ECONOMY
Business etiquette
Spring and fall are best for business trips.
Salzburg
The Austrians are very formal when dealing with strangers, in conversation and correspondence one always uses the name and (academic) title (Frau Doktor, Herr Magister, Herr Studienrat, Frau Ministerialrätin). Accordingly, business partners should be addressed by their full name and title, at least until you know each other better. At a business meeting, the dress code is not overly formal; you can appear without a tie. At the first meeting, however, one should dress too formal rather than too casual just in case.
Social life in Austria, a country located in Europe according to ehistorylib, is more or less separated from working life, overtime or working on weekends are rather rare. If you are invited home by a colleague or business partner, you should definitely bring flowers for the lady of the house or a bottle of wine for the host. Punctuality is taken very seriously and is also appropriate. Upon entering a private home, visitors should offer to take off their shoes. Business lunches are there to get to know each other, topics such as family or politics should usually not be broached.
Vienna
The Austrians – and especially the Viennese – are very formal in dealing with strangers, in conversation and correspondence one always uses the name and (academic) title (Frau Doktor, Herr Magister, Herr Studienrat, Frau Ministerialrätin). Accordingly, business partners should be addressed by their full name and title, at least until you know each other better. At a business meeting, the dress code is not overly formal; you can appear without a tie. At the first meeting, however, one should dress too formal rather than too casual just in case.
Opening hours
Business hours are usually from Monday to Friday from 8 a.m. to 12.30 p.m. and 1.30 p.m. to 5.30 p.m., many offices and companies close at 3 or 4 p.m. on Fridays.
Economy
Austrian trade delegation
Stauffenbergstrasse 1, D-10785 Berlin
Tel: (030) 257 57 50.
Internet: www.austriantrade.org/deutschland/de
branches in Frankfurt / M. (Tel: (069) 971 01 20) and Munich (Tel: (089) 2429140).
Austrian trade delegation
Talstrasse 65, CH-8001 Zurich
Tel: (044) 215 30 40.
Internet: www.austriantrade.org
German Chamber of Commerce in Austria
Schwarzenbergplatz 5, Top 3/1, A-1030 Vienna
Postal address: PO Box 107, A-1103 Vienna
Tel: (01) 545 14 17-0.
Internet: www.dhk.at
Austrian
Chamber of Commerce Wiedner Hauptstrasse 63, A-1045 Vienna
Tel: (01) 59 09 00.
Internet: http://portal.wko.at
Business contacts
Austrian trade delegation
Stauffenbergstrasse 1, D-10785 Berlin
Tel: (030) 257 57 50.
Internet: www.austriantrade.org/deutschland/de
branches in Frankfurt / M. (Tel: (069) 971 01 20) and Munich (Tel: (089) 2429140).
Austrian trade delegation
Talstrasse 65, CH-8001 Zurich
Tel: (044) 215 30 40.
Internet: www.austriantrade.org
German Chamber of Commerce in Austria
Schwarzenbergplatz 5, Top 3/1, A-1030 Vienna
Postal address: PO Box 107, A-1103 Vienna
Tel: (01) 545 14 17-0.
Internet: www.dhk.at
Austrian
Chamber of Commerce Wiedner Hauptstrasse 63, A-1045 Vienna
Tel: (01) 59 09 00.
Internet: http://portal.wko.at
COMMUNICATION
Phone
The country code for Austria is 0043. The area code for Vienna is 01. Public telephones can be used with phone cards or coins.
Cellphone
Network operators include Tele.ring (Internet: www.telering.at), t-mobil (Internet: www.t-mobile.at) and A1 (Internet: www.a1.net). The network coverage is very good. In Austria, there are GSM networks in the 900 MHz range and in the 1800 MHz range.
International roaming can be used within the EU at the Euro tariff. Customers of all European mobile network operators automatically make all calls in and from other EU countries at the Euro rate. However, the Euro tariff does not apply to other mobile communications services such as SMS, MMS and data transmission.
Internet
There are numerous internet cafes in all major cities. Free internet access via Wi-Fi is available at the new main train station, Wiener Westbahnhof, at Wiener Neustadt train station, at Vienna-Schwechat airport and at several locations in the city of Vienna (current information at www.freewlan.at).
Numerous telephone booths are so-called multimedia stations that are equipped with broadband internet.
The main providers are A1 (Internet: www.a1.at) and Tele2 (Internet: www.tele2.at). Flat rate tariffs are predominantly used.
Post Office
Letters up to 20 g and postcards are sent within Europe by airmail. Postage stamps are available from post offices. Almost all post offices accept poste restante items.
Post office opening times: Mon-Fri 8 a.m.-12 p.m. and 2 p.m.-5 p.m. / 6 p.m. Main post offices and post offices at major train stations are open all day (including Sundays and public holidays).
SHOP
Overview
Traditional costumes, handicrafts, ceramics, blacksmithing and wood carving are great holiday souvenirs.
Opening times of the shops: Mon-Fri 8 am-9pm, Sat 9 am-6pm, some shops are closed for lunch. The shops in the big cities and shopping malls are open until 6 p.m. every Saturday. Elsewhere, almost all shops close at 12 noon on Saturdays and are only open until 6 p.m. on the first Saturday of each month.
NIGHTLIFE
Introduction
The diverse Viennese nightlife offers something for every taste: opera, theater, cabaret as well as numerous music and scene bars, discos, bars and nightclubs. In the Falter, the city newspaper for Vienna, you can find an extensive program of events; it appears weekly (Internet: www.falter.at).
