German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder met with 50 American journalists only days after his nation parted company with the venerable deutsch mark. His enthusiasm for the future is tempered only by his own concerns about re-election this year.

More of this Feature • Part 1: A Pleasant Surprise for Budget-Minded Tourists • Part 2: Getting the Most for your Money   • Part 3: Where next? How about Poland?

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Schroeder, and his predecessor Helmut Kohl, long favored adoption of a single European currency that could compete with the U.S. dollar and simplify the patchwork of currencies across the continent.

The German leader also is pledging full support for 10 nations inching closer to meeting the criteria for EU membership. What many envision as "The New Europe" is beginning to take shape.

"EU expansion clearly is in America's best interest," says U.S. ambassador to Germany Daniel Coats. The question we have is how much--if at all--it will benefit budget travelers.

Already mentioned are the benefits of fewer exchanges for visitors to multiple countries, and the relative ease of handling a currency similar in value to the American, Canadian and Australian dollars.

Comparison shoppers--especially those on the Internet--are going to love it, too. Now you can budget your trip through Italy and France and compare freely with the so-called bargain countries like Portugal and Spain. They're all using the same coinage.

Keep an eye on the euro. It's changing the way we all do business, and much of that change is good.

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All photographs (c) 2002 Mark Kahler, licensed to About.com, Inc.