"Just How Sick Are You, Mr. Taylor?"

Life in Germany has several benefits that I greatly appreciate: very good public transportation (I don't own a car and don't need or want one), fantastic electronic banking (haven't had to interface with a bank employee for nearly two years), good health care (although this is gradually eroding as the populace grows older and is placing greater burdens on the system).

And then there are the things that I miss (compared to life in California):

a) Good Mexican food. Of course, this one only makes sense since Mexico is not right next door. Fortunately, it makes up for it by offering numerous and wonderful Turkish, Italian, Greek, and even Indian restaurants. Still has a way to go on Asian restaurants, however.

b) The Pacific Ocean and the great beaches it offers. Germany does have the North Sea and the Baltic Sea coastlines, but they are largely different in nature from the Pacific coastline: next to no waves, often pond-like in nature. Cold to very cold for most of the year. Beachline water that is very shallow, allowing you to wade out for quite a ways before you get in over your head.

c) Large drugstores. The drugstores here are very small and can generally be considered pharmacies that sell a few non-prescription items. They don't feature the large and long aisles of everything that you could possibly want so common in American drugstores. There's growing pressure to change this, but at present German law has some tight restrictions on the pharmacy branch.

For example, you will not find any large chains of drugstores here because German law prohibits the large-scale franchising of drugstores. A pharmacy owner may operate at most three different stores. Thus, most pharmacies here are owner-operated. The three drugstores I visit most often (one next to the company where I work, one on the same block as my apartment, and one downtown) have standing room for no more than 10 people at a time. Just as you have to interface with a pharmacist for all prescription items, you also have to do so for most non-prescription health products and sundries. If you want aspirin or ibuprofen, for example, you can't just walk down an aisle that offers a variety of over-the-counter products and select the one you want. You have to tell the pharmacist exactly what you need. The pharmacist (who, by the way, are all very well trained) then asks you several questions to define exactly what your condition is (which, depending on your condition, can be slightly embarrassing since all the other customers waiting for service also get to hear the conversation). Once that is settled, the pharmacist runs into a stockroom behind the counter and fetches a product for you. Unless you know the exact name of the product you want, you get what they bring you. The pharmacist then gives you explicit instructions on how to apply or administer the product as if it were a prescription items.

And then there's the prescription drug aspect. The heavily regulated health care system here (which often falls under the term "socialized medicine") defines exactly which product make each patient may receive. For example, if your doctor writes you a prescription for high blood pressure medication, your health care provider (basically, an HMO) defines exactly which manufacturer of the product is allowed in your case. As there are dozens, if not hundreds, of different manufacturers that operate in Germany, this all gets very complicated. The pharmacist does not simply ask whether you want a name-brand or generic preparation. They, instead, look up your name and insurance number in their computer, which is connected to a national database that defines the exact pharmaceutical manufacturer and product that you are allowed to receive. As there are so many different manufacturers, this of course means that the pharmacy almost never has the exact product that you are allowed to receive. Instead, the pharmacist ends up having to tell you that they can order the product from a giant wholesaler somewhere and that they will have the product in hand either later that day or by the next day. Thus, you invariably find yourself having to make at least two trips to the pharmacy.

Which is good reason to have one that is near where you live or work. Fortunately, this is almost never a problem, because in cities you can find a pharmacy (or two!) on almost every block of every street.

When I first came to Germany, this system irritated me quite a bit. But, after a while, you mostly get used to it. Still, I do miss those giant American drugstores with their long self-service aisles that allow you personally to compare products and prices, and then select the one you want. The service I get here is generally very good, but I always finding myself wondering what else is on those shelves in that secret storeroom in the back and what is the difference in prices. I slightly resent always being forced to place such decisions (even minor ones) in someone else's hands.