Visiting Austria and Zurich

[heart-of-wessex]

Hello all,

Mods - feel free to move this, but I didn't put this in trip planning as I'm not sure if thats for rail trips only or not.

Anyway, has anyone been to Austria before? I've never been and going in a weeks time, should I get by easily with minimal knowledge of the language (or rather zero!)

Also I'd be visiting Steinbach am Attersee, although this seems to involve a train and bus, and it's the bus part I'm worried about. I'm not sure what level of english the driver will have or how to get a ticket, though I'm sure it will be like here, standard paper tickets purchased from the driver.

Has anyone also visited Zurich? I'm going there after Austria but I haven't exchanged any cash yet, I've only ever used Euros outside the UK. Is it expensive in Zurich? All I'm going to need is food and maybe a gift or two to covet me for 3 days, but I don't want to take too much Swiss Franc. I don't mind taking too much Euros as I keep them for next time, Swiss Franc is unlikely to be reused, not for a while anyway.

Is maybe 100 Swiss Franc doable?


Any help and any tips would be appreciated!

 

[CarltonA]

They will accept Euros in a lot of Swiss outlets. Just ask "nehmen zie Euro?" Euro is pronounced Oy Ro in Austria/Switzerland. Your change will likely be in Swiss franks. Switzerland is generally expensive but then Austria is not exactly cheap either.

 

[Robertj21a]

Both Austria and Switzerland are relatively expensive, but travel costs aren't too bad. Most locals will speak some basic English.

Personally, I don't change any money in advance. The ATMs abroad are perfectly easy to use with a UK debit card and the conversion rate is often better.

 

[70014IronDuke]

Hello all,

Mods - feel free to move this, but I didn't put this in trip planning as I'm not sure if thats for rail trips only or not.

Anyway, has anyone been to Austria before? I've never been and going in a weeks time, should I get by easily with minimal knowledge of the language (or rather zero!)

Also I'd be visiting Steinbach am Attersee, although this seems to involve a train and bus, and it's the bus part I'm worried about. I'm not sure what level of english the driver will have or how to get a ticket, though I'm sure it will be like here, standard paper tickets purchased from the driver.

Has anyone also visited Zurich? I'm going there after Austria but I haven't exchanged any cash yet, I've only ever used Euros outside the UK. Is it expensive in Zurich? All I'm going to need is food and maybe a gift or two to covet me for 3 days, but I don't want to take too much Swiss Franc. I don't mind taking too much Euros as I keep them for next time, Swiss Franc is unlikely to be reused, not for a while anyway.



Any help and any tips would be appreciated!

Most educated locals will speak English better than 50% of the British population. If you have a strong accent, you will need to make an effort to speak clearly, however. Natural, native English can be very difficult to follow for a non-native speaker, even if he/she is otherwise quite capable of high-level English conversation.

Most railway stations of an size will have information in English/French/German, maybe Italian in CH. And in English in Austria.

"Is maybe 100 Swiss Franc doable?" - it will be if your needs are modest. If you go to a fancy restaurant and drink a few, it could easily go in a night. CH can be a shockingly expensive place. :roll:

ps buy your gifts in the UK, if you can. More charm and authenticity.

 

[tony_mac]

From my limited experience, outside of the tourist places in Austria, relatively little (good) English is spoken. However, staff generally seem to take their jobs seriously, and will do what they can to help you. A few words in German may be useful.

For a basic comparison, a McDonald's Big Mac Meal is about £4.30 in the UK, £5 in Austria, and £9 in Switzerland.

 

[eastwestdivide]

For the bus, take a pen and pad, and write down your destination. Then no pronunciation problems, as placenames are notoriously difficult wherever in the world you are.

The pad can also be handy in other situations - picture worth a thousand words etc.

For Zurich, your 100 CHF = about £70. Think whether you could survive in London on the same amount for the same time, and you won't be too far wrong.

 

[gordonthemoron]

Zurich is way more expensive than London

 

[DarloRich]

Switzerland is more expensive than Austria; both are more expensive than here. English is very widely spoken

Shame you haven't got time a trip up the Jungfrau. I love travelling in Switzerland. Fantastic railway network of all types!

 

[Puffing Devil]

Switzerland is eye-wateringly expensive. As tony_mac illustrated, think London pricing and double it for food and general expenses. Transport is pricey, though not quite double. The good news is you can go into any shop and pay for a small item with a 100F note and have no problems getting change!

You may be too late to get one now, but I recommend a Revolut Card (LINK) for anyone that needs to get cash abroad. Paired with a Halifax Clarity Card for spending you have access to some of the best rates available. Double check your bank's rates for your debit card - some are truly usurious. There's no harm in applying for both of these and saving them for future trips.

Surprisingly Austria (and Germany) lag behind the UK in terms of general card usage - cash is still very much the order of the day in many places.

