#93 Passierschein A38

March 16-19, 2022: Rome, Vatican

F. I have been to Rome twice before and I am always fascinated by what was possible 2000 years ago. But on this visit, it should not primarily be about the exciting history of this world metropolis, but rather selfishly about us. We had been given a contact point by Italians on the ferry where we should try to get vaccinated. So we went into the chaos of Rome's traffic. Not only is it driven wildly here, but also parked, so that a road that is two lanes in one direction is often only one lane passable because a lot is parked in the second row. We found a parking space at the recommended hospital, which happened to be very close to the Vatican's city wall. Unfortunately, no one at the hospital reception spoke English, so someone with knowledge of English was quickly organized. It turned out that we had to register in the system first, as we currently only have international health insurance and no European health insurance card. (Apparently, the advantages of private insurance also only apply in Germany.) With an address on a small piece of paper, the term for the Italian patient system, and the address of a vaccination center on another small piece of paper, we set off through the city of Rome. Unfortunately, the registration office was only open until 12:30 p.m., so we had to wait until the next day. Killing time in Rome is quite easy. There is always something to see or something delicious to eat. With pizza in our bellies, we went to a few places in Rome. Vatican, Tiber, Pantheon, Piazza Navona, and then on to a parking space just outside Rome.

The next morning, the second attempt. Take the bus into the city and walk to the very old hospital with its beautiful cloister. In a small room labeled "Healthcare for Migrants," there was a woman with very little knowledge of English, but thanks to our handwritten note, she understood what we wanted. We briefly presented our identification cards and after 5 minutes we had an Italian patient number on a printed DIN-A4 sheet. By now, I felt a bit like Asterix and Obelix, who in the book "Asterix Conquers Rome" try to get Passierschein A38 in a crazy administrative building.

After our registration, we continued on foot to the vaccination center near the Pyramid of Rome. Also here, only a little English was spoken at the entrance, but based on our previously collected "passes," they understood what we wanted. In the vaccination center itself, fluent English was spoken if you addressed the right people. A doctor filled out a questionnaire about health status and pre-existing conditions together with us, and then we were given the vaccination order printed out. With this, we went to another room and finally received our long-awaited third vaccination against Covid-19.

Before leaving the parking space in Rome and heading towards the coast, we did some shopping. You never know how strong the vaccine reaction will be the next day.

We set up our resting camp in Sabaudia. On the first day, we hardly left the van, as the vaccine reaction came with a lot of fatigue, weakness, and a heavy arm. The next day was already much better, so we watched two races of the currently ongoing rowing and paddling championships in the morning.

Day 155 - Total tour 11,289 km

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