Most of you know the story, but for those of you who don’t I’ll run through it briefly. St George and the Dragon. The English know it. Anyone who grew up in the Anglican Communion knows this one.
St George slays the Dragon. Exciting, eh?
You probably know a dragon or two from that trifling trilogy by Peter Jackson. Hopefully, you’ve also read the books. Tolkien was a brilliant writer. Don’t let anyone convince you otherwise.
Well, you know I don’t talk much about religion here, and I’m not about to start. I’m not opposed to religion, and as a matter of fact I truly believe we’d be better off if people stopped talking about what they believed and actually started believing those things they profess.
However, like I say, I’ve no truck with religion. Not my bag, as the kids today are saying.
But I do like some St George, me. Many people who’ve been to Hamburg know the Alster and the harbour, but drive right past the neighbourhood of Sankt Georg without ever realising what they’re missing.
Homosexualists don’t. They know a good part of town the way my boydog Louis knows where to scratch. It’s innate. This ability to find/create the coolest part of town. Those homosexualists should go into business. Open their own shops and whatnot.
Oh, they already have? Really? Where?
In Sankt Georg? Well, let’s go there.
This blogpost isn’t going to be a very thorough tour. That’s not my point. Not at all.
Let’s go to church, ok?
I’ve never been a Catholic, but I’ve known one or two. This seems like a nice enough church. If you’re moving to Hamburg and happen to be of that flock, take a gander at St Marien. It’s in a great neighbourhood, after all.
Really enjoy the architecture in St Georg. Really.
This is one of the oldest buildings in St Georg, which means it’s one of the oldest in Hamburg. Don’t remember where I read that, but it was years ago in some guide book. You want facts? Go get a guide book, why don’tchya?
Great place for breakfast. Clocks everywhere. The name of the place is Café Uhrlaub, which is a play on the two German words ‘Uhr‘ (clock) and ‘Urlaub‘ (holiday/vacation). Clever, eh? I thought so.
Tell me, do you want to come to Hamburg after my recent posts about my favourite German city? If so, my work here is done. See you back home in Munich.
Oh, one last thing. When I was a child, there was a preacher pontificating on a Sunday. You know the scene, right? He was preaching about St George slaying the dragon. It was a weird situation, because the congregation had given him his marching orders. Said to him, ‘We don’t care where you preach, but it’s no longer going to be here.‘
He was clearly hurt and a tad bit offended. He preached fire and brimstone for what seemed like an eternity, and then he ended with the most curious sentence that still haunts me in my dreams sometimes.
He said, ‘Sometimes the dragon wins.’
Sometimes indeed.
Yes. I want to go to Hamburg. But pretty much I want to go everywhere, so I don’t know if that’s your blog or just me wanting to be bon vivanty.
I don’t think the kids are saying that. Well, not the kids now. Maybe the 70s kids. Did you time travel while you were in Hamburg? Now I REALLY want to go there, if there’s like a time-travelly wormhole or something.
One of my favorite quotes of all time is G.K. Chesterton’s “Fairy tales are more than true: not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten.” So, sure. Sometimes they win. But more often, I’d like to think we beat them.
Swords at the ready, Bon Vivant.