"Monsieur has his passporte?"

"Have we crossed the frontier already?’

"Oui. Welcome to France."

After the formalities at the border, this was a welcomed change. As the train had inched its way through the black night, the dark-uniformed officials had been cool but correct, inspecting my documents for what seemed to be an overlong period of time.

"You have enjoyed your visit to the fatherland?" one of them inquired, his eyes glinting from behind rimless glasses.

"Oh yes, yes," I replied almost too quickly. Satisfied at last, they had applied their stamps with a flourish and retreated from the compartment behind salutes and clicked heels. Now an equally curious French official was turning the pages slowly, carefully scanning the stamps and visa documents that chronicled my journey through Europe.

"Is the bar car still open," I asked the steward, feeling the need for a relaxing drink for some reason. I shifted through my billfold, separating the currencies: German marks, Italian lire, Spanish pesetas, Dutch gilders, even some Portuguese escudos from my hurried visit at the embassy in Lisbon. A large bank draft reminded me that later I would need rubles, and plenty of them. Right now, I was worried I had no francs for that drink.

The dark-haired woman sharing the compartment with me finally spoke:

"Such a bore it always is, keeping track of all this currency," she remarked softly, the passing lights catching the diamonds at her throat.

"Yes, and the interminable border stops for passport inspections," I replied.

"It’s really quite wearisome," the woman agreed, her gloved fingers unclasping a silver cigarette case. "One almost wishes it might change some day. Perhaps a single currency for the whole of the Continent. Even a small card acting as one’s travel documents."

"Oh, I doubt that will ever happen," I replied firmly. The train plunged its way through the blackness, on to an unknown destiny.

January 1, 2002, marked the introduction of the Eurodollar as the medium of exchange within the European Union. Called the euro, it will be the currency of record in 12 European nations: Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Spain and Portugal. Monaco, which uses the French franc, is also changing over. Three EU nations will not participate: Britain, Denmark and Sweden.

Actually, this has been going on since 1999, when travelers to Europe have had the option of using and paying for purchases with euros. Travelers now will have to change their money only once, and will be able to use the same notes for everything throughout EU Europe. For those who have begun depending upon local ATM’s rather than traveler’s checks for their traveling cash, funds from a cash dispenser in one country can be used in other countries: shopping in Paris, for example, or dining in Madrid, or for ferryboat tickets in Greece. Prices in each participating country will be posted in euros.

For those who have been hoarding that trove of foreign bills for their next trip to Europe, they have until March 31 to exchange them at no charge at any Central Bank in the EU. Commercial banks will continue to exchange both coins and bills until Dec. 31, but for a fee.

Seven notes will be used, in denominations of 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200 and 500 euro, plus eight coins – 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, and 50 cents, and 1 and 2 euro. The notes will have idealized images of windows and gateways on one side (opening of minds), and bridges on the other (between peoples), while the coins will have one side with a common image, and the other represented by various national symbols.

It may be more efficient, but it certainly marks the passing of an era in travel. First they stopped stamping passports at most border crossings, now the visitor to Europe will never again experience that little tingle of adventure and sophistication that always accompanied transactions in those colorful foreign currencies.