Schnitz & Giggles

[S1E12] Season Finale! (Featuring Supermarket Athlete Mr. Algebro)

• edelwisecrackers • Season 1 • Episode 12

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What does it take to navigate cultural misunderstandings and tense encounters with kindness? Our season finale of Schnitzel & Giggles answers this as we welcome the lively YouTube sensation, Sean Sattler, aka Mr. Algebro. Sean's amusing journey of mastering German greetings, inspired by our earlier episodes, leads to a hilarious Mr. Giggles anecdote about a run-in with a particularly spirited Austrian while out with his baseball team. 

Through Mr. Algebro's story telling, we learn more about the cultural dynamics in Austria and how, at least according to Dr. Schnitzel, a simple act of kindness can turn a potentially hostile situation into a friendly exchange. Are behaviors like standing on the right side of the escalator exclusive to Viennese culture, or do they resonate with urban life everywhere? We dive into this engaging debate with Sean, reflecting on quirks that might seem unique to Vienna but could be universal. 

Is grocery shopping an Olympic sport in disguise? Join us as we humorously explore the competitive spirit of supermarket shopping in Austria, where outpacing the cashier's scanning speed is the true customer's triumph. We also delve into the social intricacies with cashiers and how breaking formal barriers can sometimes lead to more personal connections. 

Rounding off with a light-hearted story about a wannabe adventure to buy a used guitar pedal, we reflect on the safety and charm of Vienna's neighborhoods. As we wrap up, we thank Sean for his fantastic contribution and announce a short hiatus for July & August. Get ready for an episode filled with laughs, insights, and a fitting end to our first season!

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Mr. Giggles:

Guten hallo and welcome to the season finale of season one of the Schnitzel and Giggles podcast. Congratulations. We made it, we made it, we made it and to celebrate the close of this season, we decided to bring on a special guest, did we?

Dr. Schnitzel:

Yeah, oh yeah, I can see. We did. Yes, he's right here. Yeah, he's at the door right now.

Mr. Giggles:

Come on in, sit down. We did. Yes, he's right here. Yeah, he's at the door right now.

Dr. Schnitzel:

Come on in, sit down, come on.

Mr. Giggles:

So should we tell people who our special guest is?

Dr. Schnitzel:

I mean, he's a very famous YouTube star.

Mr. Giggles:

Very famous YouTube star, who has also been an active commenter on the Schnitzel and Giggles Instagram page.

Dr. Schnitzel:

And he's probably our only fan.

Mr. Giggles:

Really an active member of the Schnitz and Giggles community, arguably the only member of the Schnitz and Giggles community.

Dr. Schnitzel:

So that's what he gets. You get invited then?

Mr. Giggles:

Known as Mr Algebra, our friend Sean Sattler. Guten Tag, welcome, bud. Guten Hallo Servus, servus Wie geht's Guten.

Mr. Algebro:

Hallo, he's got the phrasing right. Gutenus Servus. Wie geht's Guten?

Dr. Schnitzel:

hallo. Oh yeah, he's got the phrasing right.

Mr. Giggles:

Yeah, good.

Mr. Algebro:

Yeah, I was just learning how to actually greet somebody properly. Oh, you're listening the last episode.

Mr. Giggles:

Today episode yeah, good, good, so you've been staying on track.

Mr. Algebro:

Did I do it right? Guten hallo.

Mr. Giggles:

Yeah, according to some.

Dr. Schnitzel:

Yeah, my uncle might disagree that you're doing it wrong.

Mr. Algebro:

He might say you're doing it wrong. Yeah, I think I ran into your uncle on the bus here.

Dr. Schnitzel:

Oh, that's. Interesting, it's possible.

Mr. Giggles:

He makes his way around. Just don't greet him the wrong way, or else you're going to incur the wrath, get a phone call, get yelled at.

Dr. Schnitzel:

Yeah, getting yelled at, getting yelled at, getting yelled at by Austrians is another thing.

Mr. Giggles:

I know we're probably not ready to get into stories, but I got a story to tell. So we were out with the baseball guys last Friday and we were having a good time. It was a little team party having a couple beverages and apparently we were getting a little loud and boisterous in our conversations and all of a sudden this guy stands up, walks over to us and just starts ripping in, just yelling at us. So another guest gets up, another guest gets up, yeah, and he comes over to us and starts yelling at us. But he was really only like looking at the guy who was sitting next to me Richie, shout out, richie and he just was yelling at him. So Richie, you know, was apologizing.

Dr. Schnitzel:

He's an Austrian. He's an Austrian, he's nothing.

Mr. Giggles:

Okay, yeah, and he was apologizing. He said all right, well, you know, it's okay. Sorry, we're just having a good time, you know. And so then we yeah Sitting there and just kept our conversation going and all of a sudden the guy comes back and he comes back over to Richie and asked oh, where are you from? And he asked in English, and Richie responded I'm from here in Vienna, in German.

Dr. Schnitzel:

And the guy's like huh.

