Originally Posted by
Fanjet
Vienna is this gay man's paradise. But mainly from April-October. The colder months aren't as fun gay-wise. But are manageable none the less. Most of the gay estabishments concentrate in the Kettenbruckengasse and Pilgramgasse areas off the U4 subway line.
Yes, Vienna is conservative, like Munich. But they are not intolerant. However, they are very well-mannered in public. So loud or outlandish behavior is not recommended. They are somewhat private and reserved in nature. And just because they speak German, they really aren't like the Germans. And in Vienna, very few look German. Moreover, Austrians like to "bury things under the rug" in a "if I can't see it, it doesn't exist" kind of way. So don't bring up WW2 in a light conversation. There is a saying: Austrians did a fantastic job of convincing the world that Hitler was German, and Mozart was Austrian.
Winter is winter, of course. However, I kinda like it.
Come on, I have been living in a very warm country for 18 years. We have NO winter here. The weather is 23-30 °C degrees all year long. It may be a paradise for some Europeans who love summer, but it is boring for us. I have seen snow very few times in my life, so it is going to be nice. In Europe, specially in Russia, they couldn't believe I kinda like cold weather (Russians got like 5 months of winter). I think the change of the seasons is nice because you can expect the weather to change and not to be the same everytime. And I like to change. It is part of life.
I think it is okay if Austrians are just somewhat conservative, unless they were VERY conservative and intolerant. But it seems it is not the case and that is fine. On the other hand, it is too rude if a foreigner comes to your country and start to bring up the dark side of the history of your country (every country got their dark side). For example, I dislike when foreigners bring up what is happening with Chávez in Venezuela and start to make statements about the country without previously doing a proper research. For that reason, I understand it may be unpolite if a foreigner brings up what happened in WW2 in a light conversation.
It is good to keep receiving feedback from you, guys. The days go by and I get more excited. I can't wait anymore. I want to be there soon to learn a lot of new things and open my mind. The rich culture of Austria is wonderful and it is a great opportunity to get a wider vision of the world around me. Vienna is an old city and a lot of things have happened there. It is one of the most important cities of the world and it used to be one of the capitals of the Austro-Hungarian empire.
I am not expecting to live a fairytale there, I am only expecting to live new experiences and acquire great knowledge. However, I am still very enthusiastic and I desire it to be the time of my life (I hope it will be).