Our flight from Atlanta to Munich was on time and uneventful. We were both able to get a couple of hours of sleep on the plane (thank you Ambien) so we could hit the ground running once we landed in Germany.

A driver from the clinic picked us up at the airport and we had an hour drive to Marinus. From the outside, the clinic looks like a quaint European inn and has none of the sterile institutional vibe of an American hospital.  It is a very healing environment The staff was friendly and efficient and we didn’t experience any issues communicating in English. Within 15 minutes we were checked in and given a tour of the property.

After settling into our room which sports two twin beds (that are across the room from each other) a little sitting area, a dresser, a TV and a small balcony overlooking the garden, we were off to meet Dr. Weber.

Dr. Weber was terrific: knowledgable, pragmatic and compassionate. Paul is in very capable hands. He was very optimistic about Paul’s condition and gave us several examples of successes he’s had treating prostate cancer cases that were much worse. There are lots of reasons to be optimistic. Dr. Weber reviewed Paul’s medical history and they discussed and agreed on the treatments he’ll be undergoing this week.

We had our first meal (lunch) which was delicious. I was worried about Paul not liking the food but I think we’re gonna be fine. (He was even happier when he found out that they serve cake every day at 4 PM.) We sat at a table with Nick and Maria from Chicago  — Maria is being treated for abdominal and liver cancer and this is their second week here. There appear to be several other Americans (and at least one Brit) so I’m sure we’ll meet and get to know more of the patients during our stay.

After lunch, Paul had a short meeting with one of the nurses where he was given a number of supplements that he’ll begin taking immediately. He had blood drawn for a PSA and other tests and then received a a thymus injection to boost his immune system along with Biomat, magnetic and oxygen therapy. That’s all that was on the agenda for today so we were able to go out for a nice walk this afternoon and met the local neighborhood cows.

PS You know how we’re both always saying that we don’t get enough sleep? Well it’s 7 PM local time and we’ve already had dinner and are in for the night. More tomorrow …