Davidwache

Davidwache is a recognizable landmark in the St. Pauli nightlife district, appearing in two episodes that frame it as both an orientation point and a rendezvous. The narrative does not depict police action there; instead, the station helps locate characters moving through streets shaped by nightlife and commercial sex.

Setting and Orientation

While walking toward the Reeperbahn, WH 3 reaches the area around Davidwache and turns into a side street, hoping it will take less nerve to enter one of the establishments there. Finding the street dark and empty, he walks to its far end and then returns toward the Reeperbahn. Davidwache marks a boundary in his tentative exploration: he is close to the places he is seeking, but still hesitates before entering them.

On his return, WH 3 witnesses a man thrown out of a bar and kicked by another man. The confrontation prompts him to look more closely at the nightlife around him, and he eventually enters the Zum Goldenen Handschuh bar. The violence belongs to the street and bar entrance in this sequence, not to the police station itself; Davidwache anchors WH 3’s route through the district.

Meeting Point

Later, Davidwache is chosen as the meeting place for WH 3 and Petra because she does not know the area. While waiting, Petra has already attracted hostile looks from sex workers and been approached by three men. WH 3 arrives with beer, sparkling wine, and cola, and the pair walk on to Hans-Albers-Platz to sit, drink, and watch the people passing through.

Narrative Function

Across these scenes, Davidwache gives the reader a stable point of reference in a district WH 3 experiences first with apprehension and later with the expectation of a date. Its role is chiefly spatial: the station makes the surrounding streets legible as WH 3 moves between the Reeperbahn, bars, and Hans-Albers-Platz. The contrast between his hesitant first passage and the later planned meeting also places his private hopes against a public street where Petra is immediately exposed to unwanted attention.