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Euro |
Monday, 21 January 2002 |
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I read the NRC
(nrc.nl),
a Dutch newspaper, on the Newark - Amsterdam flight.
Ads and news reports list amounts in Euro.
The guilder has obviously disappeared, even before I set foot on Dutch soil again.
It feels strange to me.
The rest of my countrymen have had several weeks to get used to the Euro already. But I arrive at Schiphol, Amsterdam airport (schiphol.nl), without a penny. While I was in the USA I updated all prices on the SUMit web site. All amounts are listed in Euro from 1st January onwards: ![]() Even before passport control I stare at the cash dispenser curiously. I withdraw my very first Euros, a few € 50 notes. My first reaction is one of disappointment. What grey, pale notes compared to the colourful guilders!
Anyway, I'm now prepared with fresh cash, ready for my first lunch appointment, here at Schiphol airport.
I stow my luggage in a locker for the moment.
The machine is asking for euro coins.
Which I do not yet have.
The money changer asks me Surprised I stare at all the coins.
After lunch I go home by train.
My first debit card payment is for the train ticket.
The rail catering service announces the coffee price in Euro, but still mentions the guilder price too.
And
My first note I spend on the taxi home from the train station. Yes, I am a real Euro consumer now! Back home I update the financials for the fourth quarter of 2001. Expenses are still stated in guilders, so I transfer them in guilders. I convert my January expenses from dollars to euros. It still feels odd to me. I still see the euro as a foreign currency.
Later in the week I find some guilder coins hidden in a coat pocket. Hm, I thought I had said goodbye to all those coins. Should I keep them? Suddenly the coins are a memory of a distant past. You know, when Europe had different coins and a new year did not decrease your buying power with 6 to 8%? |
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December 2001
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· Euro
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