Closed shops and a cat passport: what surprised an American woman in Vienna

A few years ago, American Sonia Matejko changed her life dramatically. She moved to another city on a different continent, namely the Austrian capital Vienna.

The woman says that despite a lot of new and pleasant experiences in her new place of residence, she had some controversial ones. She shared her various emotions with the BusinessInsider.

In particular, the woman was struck by the fact that almost all establishments in Vienna are closed on Sundays. So, if you don't buy groceries on Saturday late in the evening, you'll be out of luck on Sunday.

In Austria, almost 100% of stores are closed on Sunday. However, some cafes, restaurants and bakeries remain open. So this is almost the only place that works on weekends.

According to the American, this is partly due to religious traditions. After all, many Austrians keep Sunday as a day of rest, but it's also about maintaining quality of life.

Another feature that surprised the woman in Vienna is that many places here pay only in cash. She is frankly surprised at how many restaurants, cafes, and even some shops in this city are cash-only.

Finally, another surprise that surprised the American in Vienna is that pets in the EU get passports. She says that her friends in the US laughed out loud when they saw her cat's passport when she traveled to the US for the holidays last year.

"I understand this because I laughed too when my local vet told me that my 12-year-old cat would be getting an Austrian passport so he could travel. These passports are available for cats, dogs, and ferrets in the EU," Matejko added.