Last week I went to the doctor for the first time. The doctor was recommended by two of my friends. She's Canadian but has been here in Germany for about 15 years so she has a mixed practice of English and German speaking clients.
Waiting to see the doctor was an interesting experience. It was like musical waiting rooms. I first waited in the hallway for about 15 minutes. Then I was told to go into the Wartenzimmer (waiting room). I'm not sure why I didn't go straight to the waiting room but there must be some sort of system that just wasn't apparent to me. After about 20 minutes in the Wartenzimmer sitting in extremely uncomfortable chairs, I was told to wait in the hallway again. Then the doctor invited me into the Sprechenzimmer (speaking room) where I had a conversation with the doctor about my visit. Next it was downstairs to pee in a dixie cup and back into the hallway to wait again.
The only reason for the musical rooms that I can fathom is that if you are waiting for over an hour to see the doctor, maybe it won't feel as long if you are constantly moving from room to room.
After finally getting into the examination room, the doctor had me strip down. There are no gowns and the doctor doesn't leave the room while you strip which is definitely a departure from the American doctor visit experience. Since her office is in an old 3 story flat like mine with high ceilings, it was mighty chilly in the room. Thankfully, she let me put my coat on to keep my upper half warm while she tended to the lower half.
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