108 CultureShock! Austria
or twice a week and intensive classes are available as well.
Private tutors can also be easily found.SHOPPING
Shopping in Austria is quite an experience. First, shops are not
open seven days a week, unlike in some other parts of Europe.
Second, cash payment is still popular, although grocery stores
and some shops have bankcard or debit machines. Third,
if you head out in jeans, you’ll have the distinct feeling of
being underdressed. Most Austrians ‘dress up’ to shop, and
you will get better service when well dressed.
When entering or leaving small stores, it is customary to
say hello or Grüss Gott. This is a sweet formality which makes
one feel welcome. The owner or clerk will automatically
ask if you need help. You can then ask for what you want,
or if you are only browsing, say, “Ich schaue nur”. It is
mainly in the smaller boutiques that the help can be a bit
overwhelming, if you are not used to it. Of course, there
are large department stores in most cities where you can
browse to your heart’s content without being followed about
by a salesperson.Clothing
Fashion in Austria is conservative and elegant. There are
fashionable boutiques for men and women, from the most
luxurious by Louis Vuitton, Escada, Gucci and Chanel to the
more affordable H&M, and C&A. For the teens and 20-year-
olds, there are fun stores such as H&M, Zara, Esprit, Mango,
Mexx, Vero moda, Promod, Pimkie, Schöps, Street One,
Orsay, Turek and Sisley. Children’s clothing stores in the
large cities are part of big chains like H&M and C&A, and
of smaller ones like Dohnal and Mary for Kids. The popular
department stores for just about everyone in the family are
C&A (budget), Gerngross and Peek and Cloppenburg.
Household essentials like kitchen utensils, linens, toys
and casual clothing can be purchased at theTschibo/Eduscho
stores or Interspar. Housewares, baby items, simple furniture,
etc. can be found at Kika, Leiner and Ikea.
In addition to the streets lined with stores like