Austria
Question:
I have a couple of questions about Austria that I hope someone can answer. 1. Austria requires booster seats be used for children riding in cars. In the US, we have small booster seats that are like boxes that the child sits on–they have no back. This booster seat raises the child high enough for the shoulder belt in the car to be effective. Would this kind of booster seat be OK/legal for a 4 year old? 2. Are the electrical outlets and voltages the same in Austria and Germany? We are traveling in both Germany and Austria and we would like to buy a baby monitor (a radio that lets you listen in on sleeping children–"Babyfone" in German, I think) for use in Germany and Austria. I’d like to be able to plug it in and use it in both countries. Thank you for any help. Dave
Response:
> 1. Austria requires booster seats be used for children riding in cars. > In the US, we have small booster seats that are like boxes that the > child sits on–they have no back. This booster seat raises the child > high enough for the shoulder belt in the car to be effective. Would > this kind of booster seat be OK/legal for a 4 year old?
Yes. But why take the stuff from home? Travelling with a kid, you will usually have enough stuff to caarry. Just give your car rental company a call: They will have one for you for relatively cheap money. Just to compare: I payed US$ 10 for three weeks when I rented on in the US 
> 2. Are the electrical outlets and voltages the same in Austria and > Germany? We are traveling in both Germany and Austria and we would like > to buy a baby monitor (a radio that lets you listen in on sleeping > children–"Babyfone" in German, I think) for use in Germany and Austria. > I’d like to be able to plug it in and use it in both countries.
Yes. Same plugs, same 220V/50Hz. Anyway you will mostly be not too happy when travelling with those devices. In hotels they never reach the distance of transmission that is printed on the box. To avoid the checking of the reliability of the system by running around in the hotel with the receiver while the other parent is scratching on the microphone of the transmitter, it pays out (just my personal opinion) to buy a baby monitor that will send you a warning tone when you leave the areaa covered by the transmitter. "Baby Minder" is a brand name of a system to do so that is available in Germany. One more thing that makes sense is digital coding ("Digitale Einschaltcodierung") of the system when switching it on. This will avoid the problem that you jump up during dinner because the nastiest kind of cries come out of your receiver and then find your kid sleeping deeply in the room because someone else was using the same frequency. Jens Travelling father Munich, Bavaria, Germany Working part time in Austria
Response:
>1. Austria requires booster seats be used for children riding in cars. >In the US, we have small booster seats that are like boxes that the >child sits on–they have no back. This booster seat raises the child >high enough for the shoulder belt in the car to be effective. Would >this kind of booster seat be OK/legal for a 4 year old?
Practically it would be OK, from a stict legal standpoint not, as your booster seat probably is not formally approved in the European Union. >2. Are the electrical outlets and voltages the same in Austria and >Germany?
Yes, same outlets and nominally 230 V/50 Hz. Andreas — Andreas Pavlik Wien(Vienna), Austria
Response:
> -Can anyone tell me if Austria is a good place to visit – is it very > expensive?- > remove the spud for no spam email!
Austria is a wonderful place to visit and tour. Our bicycle tours around Salzburg, along the Danube and into Vienna are very popular. The costs are about the same as the San Francisco area in the US…maybe a tiny bit higher.
Response:
> -Can anyone tell me if Austria is a good place to visit – is it very > expensive?- > remove the spud for no spam email!
I found in Austria (but also in Bavaria) some of the best touristic offers in the world. You get very good value for your money. Some country inns are relatively cheap (on an European scale) and truly excellent. Vienna, on the contrary, is much more expensive than the rest of the country. I would not commit to a cheap place here. Home page: http://www.angelfire.com/ar/archivarius (musicologia pratica)
Response:
Dear Kate, here you will get any information about Vienna and Austria – its also available
