I am on the hunt for a new cell phone, and Daniela and I decided to meet up in the center for me to purchase one yesterday at 3:oo. I got there at the presicribed time, and waited and waited. Finally I decided to check my French cell phone that can still receive messages from Germany, and sure enough there was a message from Daniela. She quite matter of factly informed me that she had an accident with a car while riding her bike and that she was in an ambulance at her apartment. Well, it is usually about a twenty minute bike ride to her place, but I made it in a about twelve, only to discover no ambulance. In fact, after calming down and thinking about it, it seemed rather odd that the thing would still be there, but nevertheless I rang her apartment. Her roommates answered the door, and I attempted to find out what the hell was happening. Now normally my German is as comprehensible as nuclear physics, but when upset, it is basically impossible to understand. After calming down and explaining what happened (I didn't know the German word for "accident" so I kept banging my hands together) they said that they knew nothing. Great. So after pleading, I finally convinced one to let me use her cell phone, and she was pretty reluctant. It was amazing, I asked if anyone had a cell phone, and I just got stares at first, not even a yes or no, just blank looks like I had asked to see them jelly wrestle in their bikinis for me or something. After the one brave soul handed me hers, I called Daniela and she told me she was at the "Apotheke", or the pharmacy. I thought this was a pretty odd place to be after being hit by a car, but it's Germany, and I still haven't figured out how everything works yet.

After getting a vague discription where this was, I was off again on my bike. I did occur to me at this point that she meant the hospital, so I stopped by there, but she told me that her bike was there, and I couldn't find it, but I entered anyway. There was no reception desk, or anyone of any official capacity there, so I just wandered a bit and left. I knew there was a pharmacy down the road, so I went there, but nothing once more. I then knew I had to speak with her again, and I found a phone booth across the street. I had no change in my pockets, but luckily I had 20 cents in my backpack, and I called her again, and she informed me that indeed it was the hospital.

I headed back in, but did not know where to go, and again found no one to ask, so I followed one woman into the emergency section. I found a woman there and told her that I think my girlfriend is here, but I am not sure. She responded like I was talking about an old friend of hers, "Oh yeah! The girl with hair down to here? She is with Doctor What's His Name in surgery." Hold on. Surgery? Up to this point I had not thought of what had actually happened, indeed I had not wanted to, but this was certainly really shitty news. She told me that it was next to an apotheke in the hospital, and the surgery center was next to it, so I ran over there as fast as I could.

I finally found Daniela, and luckily everything looked to be in the right place. But she was grabbing the back of her head. I came to her and I felt her head which had a large bump on it and she said her back hurt. They had taken scans and we were waiting for the results, but there was a woman there with her. I asked Daniela if she knows who hit her, and it turned out to be the woman standing. She had gone with Daniela to the hospital, and was keeping care of sorts. I guess the woman was turning and Daniela was going across a crosswalk, and she hit her, and her head hit the car, and her back the road. Luckily the results came shorty later and they were negative for a concussion and all that. The woman drove her back to her apartment and I took the bikes back then went to another pharmacy to buy some cold packs and then to a grocery store to buy water for Daniela and booze for me, the later being very helpful. So after a long and tiring day, I had some red wine and pizza, was asleep by nine, and it looks like everything will be all right.