Mr. Giggles:

So I guess he thought that like we were just all a table of Americans, cause there was like three or four of us that are American and most of our conversation was happening in English. Then the guy was like our best friend. So again another one of these situations where he really wasn't mad at us being loud, he was mad at us being loud Americans.

Dr. Schnitzel:

Sometimes you just have to cross that threshold, you get yelled at, you get really aggressive situations and if you pass that you become best friends in Austria. That's how this culture kind of works.

Mr. Giggles:

I mean, some of the guys were saying that maybe he kind of like, as he walked away he was thinking about how hard he came at us and maybe he felt bad about it and so he wanted to apologize. I think there's.

Dr. Schnitzel:

I mean just responding to this right now, spontaneously, from an Austrian perspective. I think there is something sometimes when Austrians they burst out like this and they become really aggressive in whatever situation you're in. You're too loud, they come, they complain and what they would expect is that you might just fight them back, in the sense that you also become aggressive. And I would say kindness always wins.

Dr. Schnitzel:

So, if you're just Love wins, if you respond in a kind way, they, as a matter of fact, might have bad feelings. Then they get a bad conscience about okay, I was maybe too harsh with them, I maybe shouldn't have. So that might really have been something that has been going on in his mind for those moments and he came back to you.

Mr. Giggles:

Yeah, because he came over and he's like so what are you guys doing?

Dr. Schnitzel:

Like oh, we're a baseball team, you know, just having a team party. He's like oh, I used to always have my team parties here with my hockey team. Did you ask him how loud they got? Come on, there's no way that hockey team was any quieter than us.

Mr. Algebro:

Give me a break, but they probably weren't speaking American.

Mr. Giggles:

Yeah, they probably weren't.

Dr. Schnitzel:

They might have been canadian if it was a hockey team.

Mr. Giggles:

Yeah, they're way more polite and friendly, and that's true.

Mr. Algebro:

Quieter we're quieter, yeah, yeah, as I was listening, I was trying to think if I've ever had a similar experience. But I can't think of a single time where somebody got mad at us, like when we're out being loud.

Dr. Schnitzel:

You know we've had had time to time, but I'd say it's quite rare that people would get up and just confront you directly with. You are too loud.

Mr. Giggles:

Yeah, it's a good old-fashioned shimping.

Dr. Schnitzel:

Yeah, that's not that rare. You've got to practice your shimping. A what?

Mr. Algebro:

A what?

Dr. Schnitzel:

A what?

Mr. Algebro:

Did I miss an episode? Was that a what? What was that word?

Dr. Schnitzel:

Oh, shimping To be. What was that word? Schimpfen, schimpfen. We kind of use it like an English word.

Mr. Giggles:

We're so used to it. Now we all use it as an English word.

Dr. Schnitzel:

You're getting schimpft at the U-Bahn.

Mr. Algebro:

You've never heard this.

Dr. Schnitzel:

No.

Mr. Giggles:

Alright, folks. I guess we're talking about Schimpfen today.

Mr. Algebro:

Naturally speaking, I've learned a lot from this podcast. You know, I thought, as someone who's lived here for like 12 years, that this is supposed to be for people who are thinking about coming to live here. Yeah, but I've learned, just as like I've learned a lot.

Dr. Schnitzel:

Hold on to that. Hold on to that for a second.

Mr. Giggles:

I feel like we need to teach you what a yeah, I need to know.

Dr. Schnitzel:

Do we still want to talk about schimpfen? I think we should.

Mr. Algebro:

Schimpfum or schimpfin.

Dr. Schnitzel:

Schimpfen, schimpfin. It's usually an E-N ending Schimpfin yeah so when we.

Mr. Giggles:

Americanized it. It's a schimpfink. Yep, Is there an?

Dr. Schnitzel:

American word no. English word no.

Mr. Giggles:

To shimp.

Dr. Schnitzel:

I mean to get yelled at, but that's Well. Yeah, it's not the same as getting yelled at, it is specifically. Are there other terms like being told off?

Mr. Giggles:

Is that a way of expressing it? Yeah, being told off being corrected.

Dr. Schnitzel:

Yeah, yeah, but it's also not being corrected. It's just somebody just exploding and just telling you what you're doing wrong by raising the voice. That is the word schimpf.

Mr. Giggles:

Have you witnessed one of these things in public?

Mr. Algebro:

Yes, I have All right.

Mr. Giggles:

That was going to wonder if you were even living here in Vienna.

Mr. Algebro:

Yeah.

Mr. Giggles:

If you haven't even experienced one of these things.

Mr. Algebro:

Yeah, one of my neighbors schimpfed my son.

Mr. Giggles:

Oh, good yeah.

Mr. Algebro:

For riding a skateboard on the spot where you're not supposed to Classic example.

Dr. Schnitzel:

Yeah, that's great. That's exactly when you get shimpfed at.

Mr. Giggles:

Yep, I mean, we kind of talked about it, maybe a little bit in our episode, I don't remember that word.

Dr. Schnitzel:

I think we have to do another episode on shimpfing and cursing and all these things in the next season.

