Austria: Travel guide, visas and free housing · 2026

YTYauheni Turavetsevgeniytyrovez · Dec 15, 2017Read

What about life across the ocean?! ...and why did you come back?! After my trip to the USA and my eventual return home, my friends keep asking me two questions: Question 1. "What's it like across the ocean?" and Question 2. "Why did you come back?!". I can't give a simple answer to either of them. It's impossible to answer in two, three, or even twenty sentences!!! You could talk for hours about "what it's like across the ocean" and "why?". But I'll try to keep it brief, if that's even possible ))) So, let's get started... Although no, before we start, there is a rather long, exciting, emotional, nervous path, full of sleepless nights, but one that is definitely worth it... A little preface Since I was six, I was quite serious about hockey, and thanks to ten years of playing, I had the chance to visit all the major cities in our beloved Belarus, as well as Poland, Germany, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Austria, Ukraine, Lithuania, and Latvia. I loved visiting different countries, listening to foreign languages, and learning about the customs and peculiarities of other nations. A significant role was played by what we considered an in-depth study and knowledge of English (which I always thought was pretty good English). My hockey team. I am standing in the top row in the center. So, having some baggage of foreign language knowledge and a craving for trips abroad, I was finishing my second year of university, making plans for the summer, and just living a fairly measured life. But everything changed one day when my friend told me about the Work and Travel USA program. I won't describe the terms of this program here, because anyone can go to the website www.iec.by and familiarize themselves with all the information they are interested in, which, of course, is definitely worth doing! I want to say that getting to know and subsequently participating in the Work and Travel USA program depends, in principle, on how strong your desire to be "across the ocean" really is, not counting, of course, the financial side of the issue. But I want to note that this step must be well-thought-out and sufficiently balanced. The decision should be made with a "cool head". http://www.iec.by/

NBNatasha Belyaevasolnyshko_1994 · Nov 24, 2015Read

Gale-force winds, torrents of water from the sky, some blurry lights in the distance – hello, New York, we finally met! Not exactly how I imagined you, of course, but still. My heart is going 'thump-thump', my brain is like 'mission number 1 – find my suitcase among hundreds of others, mission number 2 – find the guys from E-Point who will take me home'. Is there anyone here who speaks Russian, hey? Control passed, stamp in the passport placed, mission number 1 successfully completed – the suitcase is with me. Mission number 2.. By the way, yes, E-Point is such a cool organization that handles literally everything related to a student's 'Work and Travel' summer at quite affordable prices: finding housing for the duration of the stay in the States, transportation to and from the airport, organizing trips to the most popular tourist spots in the country, and, in general, that's quite a list. There is a small 'but', this team only works on the East Coast with resort towns like Ocean City, Bethany Beach, Rehoboth Beach, and Easton. If you are heading to one of them in the summer, consider yourself lucky. From New York, they will take you right to the doorstep of your American 'home' – fast, with loud music in the speakers. I wanted to end on 'comfortably', but then I thought that this point is a bit questionable, so let's stick to the first two. Fast and with music – yay! This is what the 'E-Point' super-spacious all-terrain vehicle looked like, which we used to get to Washington in August. Finding their representative was not difficult: a guy with a huge white banner in a white t-shirt – everything branded – was standing with a cup of coffee right at the entrance to Terminal 1 of JFK airport and chatting with students already gathered around him. I approach, check in. Everyone is discussing something animatedly. I listen. And then someone suddenly asks me a question. I think, well, now I'll show them, did I study English for three years at university for nothing?! And somehow it didn't work, I didn't answer, I squeezed out some phrase at a schoolboy level, got confused, and fell silent. Does anyone speak Russian, guys? No one. A Czech guy in Czech, a trio from Romania in Romanian, a girl from Austria standing alone on the sidelines – where did I end up? And I had to wait an eternity for departure. The flight of the last group of students was delayed for a couple of hours, and we couldn't leave without them. You can't go outside – it's pouring rain, maybe eat something (I'd love some soup or potatoes with a cutlet) – fast food everywhere – and I couldn't swallow a bite, poke the phone – the battery gave up. I started wondering if I really like it here. After (attention!) 8 hours, we finally set off. In a small 'minibus' designed for 14 seats, there were 18 or even more of us sitting. Well, how 'sitting', we were barely squeezing against each other, shoving briefcases under our feet – we're moving, and that's fine, and good – everyone was too tired to pay attention to the inconvenience. 10 minutes after departure, we were already snoring peacefully to the sounds of American pop music, resting our heads on the shoulders of those sitting next to us. Soon 'home', soon 'home', soon.. Bethany!<3

