For the über-Road Warriors - those who spend their lives on the road

Yes, Ive had the same frustration (except I was in Spain with an Italian prescription). I resolved it quickly by finding (through the hotel) a doctor who was able to translate the prescription for nominal fee.

I haven't had the joy of getting a prescription filled but I did catch the flu in Japan and had a fun time trying to first off FIND the cold/flu medicine section in the drug store and then trying to figure out which worked best for my symptoms. In the end I ended up asking a worker there who looked at me like I was joking (I speak fluent Japanese) and I had to sheepishly tell her that I don't LIVE in Japan and I have nooooo clue about medicine in this country....

That and I got to wear the face mask in public for the first time ever. There's even a picture of me with it on here: http://www.timarai.com/blog/2006/11/15/still-kinda-sick/

I went to the Wachen Open Air rock festival last year, in Germany, with a couple of friends, and none of us spoke German. During the last night, one of my friends drank too much and we had to rush him to a hospital, but we didn't have the passports with us, or any other ID, and we didn't speak a word in German. Fortunately there was a medical team prepared for this kind of mishaps and they gave my friend the first aid without any questions. It was terrifying.