Mr. Giggles:

We're not anywhere, anywhere, prepared for this. If we try to do a full episode, okay, so what have?

Mr. Algebro:

you learned? Yeah, actually. So, mr algebra, uh, yes, how have we taught you?

Dr. Schnitzel:

what are your takeaways from the first season?

Mr. Algebro:

well, I wrote some things down in my notes, uh scrolling a lot of notes yeah, um yeah, they're not here.

Dr. Schnitzel:

These are just my stories so you were actually taking notes while listening to the, I was taking notes while listening to the podcast and then, yeah, those things aren't here anymore.

Mr. Algebro:

I mean, I can, I, I can remember an episode about. You were talking about, I guess, things that are attributed to the Viennese. I think, yeah, we did an episode.

Dr. Schnitzel:

Vienna comes up quite a lot.

Mr. Giggles:

But we did one that was kind of comparing Vienna to Vienna and the rest of Austria. You mean that one.

Mr. Algebro:

Yeah, maybe, maybe it was earlier, but I was thinking I I wonder how, how much um, like things that we say are about the viennese, but really we're just, it's just things that are about anyone who lives in a city. Like how do you know that it's?

Dr. Schnitzel:

it's actually some, it's actually a viennese something that would never happen anywhere else other than in Vienna.

Mr. Algebro:

Like there's so many things that living in a big city do to you. You're around so many people. Of course you're going to be a little bit more blunt with people that might be, I don't know, bothering you, or like you know the classic, the ladies that. So you got like a mom and a baby in the stroller and it's a little bit cold, and the stranger tells you hey, you, you need to put a like a blanket on your baby because it's right, it's too cold, and you you're not doing it right, like is that really a viennese thing or is that just a city thing? I've always I've wondered I guess we need to ask some listeners.

Dr. Schnitzel:

If you live in other cities On this episode.

Mr. Algebro:

If you live in a different city, have you experienced such things. But what I'm really getting at is I think that Vienna gets a really bad rap for these things that are just because it's a big city. I don't think it's just in Vienna that these things happen.

Mr. Giggles:

Mr Algebra, I feel like you're coming at the whole premise of our podcast right now, so could you just slow your roll a little bit.

Mr. Algebro:

I felt like I was fumbling around a bit there, but I had something.

Dr. Schnitzel:

The bigger picture is important, dude.

Mr. Giggles:

Yeah, I mean, you're probably right. There are probably some elements that we attribute to people being specifically Vietnamese.

Mr. Algebro:

This is great. I must want some pho. Um yeah, we're here in venice. I'll edit that out. Oh man, I have a good venice story it's in the podcast about venice.

Mr. Giggles:

Um uh no, that we attribute to be specifically Viennese could just be city living.

Mr. Algebro:

Yeah, it might be true. Like, stay to the right on the escalator, that's not a Viennese thing. Oh, I would. No, it's not, it's every big city. No.

Mr. Giggles:

No, yes.

Mr. Algebro:

No, I disagree. Like the people who go fast go on the left. People who want to just stand, stay on the right, like if you go to Washington DC or New York, like that's how it works.

Dr. Schnitzel:

I mean, I've been to Rome, I've been to Paris. Recently I even went on the subway, but I cannot recall. Well, I cannot recall being shimpfed at for not standing on the right side.

Mr. Giggles:

That's where I think the difference is. I feel like there's more of, and you're standing on the left. I don't think the consequence is quite as obvious as it is here.

Dr. Schnitzel:

If you're riding the London tube. I would assume people would be way more polite and apologize for waiting.

Mr. Giggles:

I'm sorry, I'm behind you.

Mr. Algebro:

Would you mind moving over this is the thing I really wonder about, since I've been living here.

Dr. Schnitzel:

And, by the way, do you stand on the left in London? That's a good question. Oh yeah, it's all backwards. It's cause, it's all backwards.

Mr. Algebro:

Yeah, I don't know, never been to London. It's been a while since I've been.

Dr. Schnitzel:

We should take a trip and check out, yeah.

Mr. Algebro:

We need to do some research trip for this podcast where we go to big cities and we and we try to compare and see is it really viennese stuff or is this is how it is in a city?

Dr. Schnitzel:

but my premise would be there is no other city that claims or can call itself the city with the highest quality of living while at the same time being the most unfriendly city in the world that that is a good point.

Mr. Giggles:

I feel like that you know.

Dr. Schnitzel:

So there's got to be something about this place, the data tells us yeah, mr Algebra. We're a data-based podcast.

Mr. Giggles:

Yeah, we're a data-based podcast here. At least we pretend to be.

Mr. Algebro:

Yeah, actually, speaking of data, I was on my Insta, or have you heard of this app called Threads? Threads yeah, somebody posted like a rent like a follow schnitzel giggles podcast on threads. Somebody posted a top 10 like most livable cities list. Yeah, and vienna wasn't on the list.

Mr. Giggles:

Have these people lived in all these cities so I don't know, I mean this, this.

