Formal names and titles are very important. According to Herr Doktor Rejto, titles are even more important to Austrians than to Germans. They call me Melissa though, because I said I was much more comfortable with that then Frau Clapp. The Sekretariat dresses slightly less formal than the Doktors. My referat was divided gender-wise in power and responsibility but this was not the case in all referats.
People generally do retire and receive their pensions at the permitted age.
For the first month, I did a fair amount of things alone, went out with my co-workers from the WKO a couple times and, once in a while, went out with the Americans also renting rooms from the Hartls. During the second month, I met a woman from Spain who was in Vienna to study German for 3 weeks. Strangers are generally friendly and patient, .i.e. willing to stop and give directions or willing to wait until you to figure out that you are in their way. The City of Vienna Vienna provides an amazing amount of cultural activities and programs during the summer. Every night in open air in front of the Rathaus, symphonies, operas and concerts from the last season are shown on a large TV screen.