Austria is a country with a significant history of music, arts and architecture, which has over the years, became a prominent part of its culture. With its streets buzzing with music and variety of architecture styles gracing their presence in the country, it has also become one of its major centres of attraction.
At present, the majority of the population of Austria follow to Roman Catholic faith followed by the minority of Protestants.
German is the official language of the country with its various regional dialects being part of communication. These dialects mark a lot of distinction in their pronunciation from standard German language i.e. Hochdeutsch. There are also minorities speaking Croatian and Slovene in the Burgenland and southern Carinthia respectively. English is also widely spoken and understood in the country hence wonÕt be facing much problems there. Common words and phrases one should know before visiting the city are:
Please - Bitte (pronounced as bitter)
Thank you - Danke (like anchor with a d in front)
Hello (formal) - Gr٤gott (groose-got)
Hello (informal) - Servus (sair-vuss)
Goodbye (formal) - Auf Wiedersehen (owf-vee-duh-zane)
Goodbye (informal) - TschŸss (chuce; Austrogerman) or Baba (bah-bah; Viennese) or Pfirte (p-fear-tay and leave no gap between the p and f; provinces) or Ciao (quite acceptable)