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For Whatever Ails You
Entry 14 of 61 | show all | print this entry |
(Originally written November 8, 2007)
For Whatever Ails You
In Germany when you have a headache you can't just go to the store and buy aspirin. In fact, stores don't sell aspirin at all. You have to go to a special shop called an Apothoteke. I learned this the hard way when I had a headache the other day and ran out of my usual supply of Excedrin.
The first store I stopped at was Germany's version of Walgreens. The store supplied your usual pharmacy supplies...shampoo, soap, toothpaste, etc. I wandered around the store for awhile just looking to see what they had. I was surprised to find that they carried many of the brand name products that we have in the U.S. The main difference of course being the price. A bottle of Suave shampoo in Germany costs $4EU (Equivalent to about $6.50 US). Which is the main reason why we bought and shipped 6 months worth of all of our toiletries before we left.
After wandering around the store for twenty minutes and searching every aisle, I realized that they did not carry aspirin. Confused as to why a pharmacy wouldn't have pain relievers, I walked out. I stood on the sidewalk and watched as several women exited the same store I was in and walked right into the store next door. I looked on the sign above the store and it had a big, blue "A" above it and it said, "Apothoteke." I tried to peak in the window to see what was inside but I really couldn't get a good look. So, I just waited and watched. When I finally saw a woman come out, I stared at her bag and saw what looked like a prescription bottle. "AH...HA"...this must be the place where you find medication in Germany! Thrilled with my new discovery, I opened the door and went inside.
My excitement faded rather quickly when I realized that none of the boxes or bottles of anything were in English. Even if I knew what I wanted, there was no way I was ever going to find it without help. So I made a bold move and walked up to the counter. The pharmacist behind the counter muttered something to me in German and I didn't understand her. Since I couldn't tell her what I wanted because I didn't know the German word for aspirin, I just pointed to my head. She gave me a strange look at first and then said, "YA". I said, "YA" because I was excited that she said it and I thought we had an "understanding". Well, we didn't. She went behind the counter and came back with a box of Alka Seltzer. I paid for it and left only because I didn't want to be rude.
The next store I stopped at was another Apothoteke but it was down the street and around the corner. I made sure I wasn't followed as to not embarrass myself the way I did at the store before. This time I decided to act like a normal person and not a monkey. I walked up to the counter and said, "Aspirin". The lady smiled, handed me a box that said "Aspirin" (followed by some words in German). It was that simple.
So, some lessons I learned today...people are much nicer to you if you communicate with them in ANY kind of language other than just pointing. Just because pharmacists don't speak English doesn't mean they don't know the generic name for most medications. And finally, if you want something here, you have to keep asking until you get it or in my case...embarrass yourself long enough to figure out what works and what doesn't!
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