general information

Passport: required

Visa: for participants coming from certain countries a visa is required. Please check this link for further informations.

Language: German is the official language. Regional dialects are pronounced and within the different regions of the country one will encounter marked variations from Hochdeutsch, ie ‘standard' German. There are Croatian and Slovene-speaking minorities in the Burgenland and southern Carinthia respectively.

Religion: 78 per cent Roman Catholic, 5 per cent Protestant, 4.5 per cent other denominations.

Time: GMT + 1 (GMT + 2 during the European/continental summertime).

Electricity: 220 volts AC, 50Hz. Round two-pin European plugs are standard.

Telephone: Full IDD facilities available. Country code: 43. Outgoing international code: 00. Call boxes are grey and found in all areas. International calls can be made from payphones with four coin slots. Trunk calls within Austria and to 40 countries are cheaper Mon-Fri 1800-0800 and approximately 35 per cent cheaper at the weekend (from 1300 Saturday to 0800 Monday).

Arrival at the Airport Wien-Schwechat: :The Vienna Airport is situated approximately 16 km (12 miles) from the centre of Vienna. The Vienna Airport Services busses link the airport to the Vienna City Air Terminal at the Hotel Hilton (Am Stadtpark/Landstrasser Hauptstrasse) three times per hour. The bus ride to Vienna takes approximatly 20 minutes, the ticket costs approximately € 5,80.
The City Airport Train (CAT) takes you in about 16 min to times per hour from Vienna Airport to the city The single ticket costs € 8,-.
From the Vienna City Air Terminal, taxis and public transport (U3, U4) are easily available. A taxi ride from the airport to the centre of Vienna costs approximately € 32
.

Health Food & drink: Milk is pasteurised and dairy products are safe for consumption. Local meat, poultry, seafood, fruit and vegetables are generally safe to eat.
Other risks: Ticks often live in heavily afforested areas during the summer months in some of the more easterly parts of Austria and can create discomfort and, in very rare cases, serious infection to people who are bitten. Immunisation against tick-borne encephalitis is available and travellers likely to find themselves in these wooded areas should take a course of injections. Rabies is present in Austria, although there have been no incidents reported in recent years. For those at high risk, vaccination before arrival should be considered. If you are bitten seek medical advice without delay. For more information consult the Health appendix.

Health care: The following emergency numbers are used: Police: 133; Ambulance: 144; Fire: 122. Refunds are available from Regional Health Insurance Offices (Gebietskrankenkassen) which also provide addresses of medical and dental practitioners. Referral to a public hospital will require an admission voucher issued by a doctor. In an emergency, visitors should show their passport to the hospital administration which will ascertain from the insurance office whether the costs of treatment will be met.