The Money Saving Expert site has a good rundown on the best way to manage your travel cash.

 

[northwichcat]

Anyway, has anyone been to Austria before? I've never been and going in a weeks time, should I get by easily with minimal knowledge of the language (or rather zero!)

I've been to Salzburg (arriving by train from Munich on a DB service) and I was surprised that after alighting a train where all announcements were made in German only to hear a lot of English announcements (following the German ones) at Salzburg station.

I recommend whatever country you're visiting that you learn how to say the at least the following in the local language:

• Good morning
• Good afternoon
• Do you speak English?
• I don't speak much .....
• A single/return ticket to ...... please
• Airport/Station/City Centre etc.
• I would like a....
• Excuse me
• Please
• Thank you

 

[cactustwirly]

Most people in Austria speak English, and buses are very similar to the uk. The bus stop sign is a green H in a yellow circle in a green circle and is called a haltestelle (stopping place) A ticket is a Fahrkarte.

A station is a Station/Bahnhof/Haltestelle. German announcements are simple (both bus and train) they say the next stop and the side to exit.

 

[30907]

Hello all,

Also I'd be visiting Steinbach am Attersee, although this seems to involve a train and bus, and it's the bus part I'm worried about. I'm not sure what level of english the driver will have or how to get a ticket, though I'm sure it will be like here, standard paper tickets purchased from the driver.

Just had time to check the local PTE website (it's in English too) and there seems to be through ticketing to Steinbach from the junction at Voecklabruck, same price whether or not you use the branch train part way - and almost certainly from any station in Upper Austria. http://www.ooevv.at
This is common practice in the German speaking world.
Googlemaps suggests there's a lake steamer BTW but you may be too late in the season....

 

[WestCoast]

English shouldn't be a problem, many Austrians and most Swiss understand it quite well. They're quite used to people who can't speak German too. Maybe use the Google translator voice to hear the rough pronounciation if you're going somewhere small.

Zurich is one of the most expensive cities in the world, double London prices on most things including transport tickets.

In my experience Austria isn't that expensive, a little above Germany but much less than Switzerland

 

[heart-of-wessex]

Just had time to check the local PTE website (it's in English too) and there seems to be through ticketing to Steinbach from the junction at Voecklabruck, same price whether or not you use the branch train part way - and almost certainly from any station in Upper Austria. http://www.ooevv.at
This is common practice in the German speaking world.
Googlemaps suggests there's a lake steamer BTW but you may be too late in the season....

Thank you very much! I found the route on their map, from Salzburg to Steinbach am Attersee. Can you buy these through tickets online? I couldn't find the tickets though, may I ask how you found that there is through tickets available please? I'd like to find out how much a return is going to cost.

Just trying to find some freight hotspot's around the Salzburg/Zurich area, does anyone know of any in or around the area, even if it involves up to an hours train ride?


Thanks again guys for the help, highly aprpeciated!

 

[70014IronDuke]

Thank you very much! I found the route on their map, from Salzburg to Steinbach am Attersee. Can you buy these through tickets online? I couldn't find the tickets though, may I ask how you found that there is through tickets available please? I'd like to find out how much a return is going to cost.

Just trying to find some freight hotspot's around the Salzburg/Zurich area, does anyone know of any in or around the area, even if it involves up to an hours train ride?


Thanks again guys for the help, highly aprpeciated!

I don't know the lines around Zurich, and i've never hung around Salzburg, but the latter is a major junction on the Munich - Vienna route, with a line heading down south to Villach and several other secondary lines leading away.

So long as there is not a freight avoiding line at Salzburg Hbf, you should see plenty of action varying from high-speed RailJets through all passenger types to local stoppers to heavy freight. If there is a freight avoiding line, you'll need to find out where it joins the main line(s) - which will probably be one or two local stops either side of the Hbf. You then might miss some of the passenger variety, of course.

Take a close look at google maps either side of and around Salzburg Hbf for clues.

EDIT - you could always try googling "Austria Railway Enthusiast Associations" - and you will get this:

http://www.austrianrailwaygroup.co.uk/library.shtml

Like all good foreign enthusiast sites, it emanates from nr Mansfield, Notts ( )

You could try buying the book, or asking Robin Hood.

BTW, you should realise that Austria is the mirror image of the UK when it comes to railway philosophy. OK, they have closed some really rural to rural lines (think the equivalent of M&GN) - but Austria would NEVER close the equivalent of Oxford - Cambridge or the S&D - hell, they are electrifying lines like Exeter - Barnstaple.

Even two track main lines have stopping services serving tiny hamlets with hourly services. Meanwhile they are investing heavily in shorter, faster, tunneled sections on their main lines.

Austria lavishes money on its railways - even when every family averages 2.5 cars per person (I'm exaggerating, but really, I don't know how they can justify the spending).