The tourist trail of Vienna is dominated by the Hapsburg imperial family, who ruled various swaths of Europe for 800 years or so. I toured the elaborate, Versailles-style staterooms of one of their residences, the Albertina (which is also an art museum). The audio guide told me that at least one Hapsburg had lived there until the end of World War One. Can you even imagine? Louis XVI was kicked out of Versailles in 1789, but Austria had a ruling monarchy until well into the twentieth century! Anachronism, to say the least.
According to a particular book on Viennese culture, the incredible longevity of Austria's imperial culture translates today into an obsession with titles and hierarchy. Fortunately, I won't have the chance to experience Austrian bureaucracy, where apparently this makes life miserable. But one can still get a hint of it upon closer examination of the day-to-day. Yesterday was the first time I have ever seen well-dressed men wear white gloves-- and not for warmth or as part of a uniform. It's also easy to see by looking in the window which cafés are intended for the white-gloved. No matter where you go, people will most certainly be polite and speak English to you without getting huffy about it. Nevertheless, it may also be clear that you, the tourist, are a slug. And you will be seated at a small table improbably nestled between the restroom door and a wall and which is labeled "Reserved" for slugs. (Literally. Speaking from experience here.) Again, people are very nice in general and you will be treated well. There is simply a pecking order, and depending on how you look, little doubt as to your place in it.
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