Language, Food, Music

Hungarian food: spicy goulash Czech food: pork, cabbage, dumplings Austrian food: Wiener schnitzel and potato salad Informal greetings: in Hungarian, sorry but cannot help In Czech: Ahoj (pronounced ahoy) In German (that's what they speak in Austria): Servus (hallo is used as greeting on the phone).
Music: Hungarian: music for typical folk dance: csardas Czech: Czech (Bohemian or Moravian) folk music or classical (Smetana, Dvorak). Austrian: Waltz on the Beautiful Blue Danube or some yodel from the Alps.

For number 3 - I don't think that "Hallo" is typically used in Austria. I took a German language class in Austria and the greeting that everyone used was Grüss Gott (literally it means Greet God). My school was in Tirol, so don't know if other parts of Austria use a different formal greeting like Guten Tag (Good Day).

Wow, you are a wealth of information... of course I know they speak German in Austria... what was I thinking? But I did not know that the Hallo was for the phone. I looked it up on the internet and figured it might not be the appropriate greeting.

I wondered about Guten Tag... do you think the Greet God has religious meanings, like used at church?

In the town that I was in (Kitzbühel), the expression "Grüss Gott" was used as an everyday greeting. When you walked down the street, locals passing you would say "Grüss Gott" even if they did not know you. You would also use this greeting in a shop. The greeting historically does stem from a religious context. I took this class 20 years ago so don't know if the expression is still used as frequently nor do I know if it is customarily used in all parts of Austria.

"Gruss Gott" is used all over Austria as the common greeting on the street. It's not necessarily a religious greeting. I lived in Austria (Salzburg) for several months years ago, and everyone said it. I never heard "guten tag".
And I never heard anyone use "hallo" on the phone, only "servus".

"Grüß Gott" is the standard greeting for Bavaria and Austria, including Vienna. It is neither particularly religious nor informal. "Guten Tag" will make you sound a bit like a "Piefke" (i.e. German esp. Prussian), and while I personally approve of that, it isn't really meant as a compliment in Austria... More that eating a particular dish, I would make sure that I eat at least a cake in a classic Viennese café (some serve a full range of meals too, including Schnitzel). Try out a few of the coffee specialties, and read, write or simply watch the people. I would emphatically not choose yodeling as my Viennese music: that is typical for mountainous rural Austria. And Vienna prides itself with being urban and cultured-bordering-on-decadent.

I was watching Samantha Brown in Austria the other day and she was using "Gruss gott" to greet people. There it is, an eyewitness report, indirectly via the Travel Channel!

The only thing I have knowledge to contribute on is the Austrian greeting. Though some may use "servus," the typical greeting throughout Austria is Grüss Gott (often seen with the German letter that looks like a strange, cursive, capital B but is pronounced as an 's' since a single 's' generally sounds like an English 'z'). As for religious overtones, the answer is no. It is the standard greeting both coming and going (though in stores you will also hear 'bitte'). It is akin to "God bless you" in American vernacular - no one really thinks about the religious roots of the phrase (most don't anyway). Austrians reportedly view "Guten Tag" as formal and stuffy. As a Southerner, I've always thought about it as the difference between a very formal, "Good Morning," you might hear in a city, and a warm, hearty, "Hey Y'all!" you would hear at the local breakfast joint.

The only thing I have knowledge to contribute on is the Austrian greeting. Though some may use "servus," the typical greeting throughout Austria is Grüss Gott (often seen with the German letter that looks like a strange, cursive, capital B but is pronounced as an 's' since a single 's' generally sounds like an English 'z'). As for religious overtones, the answer is no. It is the standard greeting both coming and going (though in stores you will also hear 'bitte'). It is akin to "God bless you" in American vernacular - no one really thinks about the religious roots of the phrase (most don't anyway). Austrians reportedly view "Guten Tag" as formal and stuffy. As a Southerner, I've always thought about it as the difference between a very formal, "Good Morning," you might hear in a city, and a warm, hearty, "Hey Y'all!" you would hear at the local breakfast joint.

Now that you have the Austrian greeting well-in-hand, time for food! Nothing says Austria like a Sacher Torte. Make it your dessert course.

Gruess Gott (e used instead of u with umlaut) is the normal Bavarian/Austrian greeting. You might also use a toast word. In Austrian, Prosst (spelling?) is the common toast - not sure about the others.

We like to learn "cheers" for wherever we're going. In Prague, you'll say "na zdraví". Ask your server for help with pronounciation.

In Austria almost nobody greets Guten Tag, they say Gruess Gott. But that is a formal greeting. Informal one among good friends is Servus. It's considered rude to greet informally someone who is not your good friend. They already told you how to say cheers in Czech and German so I add it in Hungarian: egeshegedre (in Hungarian it's spelled differently, both g are pronounced like in word "google").

Here are some more suggestions for Austria. I would look into serving some sort of torte for desert. Obviously, the Sacher Torte is the most famous. Alternatively, you could offer apple strudel. There is some nice white wine from Austria, Gruner Veltliner that you might want to serve. In addition to the Viennese Waltz, look for other music by Strauss. Don't forget the Mozart, while from Salzburg, he lived, played and composed in Vienna. There is a lovely statue of Mozart near the Opera. I'll second the suggestions for Dvorak and Smetana. The Moldau is the latter's most famous piece. Pam

Terry, As the others have correctly pointed out, it's better to say Grüß Gott in Wien, if you're not sure, just as one says in Bayern. You can't go wrong with that. Yes, it's a bit more formal but safe in social contexts. Saying Servus is reserved for a less formal context. I wouldn't recommend saying "Guten Tag" unless you want to create a definite north German or Prussian image. In Czech the accepted equivalent for "good day" is dobry den. Piefke wrote some great music...distinctly great marches.

There hasn't been much dispute, but I thought I would throw out that szervusz is also used in Hungarian as a slightly more formal and polite (though overall informal) version of szia. Both can be used as hello and goodbye. For that matter, hello was also used in Hungary, particularly among the younger crowd. . .although they tend to use it more for goodbye. Never got over the giggles when I heard "hello" as I was walking out the door.

I was in the Czech Republic a couple of years ago and was told that ahoj should not be used for people you do not know and that good day was more appropriate.