What was your first transaction in Euro?

[micro]

On New Year's eve I drove taxi to make some extra money. No one paid with euros. After returning home at 7 in the morning the first thing I did was drawing some notes from the ATM. Then I went to a gas station and bought a chocolate bar just to see some smaller notes. The girl at the gas station figured out my intention and said "Oh, another one who wants to change money". I said "hmm".

[Evert]

Some day on the first week of January I went to Helsinki. Then walked to the main post and went buying some first 'euro stamps' gave them a 100 markka bill and got back 10 and 5 euro notes and a 5 cent coin. Now I am sad I didn't save the coin.. my first E-coin ever.

[BossaNova]

hoping to get euros and cents in return as change, but I only got markkas and pennis back.

pennis back , I also think it's terrible when we hope to get some euros and they give us pennis



sorry

[BossaNova]

Yeah, that might sound almost funny Note though than in English "penis" is spelled with only one "n"

The reason why I wrote "pennis" and not "pennies" or "pennys" is that the 1/100 unit was "penni" whose correct plural in English is indeed "pennis" with two n's

once again sorry but it realy sound funny

[BossaNova]

No need to be sorry, it really is a bit funny.

"Pennis" is pronounced just like "Pennies".

Pen(n)i(e)s from heaven!

but the sound of penis in portuguese is very similar to pennis or pennies in english (in portuguese is pénis)

[Tiger]

The only counties I've ever been to that use the euro are...
Belgium (duh :p)
The Netherlands
France
Spain
Austria
Germany

and that's it...
even not Italy

But next summer I'm going to Finland (if I got the money that is....)
And I promise to bring like 5Kg belgian coins with me !
(whehe, just dump my ugly and boring belgian coins in your beatiful country, and get all nice suomi coins in return... MOEHAHAHA)

[Evert]

Njää

[Tiger]

whehe
in your dreams !
I'm going to spend as much ugly coins I have !
I'm gonna ask my family: "Hey, wonna get rid of those ugly coins ? I'll give you 10Kg beautiful Finnish coins for 10Kg ugly Belgian coins"

Then I come with 150Kg Belgian coins to Suomi, and I change them at the bank or something
Belgium will pay with finnish coins, you guys got fed up with those belgian coins !
whehahahaha ! :D8)

[Evert]

[BossaNova]

Yeah, guessed that!

By the way, I've never been to Portugal. It's funny to think that we now share the same money! Never been to Greece or Italy either, for that matter...

Yes it's funny. I've been in Spain (many times, specially Galicia!, but never Madrid), South France, Italy and Greece.. But only before the euro

The reason I've only visited south countries is that they're a lot more cheaper, is hard to a portuguese student go to Scandinavia altough (specialy Finland and Iceland) it's a region that really fascinates me
I was thinking on going to Finland this Summer, working, catching strawberries..

but I'm only available in August.. and there aren't strawberries anymore by that time...

perhaps I win a lottery ticket, then I'll go there for sure

and I also haven't seen any coin or note from Finland (also Greece and Ireland)


well we are the 4 corners of the eurozone

[Olivier]

The only counties I've ever been to that use the euro are...
Belgium (duh :p)
The Netherlands
France
Spain
Austria
Germany
and that's it...
even not Italy

I've been in all the countries of the European Union except Ireland, Finland and Greece... not yet.

I'll visit Vienna in a few days. I'll be able to bring back several Mozart coins at home !

O.

[Olivier]

Euro countries I've visited (not in the euro-time tho..)

Finland
Austria
Germany
France
Italy
Greece
Spain
Portugal
The Netherlands
Belgium
Luxemburg
This year I will visit Austria and Germany. Hoping to spend my Finnish coins in Wien, ehehehe

You've never been in Denmark or Sweden? It's closer that Portugal...

Which countries of the enlargement have you visited?
I've seen Hungary, The Czech Republik, Slovakia and Poland!

O.

[Olivier]

Still, Finland is somewhat isolated from the other 11 euro-countries. I still rarely get foreign coins as a change money.

Untill Sweden join the eurozone... I think you'll get swedish coins in a few years (maybe 2004 or 2005)...


New coins for my collection!!

Olivier

[BossaNova]

Still, Finland is somewhat isolated from the other 11 euro-countries. I still rarely get foreign coins as a change money. Up to now, that has only happened about 10 times, including banknotes!

well being surrounded by Spain it's also a form of isolation I only get spanish coins, once in a while one french or german, but curiously my first was a 2euro dutch coin in the first week , big coins travel faster..

but I thougth I would get more foreign coins and notes, since I study in the second portuguese city Porto, and very visited by tourists.. probably because I don't go often to the cafés and restaurants they visit... to expensive... only for northern tourists..

[Evert]

Olivier, I was listing the countries that use euros right now that I had visited before. All countries I have visited:

Finland
Sweden
Denmark
Russia
Estonia
Germany
France
Spain
Belgium
The Netherlands
Portugal
Greece
Austria
Italy
Slovenia
Croatia
Switzerland
Luxemburg
Liechtenstein
India
UAE
Tunisia

And will be visiting Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Czech, germany, Austria, Denmark, Sweden and Austria in 2 weeks.