Mr. Algebro:

So I commented you forgot vienna, and and then, all of a sudden, I started getting tons of notifications that people were liking my comment.

Mr. Giggles:

Yeah, and I was like, yeah, show him who is this. And they can't believe everything you read on the internet, exactly well, in the, the original, the.

Mr. Algebro:

Well, I forget the lingo for that, but the person who posted never, never responded to my comment. It's like these people just deleted their accounts yeah, but maybe that person maybe it was their own favorite cities in like the top 10.

Mr. Giggles:

Yeah, with Vienna. Yeah, just doesn't know.

Mr. Algebro:

Yeah, I'm sure there was some bias.

Mr. Giggles:

Yeah, I mean there's. How dare they. There are certain cities that do have reputations for certain things of of how people are. I mean New York comes to mind as one that has certain elements that are unique to living in that city, but there probably are just some things that are elements that are not necessarily unique to Vienna, but Vienna has their own kind of its own twist where you might get arm chopped if even your arm is across the left-hand side of the escalator.

Mr. Giggles:

Yeah, Whereas in another city you might just be asked politely to move.

Mr. Algebro:

But on this same topic. The next thing was since Vienna is so international and I can't remember if you guys touched on this, how do you know that it's a person from Vienna who's reacting?

Dr. Schnitzel:

this way.

Mr. Algebro:

You don't.

Dr. Schnitzel:

They could be from anywhere. Well, you can tell the Americans. Apart from the rest, I think most of us are pretty obvious and the Americans can.

Mr. Algebro:

When people just see my name and they're like Herr Sattler, they don't know.

Mr. Giggles:

I'm.

Mr. Algebro:

American. They're actually shocked when I don't speak German Like, but it's Herr Sattler.

Dr. Schnitzel:

Your last name is very austrian or very german yeah, that's another thing that I've. I've always wondered do you know how to tell german tourists, apart from other european tourists?

Mr. Giggles:

oh boy, here we go.

Dr. Schnitzel:

We're on door making another country mad we're always gotta make somebody mad usually getting the british and the germans and and the amer and the Americans and Austrians. You got to look closely At least. Maybe that's more a thing of the boomer generation. I don't know if that's really as accurate any longer, but usually the German tourists, the men, would wear sandals with socks or socks with sandals.

Mr. Giggles:

So I made your faux pas.

Mr. Algebro:

That's a very Pacific Northwest American thing though. So how do you know? It's not just some guy from Oregon or something.

Dr. Schnitzel:

Usually they also don't wear baseball hats. They smell like patchouli.

Mr. Algebro:

What's that? Stop using all these words.

Dr. Schnitzel:

I don't know what they mean.

Mr. Algebro:

Patchouli shimpy. What is?

Dr. Schnitzel:

patchouli Is that German?

Mr. Algebro:

Yeah, patchouli doesn't sound German. No, it's not.

Dr. Schnitzel:

Is that Italian?

Mr. Giggles:

No, it's like some essential oil that I feel that people from Oregon might wear a lot.

Dr. Schnitzel:

Just a made-up name. So now we're offending people from Oregon. The German men usually also wear this kind of fisherman's hat, along with the sandals, yeah, and pretty short shorts, like above-the-knee shorts, and a button-down shirt.

Mr. Algebro:

So Germans are basically just from Oregon. Huh, it's the same.

Dr. Schnitzel:

Or maybe the people from Oregon were just Germans that moved. They took their sandals with them across the ocean in their socks.

Mr. Algebro:

Well, my relatives ended up in Washington, right north of Oregon, so maybe they're just all your relatives.

Mr. Giggles:

All the German armors came over, ended up in Washington, right north of Oregon, so maybe they're just all your relatives.

Dr. Schnitzel:

They all have the sandal jeans. That's what it is, yeah.

Mr. Algebro:

Must be a connection.

Dr. Schnitzel:

Better than Levi's jeans. We'll cut that out. We won't or you won't.

Mr. Giggles:

I usually keep those things in, yeah, yeah all right, so what else so, other than other than cutting down the premise of our podcast? Uh, what else?

Mr. Algebro:

do you?

Mr. Algebro:

have to share yeah, well, connecting to when you guys were talking about shopping, I mean that one was probably the most um, the one I resonated with the most, because I do. I go to Spar like every day and when we used to live by Villa, I used to go there like every day and you know the whole thing where, like, I make it a point where I try to beat the cashier Like it's a game, I'm against them. Where I can, I can put my stuff in my bag faster than you can throw it at me.

Mr. Algebro:

Yeah, like, come on, bring it on. Yeah, I got this.

Dr. Schnitzel:

Yeah.

Mr. Algebro:

And I'm there and I've I've tried out like six or seven different bags, like to figure out which one Cause you know and I'm like I can't get it in fast enough the right bag is key, so I got this basket. Now.

Mr. Giggles:

That's awesome, because the basket's always open A wheelie basket or just a holdie basket.

Mr. Algebro:

It's like I don't know what a wheelie basket is.

Dr. Schnitzel:

You mean like the one they pull.

