In Austria, the salutation is a little different than in most of Germany. When walking into a store or meet someone new, a German would say, "Hallo" which I'm sure most of you could translate without help. In Austria, though, that's highly informal. Instead, you tell them, "Grüß Gott!"
Though the Austrians don't really think about what they're saying, it means literally, "Greet God." The original intended meaning is "God bless you," but you can read more about how it evolved on the ever handy Wikipedia page.
I do realize that this is just another way of saying hello, but I love the reminder to myself every time I say it. This frequent command of a stranger to me "greet God" makes me smile every time. It's never hard to enthusiastically return the greeting.
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