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Austrian Touring Pricing & Information |
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| Austria
Austria is full of music, mountains and memories of its imperial past. There is magnificent scenery around every corner — vineyards, ancient castles and abbeys overlooking the Danube River, wooded hills rising out of lush farmlands, lakes dotted with sailboats and ringed by soaring mountains, alpine peaks and their icy world of glaciers reaching for the sky. Austria has more castles and palaces open to visitors than any other comparable area in Europe. Great museums and churches harbour the most significant art treasures from many periods and styles. One is surrounded by history and can trace events dating back to the Romans, Charlemagne, Emperor Maximilian, the Turks, the Swedes in the Thirty Years' War, Empress Maria Theresa, Napoleon, Emperor Franz Joseph and General Patton. Hardly any other country is associated with the term "culture" as much as Austria is. Although its former imperial power now belongs to the past, Austria is still one of the world's leading cultural nations. The variety of cultural manifestations all year round - from classical and contemporary music to theatre, architecture and the fine arts - gives you a great variety of events to choose from to give your holiday that cultural touch!
German is spoken as a first language by 99% of the Austrian population. English is by far the leading second language in the education system and is, consequently, understood widely and spoken fluently by most people working in tourism-related jobs. In the cities, banks are open generally from 8am to 12.30pm and 1.30pm to 3pm Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday; 8am to 12.30pm and 1.30pm to 5.30pm Thursday. Banks are closed Saturday and Sunday. Exchange offices at airports and major city rail terminals are open 7 days from 8am to 8pm (in Vienna to 10pm) and in resort areas a few hours each day, 7 days a week. Shops generally open at 8am or 9am and close at 6pm, many with a two hour lunch break, Monday through Friday. In large cities, some stores open until 7pm or later. Some supermarkets open until 7pm. On Saturdays, most shops open until 5pm. Rail is the main mode of intercity overland transport in Austria. Comfortable trains offer frequent service on 5,940 km of rail track. Most trains (except some local and branch line trains) carry first and second classes. The approx. 50% premium for first class travel buys softer upholstery and more space. There is a fee for first and second class seat reservations. Seven intercity lines depart every 2 hours in the following directions:
In addition, frequent Eurocity trains with fewer stops en route offer comfortable and very fast service between Austria and many European countries.
The Austrian Rail Pass is valid for 15 days from date of purchase and can be used on 3-8 days of your choice within that period on all Austrian Federal Railways, state and private rail lines. It is also valid for 50% rate reduction when renting a bicycle from a railway station. At the latitude of 47° North, the climate is moderate and generally agreeable. Summer days can be hot, occasionally reaching above 32°, summer evenings are usaully cool. Precipitation is quite evenly distributed over the entire year, but May, September and the first half of October tend to be the driest, April and November the wettest periods. From June through August, rain usually comes in the form of thunderstoms (a word of caution for the hikers and mountain climbers: above 6,500 feet, storms may entail heavy snowfalls even in summer). The winter snow cover lasts from late December through March in the valleys, from November through May at about 6,000 feet, and becomes permanent above 8,500 feet.
Restaurant and hotel bills already include a service charge. Leave a small amount in change for the waiter or the maid. At first class places, tip 10% extra for particularly good service. Taxi drivers get 10% of the meter reading or the agreed fare as a tip. Railway station and airport porters get approx. EUR 1.00 per piece of luggage plus a EUR 0.50 tip. Hotel porters expect similar consideration. Hairdressers generally receive 10% of the bill as a tip. Tip hat-check ladies and toilet attendants about EUR 0.50. Postage stamps are sold at post offices, tobacco shops and hotel desks. Post offices are generally open from 8am to 12 noon and from 2pm to 6pm, Monday to Friday. General post offices in large cities are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. It may be worth your while to buy a Telefon-Wertkarte for EUR 10, 15 or 35 at a post office and make your calls from a card-operated pay phone, because most hotels apply high surcharges for phone calls from their rooms. Calls are cheapest between 8pm and 6am.
Electric current in Austrian is 220 volts AC at 50 cycles/sec. To operate small appliances, you will need an adapter-converter. Electric clocks, record players and tape recorders will not operate properly even using a converter. Residents of non-EU countries purchasing goods in excess of EUR 75 in one shop on one day can apply for a refund of the Value Added Tax paid, if they export the goods within 3 months from the end of the month of purchase, Ask the shop staff to complete the required tax-free cheque. Present this cheque together with the goods purchased at the airport or the border crossing to customs officials when leaving the European Union for validation Once the tax-free cheque is validated, the VAT-refund, less a handling fee, can be obtained at many cash refund desks located at airports or major border crossings. Alternatively, you can send in the form for mail refund using the tax-free envelope. Be aware that customes validation can only be obtained when leaving the last EU-country on your trip. Inform yourself about customs validation procedures on trains before departure. We advice you to send purchases with your registered luggage. In such cases you can obtain validation at the point of departure. There is no VAT refund on services. |
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