Another gherkin for me, please

Mon May 19, 2008 2:25pm EDT
 
Email | Print | | Reprints | Single Page
[-] Text [+]

By Alexandra Hudson

VIENNA (Reuters) - A free guide to be distributed around Vienna to soccer fans visiting for Euro 2008 will advise them how to order Austrian cuisine, flirt with local women, and find their way to the stadium in the thick local dialect.

Essential phrases such as "Ham Se an Kaiserschmoan mit Zwetschknroesta?," "Do you have a sliced sugared pancake with plum compote?" or "Fia mi bitte no a Soizguakn," "another gherkin for me please," are listed with English and German translations.

Greetings include "Moagn," "Good morning," and "Kuess die Hand, gnae Frau," the phrase to be uttered when kissing a woman's hand at a first meeting -- a traditional Austrian gesture.

Vocabulary is also provided for use at such Vienna institutions as the sausage stand and the coffee house.

For an initial approach to a member of the opposite sex, the book suggests: "Servas, fesche Katz," literally "greetings, hot kitten" but translated as "Hello princess."

The guide is produced by German consumer goods firm Henkel, which says it has had close ties with Vienna for 80 years. The June 7-29 European championship is being staged in Austria and Switzerland.

(Editing by Miles Evans and Sonia Oxley)

 

Editor's Choice

  • Pictures
  • Video
  • Articles

A selection of our best photos from the past 24 hours.  Slideshow 

Most Popular on Reuters

  • Articles
  • Video
  • Recommended
John Kemp
Bleak outlook for U.S. oil refiners

Even by the standards of a deep-cyclical industry, the "golden age" of oil refining has proved remarkably brief. Particularly in the United States, refiners have returned to the state of chronic unprofitability that plagued the industry before 2005.  Commentary 

The global destination for corporate leaders, deal-makers and innovators