A fortuituous meeting...

Serendipity. I thought that only happened in Hollywood movies. But I was wrong...

On Tuesday night we visited a local hospital which had been recommended to us by several German and English people as THE PLACE to give birth in Cologne. The hospital holds an open evening every Tuesday.

The event began with an hour-long talk by a midwife - all in German. Before she started we asked if we might see an English speaker, just to run through our concerns and she agreed that we could see the doctor afterwards. So we sat through the talk. I recognised some words. I also understood her gesticulations and indications to various parts of her body. I also 'got it' when she was mentioning a tricky part of the birthing process - as the German speakers winced or laughed nervously.

About 45 minutes into this talk, another couple turned up, apologising profusely for their lateness. The midwife gave them a little ticking off in front of the rest of the group. They joined the group just at the point where the midwife had called for any questions. The lady of the couple apologised and said her German was not good. So, the midwife said they could join us afterwards, in seeing the doctor.

And that was the most useful chance encounter. We talked with the couple as we were given a tour of the wards. We shared concerns with the doctor. We talked more as we were leaving the hospital. We swapped contact details. It turns out that she is due the same time as me. It is very reassuring to have found people in the same boat. They are both very lovely and we're going to meet up again.

Hurrah!