AAliyaastana_85855875237 · Oct 31, 2012Read

The alarm went off at 3:00. At first, I didn't want to get up, but in a split second, I realized the importance of this specific call... Today, I am setting off on an independent, dizzying journey... To the dream of millions, to America... My parents and I are having breakfast together for the last time this summer... My dear mom was getting emotional; the table was filled with all my favorite dishes)))) After half an hour of pure enjoyment, I am heading to the airport with my parents and a couple of close friends. My phone is already blowing up, my friends are panicking about my absence—while I am busy admiring my treasure, my hometown. Airport. The first news I heard—some issues with our departure to the Foreign Dream... The second, in principle, everything is in place—so our coordinators are sorting everything out right now.... 6:00, phew, we finally boarded, and... The plane is taking off... Oh, this incredible feeling—the first Rubicon has been crossed—Austria, Vienna, here we come. Airport. Vienna. Nighttime Vienna, filled with thousands of lights, revealed an incredibly beautiful sight to us... The bright red signature uniforms of the flight attendants quickly stuck in our memory)))) Oh yes, I forgot to share—we were warned about one nuance))) we have to wait 24 hours in Vienna for our plane to the Big Apple... Since there were 56 of us woe-begone travelers, we had a lot of fun))) we decided to keep wonderful impressions even from such a situation))) - first, the commanders of our mini-squad, with honor (they didn't back down for a long time) and mostly using English and sign language, secured pillows and blankets for us), then we put on a whole show for representatives of different countries and nationalities in the waiting room—first, one of our virtuosos performed several dozen kuis on a national instrument, a couple of recordings were later found on YouTube) then we organized a mini flash mob—we visited the airport cafeteria, where it seemed everyone went crazy over our performance of this project))) oh yes, may the connection be active and stable - we called our relatives and they called us too—it's much cheaper for them to receive a call from outside!

