Culture Shock! Austria - A Survival Guide to Customs and Etiquette

112 CultureShock! Austria

Claiming a Tax Refund

If you are a non-resident and spend more than € 75 on any

one item, you may claim a tax refund. The forms are available

at most stores. The item must be taken out of the country

within three months of purchase. When leaving the EU,

customs officials at the airport or train station will validate

your items. Cash your refund check at a refund office after

you have cleared passport control. You may also be able to

mail your validated refund check to an address provided at

customs (if you can’t find your receipt) and have your credit

card account credited.

Food

Shopping at grocery stores (Lebensmittelgeschäfte) or

supermarkets (Supermärkte) can be a shock if you are used

to huge grocery stores. Many

stores may still be rather petite

with small aisles and it requires a

lot of patience and good humour

to make shopping a pleasant

experience. The common

grocery stores are Billa, Zielpunkt, Lidl, Hofer, Spar and

Eurospar. Interspar, Metro and Merkur tend to be large but

not very accessible, as they are located on the outskirts of

large cities. Metro is extremely large and sells in bulk, but

only to customers who have the membership or diplomatic

card necessary to gain entrance. Zielpunkt, Lidl and Hofer

tend to be much cheaper as they are wholesale stores that

also sell overstocked merchandise at low prices.

The produce section usually carries a wide selection of

goods, with more variety now than ever before, due to trade

within the European Union. A word of warning: always weigh

the produce you buy if it is not sold on a per piece basis.

With very few exceptions, this is not done by the cashier.

It can be embarrassing when the cashier has to leave her

register and weigh an item you have forgotten, while there

are customers waiting behind you.

The meat and cheese section is wonderful, offering a great

variety from all over Europe. Everything is priced by the

Bankcards (Bankomatkarte) make
it easy to pay for your groceries.
You just insert your card and type
in your PIN. Remember to keep
your Bankomat card current.