In my previous blog posts, I wrote about my trip to Vienna, but I did not write about my actual time in Vienna. In part, that is because I cannot tell which I preferred more, the trip there and the time it gave me to sort my thoughts at the beginning of the semester or my time actually spent in the Austrian capital. There were a few things that left a bad taste in my mouth from this trip, but overall it was a resounding success because of the people that shared the experience with me.
After the four-hour bus ride from Prague, my four friends and I slowly made our way from the bus station to our hostel after figuring out which train to take. Thankfully, Sarah spoke German which made reading the signs much easier. Once at the hostel we met up with three other students on our program and, even though I did not know it at the time, this group of people would become some of my closest friends.
On our first full day in Vienna, we ventured into the city without a clear plan, hopping from castle to museum to historic city center. After lunch where I tried schnitzel for the first time, we made our way through the flee market which would help set the tone for the rest of our time in the city. The flee market was a strange place. Even though Vienna is regarded as one of the wealthiest cities in Europe with the highest standard of living, the flee market looked much more like the swap-meets I have seen in California’s central valley, albeit with more faded bronze and silver ornaments.
As my friends and I were looking at all the products from faded postcards to small gemstones, I was approached by a man in his 60s that was shouting something in German at me. When I turned to face the man, now only a few feet from me, he reached out and gently punched me in the cheek. Punched is even a strong word considering it was more of a tap in the face with his fist, but regardless, I was a bit shocked. I looked to my friends and around at the other people walking by for a clue as to why this man was extremely aggravated with me but found nothing. There were no signs that said cameras were not allowed and my other friends were taking just as many pictures as me.
The man walked back to his stand as I stood there, but then started yelling and walking towards me again a few seconds later. At this point I decided it was time to leave the market and walked away towards the exit. Before we left, however, my friend was called a ‘stupid American’ for asking how much a gem was. Even though I had only been in Vienna for 12 hours or so, it was at this point that I decided tourists were not welcome in Vienna.
Thankfully, there were no more physical confrontations that weekend, but almost all social interactions we had with locals were negative. Anything from being shoved on the tram, to being asked to leave a restaurant for not ordering enough despite nearly all of the other tables being open for other, more affluent customers. To cap it off, we saw a homeless woman who was asking for change near the main cathedral during Sunday Mass being escorted away by four police officers – Christian charity at its best.
Vienna was not all bad though, their natural history museum was more beautiful, elaborate and full of exhibits than any other museum I have been in. Likewise, the architecture of the museum quarter and palaces was breathtaking. Vienna, I have decided, is a city best viewed at a distance. Now that I have been in Prague for longer however, I am starting to pick up on a key cultural difference. The scale of rudeness and politeness is markedly different here, I think, because people are more straightforward. Especially in situations such as ordering at a restaurant or buying something from a store, there is no time wasted with pleasantries. Instead, Czechs (and Austrians) get straight to the point and see anything else as a waste of time. This has been one of the larger cultural differences that has taken the most getting used to.