Unless you’re going someplace extremely remote, you can expose your kids to the language(s) they’ll hear on your trip. If they’re old enough, insist that they learn the few phrases below before entering each country. (It might take an adult 4 hours to learn 10 phrases but your kids can memorize these words in no time). It is so much more fun to greet people in their native language and the reception your kids recieve will likley be much more genuine. There is no need to try to become fluent, just a few words can make all the difference. Read more
Things are different in Austria. This is why we came of course. If things weren’t different, we’d be wasting a whole lot of energy on this trip. First off, I should be very clear that Austria is not Germany. They are pretty particular on this point. Austrians ruled the world (or at least a big chuck of it) for 800 years and they did it relatively peacefully. The collective consciousness is calm and independent. Maybe they are calm because of the wind that never stops blowing (my own personal theory) and independent because they have had 5 different governments over the past 90 years (and only the very independent can survive the school system). Whatever the reasons, they have been amazingly successful within the EU and are certainly benefiting from the lifting of the iron curtain. Trams wait for pedestrians to cross in front. Drivers are prepared to stop for 
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