in Formula 1 driver Niki Lauda, who is also a pilot!).

• Bratislava, Slovakia is 37 miles - less than an hour's train ride - away, and involves no border checks (it's all inside the Schengen zone). It is cool and Slavic and different and also your "local" Ryanair airport.

Trains.
posted by mdonley at 12:08 PM on August 3, 2010


The "if its Tuesday it must be Paris" is certainly a cliche about Americans but there is definitely a grain of truth. It is my experience, as someone from the UK living in the US, that Americans can often have a very distorted sense of European geography, especially if they have never been there. In particular you have to realize that Europe has a *much* higher population density and this has the effect of compressing distances, an equivalent trip, say big city to nearest medium sized city, is often radically shorter, and you can travel much less to experience a similar change. As a rough rule of thumb divide all distance buy at least 4 to get the European equivalent. You will do much better if you expand your idea of travel to include the small village 5 miles out of town, as well as Austria to Denmark or the like (after all they are two whole countries and a language apart).
posted by tallus at 12:21 PM on August 3, 2010 [1 favorite]


God, I'm jealous.

Echoing others, pack less than you think you'll need. If you bring a massive bag you'll fill a massive bag. Be reasonable and honest with yourself about what you really need with you (like books - don't bring any, you can get those when you're there).

Also, as someone else said, you will most definitely exhaust yourself if you try to travel every single weekend. Maybe once a month is more realistic. Try to spend time getting to know Austria, which can be hard if you're in another country every weekend.

Finally, relax because Europe is pretty much the same as North America. Aside from some language barriers, there's not a whole lot that's too challenging about it. You'll be fine and it won't be hard. You'll make friends easily (most definitely set the plans first and invite others to join you) and have an amazing year. Trust us.
posted by fso at 1:06 PM on August 3, 2010


My wife and I currently reside in Vienna. Austria is to Germany as the American South is to the North, for all the good and bad. The pace is slower. Everything except restaurants and theaters close after 20:00 (most Europeans use "military" time). By Austrian law, all stores, including grocery stores, are closed on Sunday. The exceptions are restaurants, theaters, and stores near transportation hubs that are open to cater to travelers (Big tip, if you need groceries on a Sunday, head to the main train station, there is likely to be a Billa, local grocery chain, open 24/7). Service in restaurants is also slow by American standards. Austrians like to sit and enjoy their meals and draw out the experience. The waiter will usually not come around after your food is delivered unless you call them over.

While most things are slow, lines and grocery stores are not. This has been one of the things about living in Austria that almost all of the Americans I know here complain about. Austrians are not used to forming lines. People will cut in front of you and crowd counters at the bakery. When you do go to the grocery store, people will stand as close behind you as possible and you are expected to move your groceries out of the very small sorting area immediately after you pay. Just put the stuff back in you cart along with you bags (you have to either bring bags or buy them at the store) and take it to a bagging counter by the door.

Austria is a pretty International place; most people in the big cities speak English. That said, attempting to speak German first is always appreciated. As The_Blizz pointed out, Austrians speak a slightly different German than the high Deutsch up north. The Austrians use some different phrases than you will find in most German classes. Be prepared to hear "Gross Gott" (literally God is great) as the standard greeting going into shops, as well as other phrases that might not be in the German guidebook.

Other things to be prepared for, electricity is 220v and TV is on the PAL standard (any DVDs you bring from the States probably won't work). Also, and this has been an initial shock for some Americans, there is nudity on TV (all day and even in commercials) and in the newspaper (sometimes on the front page of the Sunday tabloids).

So, now that I've said all the strange and shocking stuff, Austria is really a great place to live. The standard of living is really high. The public transportation is fabulous and it is easy to get from city to city without a car. Because Austria is located in the center of Europe, it's less than three hours flight to any other city in the EU. Crime is extremely low and violent crime is even more rare. Austrian cities have wonderful public spaces and there is usually some kind of festival, fair or market going on. The Christmas markets are especially good. The Austrians have extremely high standards for their food, so everything tastes fantastic, even if Austrian cooking can be a little bland. There is gelatto in the summer and hot mulled wine in the winter. That's not even getting into the music. Enjoy your time here.
posted by chrisulonic at 1:57 PM on August 3, 2010 [1 favorite]


"Be prepared to hear "Gross Gott" (literally God is great)"

A correction: It's "Grüß Gott", which translates as "greet god", a phrase of unclear origins, believed to come from "maygod greet you" or "god bless you"
posted by ts;dr at 5:03 PM on August 3, 2010


Totally jealous! I was on exchange in Germany for a year, and I just spent a week in Austria.

- Buy the Austrian lonely planet and read the whole thing
- Start cramming your German. Half an hour everyday. Anki, pimsleur, talking to yourself around the house, watching Inspector Rex. I didn't, because I didn't really know how, and I totally regret it.
- I found Austria very friendly. I had quite a few good conversations with locals, something that didn't happen much in Germany or Switzerland. However, do not be surprised if most of the people you become good friends with are also foreigners. Making local friends is much harder, though it's worth the effort. Having good german with help significantly.
- Jet lag and culture shock can really knock you about. I slept for about two weeks when I first got to Germany.
- Say "Yes". Try anything once. Push yourself out of your comfort zone. It's scary, but worth it.
- For the weekends, start with the things that are close to you. Vienna, Salzburg, Innsbruck, Melk, cycling down the danube, Munich, Bratislava. Depending on where you are, you can do most of these as a day/overnight trip without too much planning.
- The train system is your friend. OBB was pretty straight forward. Buy ticket - get on train. There was a half-price card for 99Euro that might be worth looking into. The Deutsche Bahn website is the go to place for rail travel throughout Europe.
- Don't take more than you can easily carry.

Have fun!
posted by kjs4 at 7:00 PM on August 3, 2010


If you're going for a year, I wouldn't bother to bring things like extra toiletries and books. Or really anything you use that's going to get used up quickly.

They have toiletries in Austria, and half the fun of living in a new country is the little experiences like buying toothpaste. Sure, if there is One And Only One brand of shampoo that doesn't make your hair look like poo, bring an extra bottle if you feel it's important. But don't feel like you need to fully stock up on dental floss, tampons, hand lotion, etc etc. They have all that stuff in Austria and you will not die if you have to mime something or stumble over a pronunciation in order to get it. Also, it will make a funny story to tell later! Ask me how I know!

For books, it's similar - if you enjoy reading much, you will not be able to stuff your luggage with enough reading material for a whole year. And yet there are English-language bookshops in Europe.

I'd recommend bringing a guidebook to Austria (or maybe just to Vienna, if that's where you'll be based), as well as one of those big thick "Europe On A Shoestring" guides.
posted by Sara C. at 7:06 PM on August 3, 2010


I slept for about two weeks when I first got to Germany.

YMMV on this - I've never had jet lag for more than a few hours, no matter where I've traveled. Don't worry too much about it.
posted by Sara C. at 7:08 PM on August 3, 2010


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