With a little planning it is easy to stay in touch with friends and loved ones when you are being treated at the clinic.

WiFi

The nuclear medicine ward has WiFi - you will need to ask one of the nurses for the current code.  You should familiarize yourself with how to enter a WiFi security code (sometimes called a password) in the wireless connection section of your computer. NEW SUMMER of 2012: Patients are now asked to pay 3 Euro per day for Wi-Fi. This may also apply to people trying to use the Wi-Fi in the lobby. We  do not have actual policy yet, but patients tell us that at Finance when checking in you are asked to either pay a 150 Euro deposit, out of which the 3 Euro charge per day will be taken, or you can leave your passport with Finance and pay your actual Wi-Fi bill at discharge. Advice to Americans - do not give up passport.

The Zentralklinik lobby has Wi-Fi, but we do not know about paying for access by persons other than patients. We suggest that you ask one of the people at the reception desk for the current procedure to access Wi-Fi in the lobby. Access from the lobby will allow caregivers with a patient to easily skype during the time that the patient is confined to the Ward, especially if the caregiver is staying in a hospital guest room or at the Kindergarten guest rooms.

While the nuclear medicine section of the clinic and the lobby have WiFi, we do not know if the rest of the hospital has this access. We understand that the kindergarten (family accommodations nearby) does not.  Most larger hotels in Weimar have Wi-Fi, but there is usually a fee and this fee varies by hotel.

Email

If you did not bring your own laptap to take advantage of the WiFi on the ward there is one computer avaialbe to the public that has an internet connection.  There can be a wait to use this computer as it a large hospital with many visitors wanting to check their email.  See information on WiFi for other alternatives.

Phone

There are in rooms that you can have activated in your room.  If you choose to activate this service you will have a direct dial phone number that can be dialed from any phone in the world.  UPDATE: The charge to activate the phone in your room to receive calls is 20€ and for 0.75¢ a day you can also get unlimited calling to the US.

Cell Phones

While coverage at the hospital is good, there is very little if any coverage while you are on the nuclear medicine ward due to the shielding of the walls.

All German mobile carriers use GSM technology which is the technology used by ATT and T-Mobile in the United States.  Using your existing cell plan firm the US while in Europe can be very expensive - several $s a minute.  There are many ways to get a German SIM card to work with your cell phone or to rent a cell phone for your trip abroad.

Blau Mobile has the best price if you think you will be making calls to the US.  Calls to the US are billed at 7.9c (euro cents) a minute and they offer data connections for 49c an MB.  Incoming calls to virtually all GSM phones using a local carrier are free (although your friends will be billed $0.35 a minute).  The photo store in Frankfurt Airport carries the SIM card you will need for this service as do other telephone stores in Frankfurt, Weimar and Berlin.  You will need a Tri or Quad band unlocked GSM phone to use this service.

RebelFon has the best deals going if you do not have an unlocked phone or wish to wait until you get to Germany to get you SIM card.  They will provide you with a local country SIM prior to your departure for $19.95.  Incoming calls are free and outgoing calls are $0.40 a minute.  They will also rent you a phone for $1 a day for your trip.  An unlocked quad band phone can be bought on Amazon for under $100.  ATT and T-Mobile will usually unlock your phone if you have had it over six months and ask nicely at a store.

IPad Plan

With the advent of the IPad many German mobile companies are offering discounted 3g connection plans for the IPad 2 only.  If you have a GSM enabled IPad 2 please click here for a comparison of different German plans.