Mr. Algebro:

No, no, no, no, no, no, no no.

Mr. Giggles:

Nothing with wheels. No, no, no, no, no, Nothing with wheels. I don't go with the wheels. How off the mark. I was Sorry.

Mr. Algebro:

You hold the basket and, yeah, you can't fit that much stuff in the basket. It's not like a huge rolly cart thing.

Mr. Giggles:

So that's why I go every day. The basket that Belle has at the beginning of Beauty and the Beast.

Dr. Schnitzel:

What you're singing.

Mr. Algebro:

I know the Beast. What are you singing? I?

Dr. Schnitzel:

know the movie Is that you? Is that you Like every day? Yes, singing.

Mr. Giggles:

Getting your baguettes from the local baker.

Mr. Algebro:

I look a little bit Disney-ish, yeah, disney princess.

Mr. Giggles:

So you feel like a princess when you go shopping.

Mr. Algebro:

Is that what I'm getting here? Yeah, my wife probably Do you have a towel?

Mr. Giggles:

in it, so you can cover up your groceries.

Mr. Algebro:

No.

Mr. Giggles:

Okay, consider it no.

Mr. Algebro:

But it makes it. I like the basket thing. All right, as long as you're not getting too much stuff. I can beat the cashier every time, so I have no chance.

Mr. Giggles:

Would it count to you if you were? Just putting stuff back into the basket that you shopped with and then over to the table, like with that.

Mr. Algebro:

No, no, I don't. You have to get it. You don't even go to the. I don't even use the. I don't even need this stupid. You don't have time for that. I just don't need it. I'm better than the table. You don't need it well well, so I put my stuff in the basket while I'm walking around. Yeah, I put the basket on the conveyor belt. That's the word we learned I empty it fast and I'm ready with the empty basket to put it right back in.

Mr. Giggles:

So, efficient.

Mr. Algebro:

Yeah, I'm pro at this point.

Dr. Schnitzel:

Do you think the cashier knows it's like oh, there's this guy who always beats me at this game Checking out the goods.

Mr. Algebro:

I don't know.

Dr. Schnitzel:

I haven't made too many friends with the cashiers, I can tell you why You're the guy who always is competitive shopping.

Mr. Algebro:

That's another thing I'm always confused at. Should I say Auf Wiedersehen or Tschüss or see you tomorrow? Why am I so formal with the cashier that I see every single day? Can't I just say bis bald?

Mr. Giggles:

Do you say servus, or guten tag, or grüß?

Mr. Algebro:

Gott, I say hallo. Sometimes they say grüß Gott.

Mr. Giggles:

Yeah.

Mr. Algebro:

Even though they I mean sech dat Like there's not that many people. We see the same, you see the same people.

Mr. Giggles:

Careful, don't tell people where you live, fans might be coming after you.

Mr. Algebro:

No one knows how to pronounce that, so they don't know where it is. C-state.

Mr. Giggles:

Yeah, how do you spell that? Actually there was. I think you could greet them with a servus.

Mr. Algebro:

Maybe I'll try that you should, if I'm feeling brave.

Mr. Giggles:

Maybe they're just waiting for you to break down the, because you are the customer after all. True, you're supposed to be treated with a little bit of formality until you you break down that you give them permission although if you say servus and they say grus, got back back to you then you lost another game.

Mr. Algebro:

Yeah, then they the game of politeness yeah, that's what I'm afraid of.

Dr. Schnitzel:

Don't be afraid I mean, your question is a very legitimate one, since you feel, okay, I see this, this person, almost every day and aren't we kind of acquainted by now? So are we getting closer in our relationship, the cashier, the customer? But in a sense that I think that there is okay. But for some people it also might be the case in Austria, where they say, well, I want to keep my distant relationship with kind of it's kind of a professional relationship we're having here. Yeah, they don't need you.

Dr. Schnitzel:

I go to the supermarket and I just want to have the kind of the formal distance between us. But I would guess I think I have to also add there are so many people who usually it's older people who go shopping to have a chat with the cashier or anyone in the supermarket, because they're just looking for someone to have a conversation with yeah, their social interaction of the day, because they're just looking for someone to have a conversation with yeah, their social interaction on the day.

Dr. Schnitzel:

Even those, especially the older generation. They might still be on the Z on the formal basis and saying who's God and not hello and not servus. If it's a younger cashier, I think you're fine if you say hello, servus.

Mr. Algebro:

Yeah.

Dr. Schnitzel:

I think that's good if you do that.

Mr. Algebro:

Yeah, actually there was one cashier. Sadly he's not there anymore, but he had quite a personality. I don't know. He's not with us anymore.

Dr. Schnitzel:

He probably quit because you're beating him at the game. Yeah.

Mr. Algebro:

He broke the wall, the professional wall. Okay, I mean, actually, maybe you tell me if you think this is breaking the professional wall so I go through. This was actually during, like the covid times. I don't know what that has to do with anything, but um, going through buying my stuff and you know how they always say the total as if it's not like displayed on the screen for me to see. They always say it no matter what. I feel like that's all they do. They throw groceries at you and they say the total like that's their job well, that indicates that they're done yeah, okay, just in case.

