To the five Burroughs...

This is an excourse about the different parts of a German city in general and Hamburg in special. Hamburg is divided in seven districts (German: "Bezirke"). The next structure beyond are nearly 100 neighbourhoods/barrios/quarters/whatever you wanna call it (German: "Stadtteile"). I lived in St. Georg for 5 years, before that I lived in Borgfelde for 4 1/2 years. The origins of those names differ - while Finkenwerder, Moorburg or Altenwerder for instance were fisher's villages for ages, Altona was a town of it's own till the Nazis melted it together with Hamburg. Altona was a part of Denmark til 1866 and secured freedom of believe for all inhabitants. Between Altona and Hamburg was a kind of "buffer" - the world famous quarter St. Pauli. St. Pauli lay outside the old city walls, on the west side, and at the harbour - where the hookers and the foreign seamen stayed, where people have to come through when they were on trading business - and where people stayed, who had to hide from parts or inhabitants of the inner Hamburg. St. Georg was the eastern part outside the town walls, here the citizens of Hamburg sent all their folk which was ill or who were too poor - the pestilence quarter, later a kind of early quarantine - but the water flowed first across the shores of St. Georg and then in the old town, well, think about it...

Both parts of Hamburg have still a lot in common. In both parts there are whorehouses in the first floor of seemingly "normal" buildings, there's a lot of prostitutes and a lot of the same problems. Well... But now I'm gone, looking what the other "St." will bring.

Ah, yes, and there's no "five burroughs" of course, but three bigger cities and a lot of smalltowns, villages and else melted together for one big Hamburg.

(Written offline, see date below, published way later...

Good bye St. Georg - hello St. Pauli

Now it's done - after nearly 5 years (only a few weeks are missing) I left St. Georg and have now a new flat on the other side of the lake Alster. Now I'm living in northern St. Pauli - at least I stayed true to the saint...

I'll tell you next time what the districts of Hamburg are about - call it barrios/quarters/neighbourhoods - it's different, and it matters. It matters for different reasons where you live. But back to the move, because it actually was one of the easier and better ones, thanks to Larry and Knut. Thank you Benni & Ole. And good to have the "Kleine Pause directly around the corner.

(written offline - see date below, posted later...

New flat - new beginning

Ein großer Strauß Blumen geht an dieser Stelle an Christian und Gregor - der große Schrank ist in die "neue" Wohnung geräumt, gleich sind die Klamotten auch drin. Ein großer Bauernschrank ist echt was feines - keine einzige Schraube zu lösen, nur ein paar Keile, und schon konnte man die handlichen Teile auch als schwaches Frauchen raustragen. Mit ebenso einfachen Handgriffen (- ok dank Gregor) ging er auch wieder zusammen. Genauso praktisch war das Autoleihen beim http://www.stattauto.de . Die Gewerbetreibenden vom Hochparterre waren auch nicht unfreundlich, und ihre Kunden sehen alle gleich aus Einer der lustigen Musikanten vom dritten Stock hat auch schon rein geguckt - es ist doch nett hier. Und jetzt gucke ich meiner ersten Nacht in der Rostocker Straße entgegen...