---
title: "On Pacing"
description: "Entering Vienna, the $12 sandwich, and a dungeon in Helsinki"
author: "Ghaith Ayadi"
site: "Verbatim"
collection: "Hokum"
url: "https://verbatim.ayadighaith.com/hokum/on-pacing"
date: 2023-06-14
updated: 2026-09-16
---
# On Pacing

You don't learn about user experience by reading UX books. You learn it by paying attention to amazing experiences, like that of the Vienna airport.

It starts with the wifi, which works well and early. You can put the consent page in English and you don’t need to tell them about your entire lineage. It’s unlimited in time and has a speed of 200 Mbps. Great start. You already know that these people respect you.

There's a theme to the entire experience—respect, and pacing. Even the water taps in the men's room are set to a leisurely flow. Enough water to wash your hands, but not so much as to rush you.

Every airport I land in gives me the feeling of: “I gotta get the fuck outta here”. Airport arrival experiences are deliberately hostile because they're designed for quick turnover. They are kicking you out.

But not Vienna International. It's not impressive like Istanbul or cute like Tallinn. It does something much more important. It allows you to reconnect with the ground, relax and refocus. It puts you at ease because the place itself is at ease. It seeps into your behavior. You look around, walk slowly, and maybe buy an overpriced panini or something. They charge you in a normal currency that you understand. The lady is very German but speaks proper English like airport employees should. She’s peppy but she doesn’t rush you with her rhyme.

You pay 12 bucks for a panini but you get table service. Nobody has ever experienced this an airport before. Now they managed to take you off your feet, slow you down another notch. You're sat down, writing these very words. The lady comes over with your meal. It's not an airport sandwich. It's a real sandwich. People food, you know... The coffee isn’t winning any awards but it doesn’t get any complaints like the substance I drank in Warsaw Chopin.

You can get an Uber to the city. It’s expensive at 35 bucks. But you can also take a train like a civilized person. You don’t need to have been here before to know that. There are signs and tasteful green branding that guide you out without kicking you out. They don't shout at you. You waft through the newly refurbished premises as you’re guided gently and swiftly to the entrance of the railway station seen in the picture. It's decorated with real plants. It's not a dungeon like the one in Helsinki where they've given up on life.

I booked a ticket for this train. They have machines similar to the ones everywhere else in Europe. Except these are not stupid. They don’t have 300 options. 3 clicks, fast payment, and off you go. You’re on the move again.

What’s in Vienna that’s not going to be there in an hour? Nothing. It’s all been there forever. 

"Take your time" the airport explains. You’re no longer going to Vienna. You are In Vienna already (even though you’re technically closer to Bratislava 😘).