h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

As some of you know, I suffered from TB a few years back and now need to have an x-ray of my lungs done once a year until further notice (for at least five years after I got the 'all clear').
Now I could go to my GP and have him transfer me to someplace with an x-ray unit, or I can go to the 'Stadtgesundheitsamt' (municipal health office) and have it done there. I decided the latter was the easier and faster way of having it done, so I've gone there for the last three years. When I was summoned by mail this year, I didn't actually read the whole thing. I only made sure they were open today (there opening times are a joke: Mon to Friday from 8.00 to 11.00am), because it is what we call 'Rosenmontag' here (Carnival Monday), and you'd best make sure the office is open, as they are a bit silly with Carnival days here. Found out that they'll be closed on Friday this week and Monday next week because they are about to move. On arriving, the office where I was expected to check in had a note on the door asking me to go to another office (same floor, fortunately). I went there and didn't have to wait for long. When the lady saw it was a mail from her colleague (I had to show the letter AND my ID card), she asked me to leave her office again for a while because she had to go in the other office to get my file.

She got the file, and next thing she told me was that they've closed down the x-ray section, and that I now had to go to the Heilig Geist Hospital (Holy Hospital - really!). When I mentioned that I hadn't known that, she said that it was mentioned in the mail, but that hardly anybody read it all the way through. Guilty as charged, but then I hadn't expected any changes. They were well prepared for this, though, because she gave me a plan, marking the way to the hospital. I'd never have found it without the plan. I hardly ever venture into the city centre and don't know my way around there as those who've been here for the German meet in 2006 can confirm.

She then called somebody for my former x-rays. We waited while somebody searched for them
Got a letter for the hospital, my x-rays and the plan and left. The hospital isn't exactly round the corner from the Stadtgesundheitsamt, it was indeed a ten minutes walk, just like the lady had told me. Found the hospital - not without having to stop at nearly every street corner to study my plan.
Guess what: I didn't find the x-ray department in the hospital. The description given to me by the lady at the reception was more than confusing, I nearly even missed to find the staircase, which I had to descend into the cellar. On asking, a nurse pointed me in the right direction - I had passed it without noticing it.

They didn't make me wait for very long, so the actual x-ray went quite quick in fact. I was asked to wait for a moment until she had checked the x-ray. After a while, the nurse called me back in. She had to repeat the x-ray, and would I mind to take a deeper breath this time, so the sides of my lungs would show on the x-ray, too. So, same procedure as before, but this time it worked out.
So, instead of the 1h 15 min I had expected, it took me a whole hour more.
Can't wait for next year.

Oh good grief. Poor Bel At least you weren't injected with radioactive stuff (were you?) or pricked with needles or

No, the radioactive stuff is only injected when I have my thyroid gland checked (and they probed it with a needle, too, a few years ago).

We're so jealous of your trains, it's nice to know that your health service administration isn't that far ahead of us.

Glad to hear all is OK

I think any positive stories about our trains are a myth.

I can confirm that German trains are wildly overrated. Although you could actually rely on the Bielefeld-Cologne line to be 10 minutes late

Well, who in their right minds wants to take a train from Bielefeld anyway?

sending healing sunny-rays from Spain

Today it´s a lovely sunny day here, so... it must work.

and lots of s and s

Thanks, Mar.

I'm not ill, though, it's just an annual check.

Great, so you can have a few s with them.

I) have a bottle of nice, alcohol-free apple wine.

http://www.possmann.de/shop/shop3new.php#5_119

The train from Bielefeld is fine, it's taking one *to* Bielefeld which is worrying

You're right.

How funny, the first item, jars, remind me the pottery of my town:

http://www.abacoarte.com/es/ceramica-granadina-23/popular-verde-azul-39/?osCsid=acdb327a396ce4edc2d4c3fd703d5fbc

Funny, I hadn't scrolled up that page, so had to go back to look what you were referring to.

MMF bought one of those when he was here in 2006. There is a shop here which sells this pottery exclusively.

Yours looks like porcelain, though, whilst the Bembels are earthenware.

they aren´t porcelain.

There is a great variety that doesn´t appear in that page.

YOu should visit Granada to check it

It's highly unlikely that I'll ever get to visit Spain, but in case I should do one day, I'll try to remember.

Bel - can you do us a favour? When writing a journal like that, *please* start off with "Before I say anything else, I'm ok!" - I was really worried reading that - starting off with "You may know I had TB..."

I'm sorry you had such a bad time of it, but I'm glad you're ok!

Gluckliech Rosenmontag!

Have you any plans for Carnival?