Vienna: Quaint or Backward? (my new favorite game)

Austria has put up a firm and successful resistance to the 21st century. Sure, old people are really into texting and yuppies love Macs just like in the US. On the whole, however, Austria seems to take pleasure in being two steps behind the rest of the developed world.

Exhibit 1: Credit Cards

Trying to use a credit card in Austria is like paying for a Honda Civic with change - unthinkable. In most cases, the store won't accept credit cards and, if they do, the cashier stares you down until you just give in and pull out some cash. Someone tried to explain that credit cards are used here, but they need some kind of special "chip" in the card to make them work. I call this complete bullshit, but I've realized that there are some advantages to using only cold hard scrilla in place of credit. In Boston, I operate using the "if my credit card goes through, I'm sure I've got something in the bank" strategy. In Vienna, I actually have to monitor how much is in my bank account and keep tabs on it everyday to ensure that I have enough to make it through until the end of the week. Revolutionary!

Exhibit 2: Store hours
Q: Which Austrian stores are open after 7:00 PM?
A: Trick question! NONE! National law requires that stores close by 7:00 PM Monday through Saturday and close entirely on Sundays. This means that on most days, I race home just in time to have the doors of the BILLA, my local grocery store, slam in my face. The stores do open absurdly early (6:00 AM? Honestly.) but there are few things I wake early for and supermarkets are not one of them. There are a handful of grocery stores that aren't bound by the mandatory closing time law because they're located near transit hubs. I've been to one of these places on a Sunday and the place was a madhouse. A good two-thirds of Vienna was crammed in there. I imagine that taking a city bus in Calcutta would have been a more comfortable and relaxing experience.