Yes it is hot in Vienna right now. It’s uncomfortable, but since I thrive in heat I have endurance for it. However my tolerance for the heat ends when it comes to those who don’t know how to handle it. I am referring to those who have body odor issues.
Come on people! This is disgusting. When I am in the U-bahn or out and about and someone walks by or stands next to me and stinks, I stagger back in shock and have to fight my gag reflex.
Body odor is inexcusable in today’s society of, uh, ready access to clean water. Showers. Washing machines. Deodorant. Soap.
I don’t care why some people stink. I don’t want to hear accuses or explanations. Be considerate and have some self respect. Shower and wash your clothes, like the rest of us.
This is one of the worst things in Vienna! And you can’t even blame it on the natives, it really stinks across nationalities. I have to deal with it less now since I take the S-bah, less crowded, more AC, more civilized really. If something like that happens to me in the U-bahn I just quickly go to the other end of the wagon, otherwise I’d be sick. It’s bad enough we have to share the occasional smells of kepab and noise pollution, I draw the line at human odor. I feel for you…
It is the same in Salzburg too and I know you didn’t want to hear any excuses….
but…
I wonder how much is to do with how much water costs and it is all metered. It costs a fortune!
And as Julieta says it really is across all nationalities so it isn’t something “cultural” to do with Austria. I reckon it is the high cost of water and therefore people not showering regularly.
Having said that, I don’t like the cost of water either but I certainly don’t stink – aerating shower heads help, not spending 5 hours in the shower, washing clothes on a shorter cycle with an efficient washing machine, deodorant…
Come on people, there really is NO excuse for smelling.
The smoking and the lack of air con are the two killers for me in Wien.
This is one of the truest things about Vienna – I’ve been here for several months now and there are many, many people (not a few, not only a handful) who utterly stink of B.O.; the stench is at times putrid and ineffably rancid. There have been a few times on the train when I thought that I’d literally pass out from this awful stench, which seems to be an abhorrence unique to this part of the world. I lived in NYC for years, and the stench of the people there, when it did exist, was in no way comparable to that of many Viennese. If Vienna really does have the highest quality of life / standard of living of any major city in the world, then the people can afford to use deodorant – free samples in and around the subway stations would be a huge step in the right direction.