[annapurna]

When Laura and I were dealing with the German surgeons regularly, we ended up paying for a Skype subscription to call German landlines and just used that, and waking early in the morning, to call when it seemed like email contacts went dead. I can't say why you've not heard from Dr. Schmitz and his office but it was common for the Germans to stop responding to email for days to weeks at a time, even in the early 2000's. COVID might give one more reason for that.

I don't know the Canada to Germany Skype subscription cost but the US to Germany cost was something on the order of $5 a month for 20 minutes of calling time with additional time billed per minute - basically not a whole lot if you're just calling to check in on your requests a few times a month. I know it seems obnoxious that you'd need to call to prompt them but, if you get otherwise good service, it might be worthwhile.

If you do end up going to Germany, feel free to PM me. We're just across the border south of you, NW Washington, and at least prior to COVID, ended up traveling to Germany on business once a year so might be able to suggest some ideas to make the travel easier.