Mr. Giggles:

Maybe there was something else you had left you there oh no.

Mr. Algebro:

so guess what the total was? Oh fun, that's 55, 55 for our non-german speakers, non-german speakers. And the guy was so excited that he taught me a new word that I didn't know, and in the context I figured it out. You'll probably figure this out if you don't know it. But he said the total and he goes oh, ein Zungenbrecher. He was so excited and I was like Zungenbrecher. He just said tongue breaker. Yeah, that must mean tongue twister. And then I was excited I was like oh yeah.

Mr. Giggles:

And then he quit, and then he quit. Well, I mean that was the pinnacle of his potential career.

Dr. Schnitzel:

He achieved all his life goals, maybe yeah. Where's he going to?

Mr. Algebro:

go from there. He was thinking man, once I get the fump-zik, fump-zik, fump-zik, fump-zik, fump-zik.

Dr. Schnitzel:

Once that happens, I'm done. Yeah, why stop there?

Mr. Giggles:

Why not go zik-zik-? So you're a math teacher.

Mr. Algebro:

Yeah, how often do number combinations repeat themselves during the course of a day? Do you think, yeah, that's, I mean, that would be interesting. Maybe that's why they, he, got so excited. Well, I mean, maybe that never happened before.

Dr. Schnitzel:

I mean, it's quite rare that even the cents it's all the same numbers. Yeah, Every digit.

Mr. Algebro:

Yeah, pretty amazing. That must be very rare. Another cool thing that happens is when it's exact like they say. It's fun to say I'm like, oh, Like. You wouldn't say that in English. You wouldn't say like 20 exactly, You'd say 20 even, yeah.

Mr. Giggles:

Yeah.

Mr. Algebro:

So ginau is like the way of saying, even even though it's not the same word, but that's how we would. Ginau, ginau, ginau, the way of saying even even though it's not the same word, but that's how we would. You know, genau, genau. I'm sure you've had it happen where it was like something genau, and the Kasse said that, I'm sure you just don't. There's even another phrase in German.

Dr. Schnitzel:

I'm not sure if that's specifically Austrian it's probably very Austrian or Viennese. Some people will say, if it's, for example, it's 20 euros, they would not say 20, they would actually say 20, geradeaus, geradeaus.

Mr. Algebro:

geradeaus actually means straight ahead but why would they say that?

Dr. Schnitzel:

so it's just a very straight, I don't even know.

Mr. Algebro:

I've never heard that before, 20 straight ahead that sounds like a poker 10 years straight ahead or 100 years straight ahead, geradeaus. I've used that, when I gave directions one time geradeaus und links Grados.

Dr. Schnitzel:

I've used that when I gave directions one time Grados and links Taxi driver. You have an Austrian name. You must know directions. That's a big win.

Mr. Algebro:

I get asked directions a lot. Actually, I must just look like a nice guy who knows where everything is. Yeah, even though I don't speak German, and I know where nothing is, or I don't know where anything is.

Dr. Schnitzel:

What time is it? I don't know where anything is.

Mr. Algebro:

What is it? I don't know.

Dr. Schnitzel:

I don't know nothing.

Mr. Algebro:

I just need to start saying I know nothing when they ask me I know nothing. Good, all right.

Dr. Schnitzel:

Well, that was the story, right yeah.

Mr. Algebro:

I mean, yeah, that was my connection to. To the shopping, to the shopping episode Was the foom, foom, foom, foom, foom, foom, foom, foom.

Mr. Giggles:

Yeah, I was shopping today, I feel, because I don't necessarily try to race, but I certainly want to get stuff off the end of the belt as quickly as possible and it seemed like when she was checking stuff out, she started to put it closer and closer to her so I had to reach more, so I was getting stuff off quickly, so maybe she was racing me and she was just keeping stuff just out of reach. She's like I'm in charge here. Yeah, have you experienced this in your racing? Watch out for that tactic man?

Mr. Algebro:

I don't know.

Mr. Giggles:

They could slow you down.

Mr. Algebro:

No.

Mr. Giggles:

It was at one of the small. Arbilla has the smaller collection ones.

Dr. Schnitzel:

I never go to the small ones. No, never, never. That's a mistake right there.

Mr. Algebro:

Well, you can't win there nope, always go to the longest one, the closest one.

Dr. Schnitzel:

The basket doesn't have no use there closest one, one open.

Mr. Giggles:

I've got no choice. So there's like a little like ledge and then a ramp, not ramp, but just like it goes down, you know you go there with your skateboard, yeah, and so it's like she was only putting stuff like right on the the edge, so it wasn't sliding down to me.

Mr. Algebro:

Oh yes, you know what? I'm saying yes I know what you mean, especially with like a a glass jar of pasta sauce. Some of them just roll it down the thing, but sometimes they just set it right next to and it doesn't roll away and I'm like, come on, give it to me. You're making me reach after this can of sauce.