ALAnastassya LebedevaNastyaLebedeva · Oct 28, 2012Read

Letter from September 8th Sender: Anastasia Lebedeva, Vienna International Airport, Austria Recipient: Yulya Keda, Kazakhstan Heyyyyy! Stop being sick! It's warm outside! We'll be there soon! We have tons of time – we're sitting at the airport in Vienna – 6 more hours to wait! Glad there's Wi-Fi! America is behind us, it remains in our hearts and will stay in our memories forever! Four days in New York – not enough to walk around the whole city, but quite enough to remember for a lifetime! So bright, amazing, alive, it gave us so many impressions! We stayed in a hostel in the center of Manhattan, the area is good, right next to the New York City Police Department. (Proof of this is an arrested horse that stood proudly and posed for us). Without wasting time, we set off to conquer New York! Anya, with the look of an all-knowing guide, showed me her favorite places, but every time we discovered something new! How I wish you were here with us! The city streets are surprising: skyscrapers combined with ancient cathedrals, yellow taxi cabs with carriages (in the Central Park area); fountains, lights, and the people – you just can't imagine how many there are, and they are all so different! We were in Central Park – it's like a green island in the center of the metropolis! We wandered around the zoo, hoping to see a leopard, which apparently hid from us( And we also saw red pandas! You would have liked them! We left donations for wildlife protection! It's so great that people here don't ignore that! Believe it or not – we saw Snoop Dogg)) We are, of course, far from his fans, but it's cool! We took photos! It remains a mystery until the end whether it was him or his twin brother, but people were walking around and whispering! Oh well, in the meantime we went to Madame Tussauds and took pictures with Johnny, the Beatles, Elvis, Einstein, and a bunch of other famous people! It's a pity that we were at the Metropolitan Museum of Art for only 2 hours – until closing! Who knew there would be so much to see there? We wandered through the Egyptian halls, saw a mummy, looked into the European painting halls, saw a Rembrandt) And we also saw (or rather, first heard) our compatriots) That reminded us that we will be home soon! Yes, I kept telling Anya, let's go to the Empire State! And she convinced me that it's better to wait until it gets dark, and then the view of the city is the most beautiful! And it's true! Standing at suuuuuch a height (and not scary at all!), you feel like Bruce Almighty)))) How good that I took a new lens! S t u n n i n g shots!!! We managed to buy tickets for a cruise around Manhattan! Stood in line for 2 (!) hours to get on the ferry! But the wait was worth it!!! Statue of Liberty! New York skyline! Brooklyn Bridge! And the guide also showed us where Sarah Jessica Parker and Sacha Baron Cohen live))) But we didn't have time to visit them! Is it possible to accidentally meet an acquaintance in such a huge city? It turns out, yes! In the hostel, we lived with a girl named Sasha from Russia, she came on a tourist visa! So, Anya and I went for a walk on the Brooklyn Bridge, and we thought – if only someone would take a photo of the two of us! And then we look – Sasha is walking! Such a coincidence! We decided to go to the airport by subway – to save money! Remember last year, Anya had to exchange her last euros with the French to pay a greedy taxi driver? )) We thought, we'll take the subway, we have plenty of time, and we did the right thing! And now we are sitting here, and it seems that very little time has passed, but we already miss it so much! The feeling of freedom, independence, when you don't know what the new day will bring! And you return home a little different. Kisses and hugs! Waiting to meet! Not much left now!

WWladekmariaalicenicols · Apr 28, 2010Read

Finally, the passport is in my hands... So happy. Now I have 2 visas in my passport: an American one and a Polish national one, which became a full Schengen visa 2 weeks ago. Happy again... The American one gives me strength (a kind of fetishism), you open it and get energized when needed, you open the Schengen one - you get charged up even more... You think to yourself: "Now all of continental Europe is mine, plus the USA, I should go somewhere." You sit there and think: "Where should I go?" Poland - Oh! My home country, but I've traveled it up and down (only haven't been to Krakow), it's kind of boring... Germany - fascists!, and I lived there for 2 years in my distant childhood. Austria - mini-fascists! Czech Republic - Germans! France - not a fan of sparkling wines and unconventional relationships + it's far. Spain - boring and uninteresting + very far. Italy - forget it, I've been there, walked along the coast, the mafia even kills off unwanted dolphins, and I deal with Italians every month (guide them to the right place, feed them, give them drinks, take them around), I'm tired of them. Netherlands - not a fan. Belgium - dirt. Slovakia - children of the mountains (no offense). Serbia - A good country, but there's not much entertainment. Baltic countries - I don't know a word of their language. Switzerland - I don't need to go to a bank or buy watches yet. Where to go???... Yeah, when there's no opportunity to go somewhere, you want to, and when there is, you don't want to... Strange... I go to classes, write various essays, do some work, continue to improve my Polish and English... I want to go to Australia... But there are crocodiles, it's scary, and I don't have much money (actually almost none :) ). And soon is "Day X" - taking early exams, etc. I decided it's time to go to Ukraine, and then to Poland (at least I'll buy some tasty food)... In general, I think I have nothing to do beyond Poland and Serbia. I have a good attitude towards citizens of the Russian Federation, but I won't set foot there again... it's scary, too much, the roads are bad. What else? Oh yes, the person I wanted to fly to the States with probably isn't going with me. Work, I need to keep working... I deeply hope that everyone who read my blog got their visas... CIAO!!!