15 - 21 August 2011

There is a shrine to St. George built into the cliffs above Saalfelden, at the Einsiedelei, where Brother Raimund the hermit lives. On a very hot day, with visitors Rufus and Polly, Elizabeth sat in the cool chapel and considered St. George's effigy. Her observation was that St. George looked very surprised and she thought he was probably riding along on his horse, who has a smile on his face, with his spear by his side, when he suddenly noticed that he had impaled a dragon on the end of it. Perhaps he then made the best of a bad situation and invented a cock and bull story about rescuing princesses. It paid off because he is now one of the most venerated saint in the world and presides over the side altar in the Maria Alm church.