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We begin our day at the Prater, the symbol of this neighborhood and for this entire trip. The area surrounding this covered ferris wheel is an amusement park. Fritz promises to show me a little known secret about this area of district 2, but this will have to wait until after the ride.
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We drove to the first district to take photos by day. The area is just as interesting in sunlight as it is under the moon. We find parking and walk on cobblestone streets through preserved architecture mingling with 21st century structures. We pass a memorial to Holocaust victims.
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As is the norm here, we washed down our meals with phenomenal beer -- Fritz had Ottakringer, the native brew of Wien, made in the 16th district. I was sticking with Budweiser, never had it tasted so good!
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We jumped in the car and head to Perchtoldsdorf, a Wien suburb where we meet up with George, an old school friend of Fritz live. Here is George, Fritz's childhood friend, George's mother, Elizabeth, and Fritz. She is a very sophisticated and sharply dressed woman, Versace, Gucci, she oozes class. She used to own a clothing shop in the 6th District but sold the shop and is now retired.
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At the Heurigen, I had the Parisian Schnitzel. It's like Wiener Schnitzel, except that it is fried in egg dough. The crust then becomes omelet-like. The veal was tender and melted in your mouth, but I realize I prefer the breading of a Wiener Schnitzel sprinkled with fresh lemon. When dinner was over, there was another special treat. A salesman entered the restaurant carrying a tray of dark-chocolate covered grapes and strawberries skewered on sticks. He does not work for this heurigen, but is a local who makes his living this way. He has competition, a local woman, but they both take turns entering establishments, usually timed a half hour apart during mealtime. I picked a stick that contained six chocolate covered strawberries.
Then end of the day, what else do we do but stop by Martin's, and he welcomes us for a nightcap. Though he is too much of a gentleman to tell us -- he keeps saying mi casa es tu casa, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week -- I know Martin is getting sick of us, so I continue my mantra, we're only here today, gone tomorrow!!!
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