Last week wasn't the funnest since it mainly consisted of gaining experience in going to the doctor's in Lisbon. I had an annoyingly persistent infection on my toe which needed medical treatment, and so in hopes of saving time and money I decided to try out a close-by public health care center instead of a private hospital. This not-so-great idea ended up being one of those "I miss home"-situations because back home you would at least know how things work and what you have to do, but hopefully some pictures of pretty Lisbon views will lighten up the mood of this post a little bit.
Just walking into a health care center and getting treatment turned out to be much harder than I thought it would be. I got sent from the first center to a second, and then to a third which was in a completely different part of the city. Every time the answer was the same: "no, you cannot see a doctor and you cannot book an appointment, you have to go to another place". The European Health Insurance Card nor my private insurance card were of any help and mainly caused the ladies at the centers' counters to roll their eyes and shake their heads. Someone wiser could probably explain why the plan did not work, but to me it is still a mystery why I cannot just go to a doctor up the street of my house.
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| The view at Largos das Portas do Sol |
Just walking into a health care center and getting treatment turned out to be much harder than I thought it would be. I got sent from the first center to a second, and then to a third which was in a completely different part of the city. Every time the answer was the same: "no, you cannot see a doctor and you cannot book an appointment, you have to go to another place". The European Health Insurance Card nor my private insurance card were of any help and mainly caused the ladies at the centers' counters to roll their eyes and shake their heads. Someone wiser could probably explain why the plan did not work, but to me it is still a mystery why I cannot just go to a doctor up the street of my house.
After some frustrating hours and long walks on a soar foot, I gave up and headed to a private hospital where I should have just gone in the first place. As expected, the price of services was very high (insurance should cover it eventually - never travel without insurance!), but what I was not expecting was a wait of more than two hours to see a doctor. However the service at the hospital was very good, friendly and all in English so I can really recommend it. Just be prepared to wait because even with a booked appointment it can take well over an hour before you get called in. As mentioned in an earlier post, waiting is just something to get used to here in Lisbon.
I was back and forth at the doctor's several times after the first visit last week. To top it off, a mixture of antibiotics, another doctor's appointment and lectures on Saturday left me in Lisbon for the weekend while many exchange friends made a road trip down to the shores of Algarve together. In order to not let the entire weekend go down the drain, I dedicated Sunday to sightseeing. I headed to Castelo de São Jorge, wandered around the surrounding Alfama district and took photos of some very picturesque views. In that area I would especially recommend going to Largo das Portas do Sol where you can enjoy drinks at the miradouro. The castle I also plan on revisiting to watch the sun set over Lisbon - with a view over the entire city and the Tejo river I imagine it will be quite amazing!
And by the way, my toe is now luckily almost healed. Lesson learned, but lets hope I don't get another chance prove that I now know where to go and what to do if something similar comes up. :)
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