Mr. Giggles:

You know you're in a race. Yeah, that is frustrating.

Mr. Algebro:

I know, I do know what you mean.

Mr. Giggles:

She's throwing twigs in your spokes man I mean, did you guys touch on?

Mr. Algebro:

I mean the worst possible. My worst nightmare is when the person in front of me is slower, very slow, and I'm, and then it comes to me and they're already starting to throw my stuff yeah and the person's in the way, and I'm like that's high stress I turned into? Is that like I'm being viennese, then when I freak out and I go, hey, move, like come on, it's my turn? Yeah, I think is that a viennese thing?

Mr. Giggles:

but that happened in other cities as well yeah, I mean, if there was any place where your groceries are being potentially intermingled with other people's groceries, that would make anybody yeah.

Mr. Algebro:

But I guess there's another thing like in other places I mean in the states, for example they, they bag your stuff, so that's not going to happen. Even in a big city, they beg your no they'll just wait, yeah, while the bagger is bagging, hmm speaking of that, my younger son has started interest in going to the to shopping like a bar by himself. Like dad give me 20 bucks, I want to go buy stuff by myself does he also take the basket then?

Mr. Algebro:

and I told I tried to get him to take the basket today, but he's like no, no, I want to take, I don't want take mom's bag. So he takes mom's bag and he tells me Wow, slap in the face. So maybe he learned his lesson, because when he came back he said dad, I had so much stuff, the casa had to help me put it in the bag. And I was like oh, that's embarrassing.

Mr. Giggles:

No, no, no, no. Shame to the family.

Dr. Schnitzel:

Yeah, like you can't go back there ever again.

Mr. Giggles:

Good thing you're not on a personal relationship with these people, Otherwise you'd have some splaining to do. All right, what else you got for us, Mr Algebra? You were going to talk about Vienna right and the safety of Vienna.

Dr. Schnitzel:

Oh yeah, the safety of Vienna. Oh yeah, the safety.

Mr. Algebro:

So Actually, yeah, this is kind of another good story Wow, good thing, we have you here. Somebody's listening to this the other day, around 11 am, I'm just like wandering around Alcarden. You know where that is, did you be?

Mr. Giggles:

teaching. Well, since I'm part-time.

Mr. Algebro:

On Tuesdays. I only teach one class, so I was enjoying some time before I went home and finished my work for the rest of the day at home?

Mr. Giggles:

Yeah, of course.

Mr. Algebro:

And I was in Alkarten, alkarten, and I was just thinking to myself, like it's 11 am, like who is here right now on Tuesday at 11 am? And as I was looking around, like no one is there and I'm thinking like someone could just jump me right now. Like there's nobody around and I'm how would they jump you? I mean like they could. They could drop me right now.

Mr. Giggles:

That's the flaw you should feel. You should feel a lot safer if nobody's around, I mean. But you know I'd be more concerned if there were be so many people that could possibly jump you no, that's the opposite.

Mr. Algebro:

If there's a ton of people, no one's going to do anything, but if there's no one around, I'm someone's going to do something someone's going to jump out of those trees and steal my money and my bag, and so I I get on my my phone, you know, like most people do when they have a question, and they just like send the question into the abyss of the internet and see who else has asked this question, like how safe is vienna? And you know, I find one of these like forums and people are asking this question people who are thinking about moving to vienna, probably, and and somebody responds and they say I've lived in vienna for 30 years and I'm still trying to find the unsafe neighborhoods, because the search was are there any? Oh yeah, I ruined the story.

Dr. Schnitzel:

You ruined the punchline.

Mr. Algebro:

The thing I was actually wondering while I was in the outgarden was oh because? Yeah, I don't know if I can tell this story. This is great.

Dr. Schnitzel:

This is great. Yeah, we'll just edit it. Yeah, you're fitting right in. I'm going to start with the end. This is what I was really going to do?

Mr. Algebro:

I was going, since I'm a musician, I was going to buy a used Humble brag Guitar pedal from somebody. So there's this great website Actually, this is Disconnects called Wilhaben Wilhaben, where you can sell your used items. And it's great and I've sold a ton of things and I've bought a ton of things and I've never had a single Stop plugging your own stuff. The point is.

Dr. Schnitzel:

I've never had an issue. Please follow him on Wilhoppen as well. You might get a good deal of used guitars. Got a couple good things posted up right now, if you want a couple guitar things.

Mr. Algebro:

Selling some cardigans, but I've never had an issue like getting ripped off or like someone robbing me or like we meet in a sketchy place.

Dr. Schnitzel:

It's because they think you're a local.

Mr. Algebro:

Yeah, they think I'm a local and actually I put my name as Mikhail Because that sounds more.

Mr. Giggles:

Austrian than Sean. That's a tougher name Than Sian.

Mr. Algebro:

Yeah, sian, what is this name?

Mr. Giggles:

Who is Sian? Yeah, mikhail, it's a much tougher name. I don't think anybody would want to beat you up with that name name.

