The euro

As you can imagine, everything is much more expensive here due to the currency exchange rate of the euro! Basically, 1 euro is equal to $1.50. I have finally given up on trying to convert everything to dollars to find out how much we’re spending on stuff and instead I’m just comparison shopping within the euro - if that makes sense. One thing that is nice is that tax is already included in the listed price on everything. They still break it out for you on the receipt, but what’s listed is what you pay. It’s also weird to have 1 and 2 euro coins. In the States, change is tossed around carelessly, thrown into fountains, kept in jars in your closet, etc. So, it’s hard to get used to the fact that some coins can be worth up to $3! You can strike a gold mine cleaning out the cushions on your couch this way! Your wallet can also get weighed down pretty quickly too.

There are eight different denominations of euro coins: 1 cent, 2 cent, 5 cent, 10 cent, 20 cent, 50 cent, 1 euro and 2 euro! It will definitely take some getting used to. They are all different sizes and have different edges around the coin too, for use by the visually impaired: plain, groves, scallops, indentations, embossed letters, etc. Here’s some more information for your inquiring mind: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euro_coins.

Pehr also wanted me to note that it annoys him that the size of the euro bills are awkward and don’t fit in his wallet correctly! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euro_bills