Ben's in Berlin.

Ben left Launceston yesterday and, after an arduous 33 hour trip via Melbourne and London, arrived in Berlin at about 2pm (their time). He looked pretty tired even before the flight began and travelled with the aid of a recently-prescribed muscle relaxant that relieves symptoms but makes him look drowsy. He's staying at Pension Geissler, a single room bed-sit above a restaurant in Panketal, a suburb of Berlin. It's walking distance from the Helios Hospital in Berlin-Buch where he'll see a specialist in a few weeks time.

Helios Klinikum, Berlin Buch

He doesn't plan to stay in the bed-sit for long because it's expensive compared to other places. It was booked so that, on arrival, he had somewhere definite to go. In terms of the medical problems, the hope is that the specialist can make a definite diagnosis and propose a solution. Maybe it's a long shot but the situation was becoming hopeless and something had to be done. And rather than wait six months till a specialist in Tas could see him, the German specialist told us that he was away next week but could make an appointment for the following week. This is Ben's second visit to Berlin-Buch (pronounced 'book', by the way), having had an operation there in October 2010.

So, Ben's not in Tassie but I am... and that feels very strange.

If any blog readers in Germany can help with finding suitable accommodation, please let me know by posting a comment. (Comments are moderated and won't appear on the blog).