Mr. Algebro:

Yeah, so I was. I was. I was on my way to meet somebody, and I won't say the neighborhood that I was going to, but I'd never been there, so I was searching, did you?

Mr. Giggles:

already say or no, you're just walking through outguard.

Mr. Algebro:

I was walking through outgarden because I had I had time to kill because I I like to be early and then you went to the other part of the city yeah, so then I was, I was the sketchy shady one on my. Yeah well, actually I'd already gone to the spot. We were going to meet like 30 minutes ahead of time to scope it out.

Mr. Giggles:

Yeah, a little reconnaissance. It's smart. And then I wandered.

Mr. Algebro:

I noticed the outgarden was nearby. So I was like, oh, that's a nice place to wander around and I, except they might jump you there Exactly.

Mr. Algebro:

So so that's where I searched nobody there. You know, what are the unsafe neighborhoods in vienna? What are they, you know? And I'm thinking a certain district is going to pop up or a certain you know name of a neighborhood, and like I can't find anything. And then that's where the person responded to this other person saying I've lived here for 30 years and I still, I'm still looking for the unsafe neighborhoods, and I thought, wow, that's pretty cool.

Mr. Giggles:

Yeah, austria is or Vienna is, I think, known for being safe yeah, or it just found a very oblivious person online yeah, but somebody else commented and responded to them, saying basically the same thing.

Dr. Schnitzel:

Even I would probably be on the same line yeah with that. There are some spots that you might not feel very safe, and crimes do happen in this place, but it's almost not worth mentioning.

Mr. Algebro:

Well, I was feeling I don't know. I was feeling just anxious about like meeting this person and like, okay, this could be the time where something bad happens, because I've never been to this meeting point before.

Dr. Schnitzel:

So I think we just listened to the most exciting story of someone saying I went out there and nothing happened.

Mr. Giggles:

End of the story. But I thought something could happen.

Dr. Schnitzel:

We were on the edge of a seat while listening to you.

Mr. Algebro:

I mean, I have some stories about the States where things happened, but this is a different podcast.

Mr. Giggles:

Yeah, that's not what we're talking about.

Mr. Algebro:

This is season two.

Mr. Giggles:

No, it's not what we're talking about that's season two. No, that's not season two either. Never. I'm starting my own podcast about that Go for it.

Dr. Schnitzel:

We need some closure now. We do need some closure.

Mr. Giggles:

Thanks for listening.

Dr. Schnitzel:

We appreciate once again our guest and the season.

Mr. Giggles:

Yeah.

Dr. Schnitzel:

Well, thank you for coming to the podcast.

Mr. Giggles:

Yeah, man, it was fun having you on with us. Hopefully this will be a regular part of I mean listeners. Tell us if you liked having Mr Algebra on board. We'll make sure to bring him back.

Dr. Schnitzel:

I have an idea. I think we should start a tradition. Anytime we have a guest, we should ask our guests when was the last time you had some schnitzel?

Mr. Giggles:

Oh, good question. Yeah, that's a good question.

Dr. Schnitzel:

I think we should ask each other that every time we record, we should ask you when's the last time?

Mr. Giggles:

yeah, when's your last schnitzel?

Mr. Algebro:

bud, my last schnitzel man, that is. It's been a long time actually. It's kind of. I'm kind of surprised, I can't just like, I can't just think of a time.

Mr. Giggles:

well, we got one here for you, yay.

Dr. Schnitzel:

You get a free schnitzel.

Mr. Giggles:

Every podcast gets a free schnitzel.

Mr. Algebro:

Seriously, I cannot remember. It's been a really long time I've been having a lot of pizza lately.

Dr. Schnitzel:

So you're more a pizza guy than a schnitzel guy.

Mr. Algebro:

Oh yeah.

Dr. Schnitzel:

I mean, I've always been a pizza guy. But schnitzel.

Mr. Algebro:

Yeah, thank you for having me. I mean, this is I'm glad I made the trek out here.

Dr. Schnitzel:

Yeah.

Mr. Algebro:

You guys live really far away.

Dr. Schnitzel:

It's not that far Out here in Schnitzeland, schnitzeland, just get your bus schedule sorted out. You get the best giggles here as well.

Mr. Giggles:

So that Season of giggles, whole season of schnitzel and giggles, and thank you to all who have listened we're going to be taking a little bit of a break for the month of July, july I think it's July, isn't it Month of July?

Dr. Schnitzel:

We'll be back.

Mr. Giggles:

August. Maybe We'll be back with every other Thursday starting in August and for season two, we hope to bring on more guests like Mr Algebra. Season two we hope to bring on more guests like Mr Algebra, either local Wieners or maybe some more internationals going through life here in Vienna to share their stories. That sounds exciting. Oh, it's hot.

Dr. Schnitzel:

I'm going to be there. I'm ready to go.

Mr. Giggles:

So thanks for listening. Have a great summer, guten bye-bye. Guten bye-bye.

People on this episode

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Lukas Marsak (Dr. Schnitzel)

Host
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Michael Johnstone (Mr. Giggles)

Host