5 tips for clubbing under 18 in Vienna!

So this time we decided to write more about nightlife in Vienna. Vienna is not the metropolis for parties, but there are certain positive aspects of partying in Austria that you might enjoy.
For example, it´s likely that you are not going to be asked for your ID card!
If you follow these easy steps, you are going to be able to enter a Viennese clubbing for sure, even if you´re underage! 

Go with a big crowd

This is probably the most important point of all!
When you go with a big crowd, the security guys will most likely only check the first three or four people!
After that they´ll realize that a crowd of 15 people means they´ll earn lots of money :P.
Also, ask some people where they go to school/university  and try to keep in mind the easiest name for if a security guy asks you (It doesn´t happen often, but it does occur every now and then).

Don´t be nervous

I think I don´t need to explain this one much. Just don´t look afraid or shy. There are cases where it´s not  enough to “go with the crowd”. This point shouldn´t be a problem if you follow the two next points, though!

Make up a new identity

This you will obviously need for if someone asks you how old you are.
You might think this question is easily answered, but in a stress situation you will freak out, really!
Therefore you need to think about it before you go to the club and really believe you are over eighteen.
It´s going to be too late when a security guy asks you.  You won´t have enough time to spontaneously say what year you were born.
Remember that you might come across more convincingly if you say you are 19.

Dress  up sexy and intimidatingly

If you are a girl and afraid that you look too infantine, you´ll probably want to find someone who´s skilled at applying make-up to make you look more adult. There are also some cool web sites with tutorials about this.
Next, find your favourite push-up  bra  and  get some sexy clothes.
But please be careful not to look like a slut ;).
If you are male, just  try to look like a swag  dude and give your best!

Only in case you´ll need it…

This is something I would only do in special cases and only if you really want to go to that one clubbing so badly that you are willing to take a risk.
It´s not like I´ve ever done that, but it did work for many people I know ;p
Scan your pass port and edit your birth date with Photoshop.
When you enter the club and they ask you to prove you are 18, pretend you are a tourist from Germany and say that therefore you´ve only got a copy of your pass port.
But as I said, don´t do this on a regular basis. Because if you do, you will likely be down on your luck some day!

Homeless in Austria - Part I.

Today we’d like to introduce you our new project:  homeless foreigners in Vienna.

In Vienna there are 5000 homeless people – and those are just the registered ones. Recently, they moved 25 homeless people from Stadtpark. There is a problem with an emergency shelter for homeless people from other EU countries because there is place only for 40 people, and there are around 46 people. A recent survey of homeless people in Hamburg shows that the proportion of foreigners has risen since 2002 from 17 to 27 (of Vienna there are no exact figures).

We made a little interview with a guy named Maglen. Maglen came here all the way from Norway just to find disappointment here. Now he’s looking for a way back home.

Maglen , 25, from Norway

How long have you been on the street?

Just a couple of days.

Could you tell us, what happened?

It´s a long story.

Could you tell us?

I really want to keep it myself, just one thing: I trusted the wrong people.

The results of Mahü

We have an update on the discussion about the Mahü issue!
There was a poll about whether the Mariahilferstraße should remain a pedestrian zone or not. The result is that 53 percent voted yes to the remodeling in a poll among residents. This means that the pedestrian zone will be built and finished by 2015. By 2015 the mahü shall be transformed into a pedestrian zone which will be 1.6 kilometers long. Nearly 50,000 residents of Mariahilf and Neubau were asked, more than 50 percent of the residents actually took part.

Puber arrested

We recently reported about Puber a well-known graffiti artist. (You can find the post here)

He was „famous“ for spraying his name everywhere possible.
Now he was arrested. On the website of „Vice“ magazine is now an interview with his flat mates. It was possible to read from it what kind of man he was.
His roomies told them that there wasn’t a deeper meaning when he was writing his name everywhere. He just wanted to be known. When he was in the news he reveled, didn’t matter if it was bad or good news. He referred to himself as “public enemy number one”. Furthermore they claimed that he has a “God complex”, which he demonstrated by putting a diaper on his head, on which was written: “I am God, you fagots”.
So as you can see, Puber was either mentally handicapped or just a genial idiot.

Sources (Vice magazine):

The interview
Other articles with the tag puber 

Working hard in the service industry in Vienna - Part I.

Maybe you noticed our blogpost about ‘Working hard in the service industry in Vienna’ in which we asked you to tell us about your experience with working in Austria as a foreigner. Today, we bring you the first interview!

On 24^th February 2014, we interviewed Petra Nyíriová,  a 21 year old, former student at Komensky from Slovakia. She currently studies English at the university in Vienna and used to work in Sport Experts but quit the job.

Which reasons did you have for moving to Austria?

-          I always wanted to move out from Slovakia because I just don´t like the economics and the whole package there. My mum has been working here for 5 years. She told me she found a school for me in Vienna, the Komensky school. So I thought „Yeah, why not?“ and that was it.

Was it hard to learn the new language?

-          It was, because, no offence to anyone, I didn´t really learn anything in school because  I had the opportunity to speak in my native language, which was Slovak.  So I wasn´t really forced to speak German. I didn´t have to, I just learned something about grammar, maybe. But then in these last 7 months in work I think I really found myself in this language (Does that sentence make sense?).
I learned the basic stuff about communication. In school it was hard because  you really have to speak properly, grammatically correctly and you have to be careful because you get marks.
In work you just talk, talk, talk to everyone to get along with them. 

Redesigning Mariahilfer Straße

In the last two years, Vienna  has had a much discussed topic. It  is the redesign of one of the most famous streets in Vienna - Mariahilferstraße. It´s a street that connects the 1st and the 14th district. Mariahilferstraße is above all known for its many shops. It means that every day thousands of people go along this street. This is actually one of the reasons, why this street has changed so much over the years.

The main issue is in fact the traffic there. Because in such a long street, which is used by so many people, cars should not drive. It causes many problems, from pollution to accidents. That´s unfortunately the problem which is discussed. The people have separated themselves into two camps. One side is against the traffic there that is why they want to remodel the street into a pedestrian zone. The other side is against any changes at all. One of the main reasons why they are against it is that they are using the bus line, which runs along the Mariahilferstraße.

The opinions about our “Mahü” are varied, one old men who works as a tobacconist, is very skeptical. Since 16th August 2013 he has had 30 percent less revenue. Because the drivers, who bought their cigarettes and their newspaper in his tobacco shop can no longer be his customers. But that’s just because the street isn’t rebuilt yet. However, fact is that it won’t work until they rebuilt the street, so that people can relax there and feel comfortable. Like it is on Broadway, New York. There the revenue increased by about 70 percent.

Starting February 17th, people will be asked for their opinions. It´s going to be a referendum that will be similar to an election: the side with more votes wins.