There are a couple of things and habits, that Austrians do, that may seem odd to others:

• Eating meat with lingonberry jam (a slightly less bitter type of cranberry), especially beef, steaks and game meat (I didn’t even know that word existed). A classic “Wiener Schnitzel” is also served with lingonberry jam.
• Just eating dessert for lunch is totally acceptable.
  And, I don’t mean sitting at home eating ice cream. I’m talking about legitimately walking into a restaurant on your lunch break and just ordering “Palatschinken” or “Kaiserschmarrn” and a “Melange”. That’s totally cool here.
• We don’t take cabs.
  That’s something I noticed abroad. It’s normal in many places to just call a cab or an Uber, although you’d only have to walk for 10 or 15 minutes. Not so in Austria. Taking a cab in Austria means you’re either very old and not able to walk anymore or really rich and can’t be bothered.
• We like to just take walk.
  We even have a word for it: “spazieren gehen”. It’s just walking for walking’s sake. No particular place to go (great Chuck Berry song). Breathing in fresh air. Clearing your mind. Maybe picking up some groceries, while you’re on your way. Encountering some people you haven’t seen in a while. And then just turning around and walking home.
• Our toilets have little stages.
  This sounds strange, I didn’t know how else to describe it. So, here’s a picture:

I never really noticed it myself, until a friend from Slovenia pointed it out to me. When we “relieve” ourselves, what comes out doesn’t fall directly into the water. Instead it ends up on a “stage”, so we can take a good look, before we flush it down.

• Austrians have strong tribal feelings.
  Or to say it differently: We like to put people into boxes.
  If you come from Carinthia (which is where I’m from), people will be quick to tell you, how beautiful you’re dialect is (although I think it sounds stupid) and start talking about our lakes and skiing resorts. When you meet someone from Tyrol, you’ll be talking about hiking and hating Italians. If somebody acts provincially in Vienna and it turns out he’s an Upper Austrian, everybody goes "Aah, that′s why…".
  The thing is however, Austrians generally embrace these stereotypes and are very proud of their heritage (sometimes a little too proud…).
• We wait at crosswalks for the light to turn green.
  If you jaywalk, people will stare at you in despise. If you do it in front of children, you will definitely get called out.
• Everyone knows how to ski.
  As an Austrian kid you have multiple “Skitage”, where you take ski classes with your classmates (those were the days…) and during holidays you go skiing with your family. I literally don’t know a single Austrian that doesn’t know how to ski, and/or snowboard. Although many only do it once or twice a year, because it has gotten shit ass expensive, we all still watch the alpine ski world cup together and it’s just as important as football, maybe even more so, because we’re good at it.
• The importance of staring deeply into each other's eyes, clinking your glasses and saying “Prost!”, before you start drinking.
  If you don’t do it, that’s very impolite and it means 7 years of either bad luck or bad sex, depending on where you’re at. So, you can bet your ass, we take that shit seriously.
• Don’t try to communicate on elevators!
  Ever. With anyone. We’re all just staring at the ceiling or ground collectively and when we get off, we smile vaguely at the others. If you know someone, you might throw in a quick “Pfiat di”, but that’s it. It’s just really awkward. ^^
• Tipping isn’t that big of a deal.
  If you don’t tip, the waitress won’t be offended. We usually round up on the change (€ 4,70 becomes € 5,-). If the service was really good, we might be a little more generous. But tipping isn’t mandatory and many don’t do it at all.
• We really want to end work on time.
  If your work day ends at 5 p.m., you drop your pencil at 17:00:00. Everybody who prevents you from doing it, is an asshole and will have to face the repercussions.
• Prostitution is legal.
  Especially near borders to countries, where prostitution is illegal (in my case Italy and Slovenia), there are many so called “Men’s Wellness Sauna Clubs”. Those clubs don’t employ girls themselves however. The girls have to work as “independent entrepreneurs”. In reality most of them come from poor countries like Romania and are often forced to work as prostitutes. In bigger cities you might even find a brothel right next to fancy restaurants.
• Austrians are very religious.
  At least they like to think and say they are. Austrian Christians in general aren’t nearly as fanatic as let’s say Christians in the Southern United States. Most people with 40+ years go to church every Sunday, but that’s it. A lot of them are all different once church is over. Some of the most “religious” people I know are some of the biggest assholes I’ve ever met. Even priests. They be talking shit or planning schemes. It’s really a farce. Btw, stores are closed on Sundays, because it’s considered a day for religion (and/or family).
• Being famous in Austria is strange.
  As the famous Austrian singer Falco put it: “Only once I’m truly dead, they’ll truly love me.”
  Austrians despise misfits and people, who think differently. If you get successful, you earn the people’s respect. But in order to really become famous, you have to die. Once you’re dead however, you’ll be everybody’s darling for eternity. You’ll get a grave of honour on the central cemetery in Vienna, all your shortcomings will be forgotten and your achievements (even if it was only one) will be blown out of proportion.
• We LOVE to complain about things, but we HATE change.
  Case in point: the switch to summer time. Everybody has literally been complaining about it for decades. So, the EU made a survey in Austria: more than 80 percent wanted to abandon it. But now that plans are taking form, the public opinion is suddenly shifting and people think everything should stay the same.

There are a lot of things I didn’t mention, because I felt they were more custom to Europe in general, rather than Austria (windows, the lack of open container laws, McDonald’s serving beer, no air conditioning in flats and houses or the school system…). I certainly forgot about some things, but I hope I answered your question satisfyingly and educated you a bit about my home country. Though this all might seem weird to some, Austria is surely one of the most beautiful countries on this planet and I wouldn’t want to live anywhere else.

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P.S.: No, there are no fucking kangaroos here. You wouldn’t believe how often I get asked dumb questions about Australia. Sometimes on purpose, but more often than not, because people are stupid.

For older people: Nobody has seen or even cared to see “The Sound of Music”. And those who have (myself included) didn’t like it.

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If you notice grammatical, expressive or any other errors don’t hesitate to correct me. Share your thoughts and experiences in the comments.

Peace & Love!