But will it play in Potsdam?

As euro debuts, German fears linger

In this story:

• Poll shows sentiment is changing
• 'The national border is over'
• New prices, 'smaller' paychecks

By Suzanne Kelly
Special to CNN Interactive

BONN, Germany (CNN) -- Imagine driving from New York to Chicago and needing six different currencies for your journey.

Imagine what it would be like to have to turn your New York dollars into New Jersey pounds, Pennsylvania marks, Ohio lira and then Indiana pesetas before finally getting to Chicago to change your money into Illinois francs.

After all the money changers had collected their fees, you may have just 700 of your 1,000 New York dollars left.

It's an inconvenient and costly way of life that has been a burden for European consumers and companies for centuries. But that is about to change. On January 1, 1999, 11 European countries began the process of renouncing their sovereignty -- their money -- to embrace one currency unit: the euro.

Right-wing supporters protested against the Euro in Frankfurt this April

It is Europe's answer to the U.S. dollar, and economists and corporations are optimistic that the new single currency will give the old world more clout on the global stage.

Although consumers have a bit longer to adjust to the euro -- notes and coins don't have to be in circulation until January 1, 2002, and old currencies won't lose their value until July 1, 2002 -- there is still apprehension among Europeans as to just what they can expect from the change.

Germans especially are feeling angst. Germany boasts the world's third largest economy, the largest economy in Europe, and has had in the beloved deutschmark one of the world's leading currencies after the dollar.

After suffering the devastating effects of hyperinflation in the 1920s and devaluation after World War II that wiped away their savings, Germans have little tolerance for inflation and soft currencies. That's why for years many Germans were fearful that their powerful mark would be weakened when tossed into the same basket as the Italian lira and Spanish peseta.

Click here to see how the EMU evolved.

But sentiment has turned in recent months, and for the first time polling shows that a large number of Germans now support the euro. Many are seeing the advantages.

"They've had the mark 50 years or so and they're just used to it ... the mark is new and they just don't want to change," said Mark Sorg, a 20-year-old ambulance driver, referring to the older generations that are especially attached to the mark. But even Germans born decades after the war still admit to a special attachment to the mark.

"I think we all have to get used to (the euro), and right now I feel a little bit unsafe or unsure about this," says Reinhard Jurascek, a 30-year-old chemist living in Bonn. "The German mark was a very strong currency, and my fear is ... the strong currencies will inevitably lose value, and the lower ones will be upgraded."

German stock market

So worried are some that they are quickly putting their money into real estate and other non-monetary investments in hopes of protecting the value of their savings accounts and portfolios.

"Especially if you have some savings in D-marks, then you start worrying about whether they will keep their value," Jurascek says.

"On the other hand, I like the idea that I can go everywhere in Europe and shop without changing the currency. We are pretty much in the Netherlands for shopping, and I have a wallet with German money, one with Netherlands money and we also have one with English money at home sitting in the dresser," he says.

A recent survey in a German newspaper found that more and more Germans feel the same way -- they will accept the new currency but not necessarily with open arms. The poll shows 43 percent of Germans are now in favor of the euro, with 41 percent opposed.

While the poll's margin of error is plus or minus 2 percentage points, making the outcome a virtual tie, the numbers are a significant break from polls in recent years, which showed a clear majority of Germans opposed to the euro.

In a country with very few symbols of national pride, the Germans point to the mark the way other countries salute their flag. The mark is a symbol of their "economic miracle," the astonishing recovery of their economy from the ruins of World War II.

But regardless of people's fears, life in the 11-country zone some are now calling "euroland" is expected to have a multitude of advantages, particularly for those living near international borders.

Retail workers worry about the stress of explaining the value of the new currency to their customers

The convenience will be felt the strongest in towns and cities that border other countries such as Freiburg, an enchanting medieval town of 200,000 nestled in the Black Forest of southwestern Germany. Just a few miles to the south is Switzerland, a few miles to the east is France. The town's mayor, Rolf Boehme, says the lines between countries will be drawn in the future more by economies, not by borders.

"The national border is over, and now we have the chance to live together, to work together and to make business together, and that's a new situation," Boehme said. "Most of the people here are absolutely for the euro and they support all initiatives for the euro."

But while many Freiburgers say they feel confident about the euro, most aren't sure what to expect. Will the price of lederhosen be higher east of the German-French border? Or will a bratwurst cost more in Germany than it does in Austria? Anja Winkler, who works in a trendy Freiburg music store, echoes the confusion still lingering in the minds of many consumers.

"I know it's the money, and you can pay in every European country, but I don't know if it will affect us in a bad way or a good way or how it will develop," Winkler says.

But as more European businesses embrace the idea of globalization, the city of Freiburg is putting business first as well. The mayor says that by trading in the precious mark, Germans, and particularly Freiburgers, will be gaining much more than they are losing.

"You can't imagine how difficult it is to live here in a region with three borders," he says. For instance, cars rented in Germany must be returned to Germany -- they can't be dropped off in Switzerland or France.

"If we have the one common European currency, it will in many points be easier for us and many businesses as well," Boehme says.

Some people have other concerns. Because the euro will be set at an exchange rate of about two marks to the euro, about half of the mark millionaires will suddenly find their net worth falling below the magic million mark.

Others, like 30-year-old Halla Shamon from Bonn, are bracing for the shock of seeing the bottom line of their pay checks cut in half.

"I don't know if my salary ... will be in euros, so I don't know if it will be less than I am getting now," Shamon says. "And if you travel to another country in Europe where the value is higher than here, then what happens?"

Shamon stills worries about whether the added convenience as a consumer will be worth it.

"I think it has more disadvantages than advantages," she says. "There is so much being spent to implement this euro, I don't see any sense in it."

Germans still have a few more years before their deutschmarks will become obsolete. In the meantime, with more retailers pricing their wares in both marks and euros, shoppers have the chance to get used to the new pricing. For the first time, Germans know -- without the help of a conversion chart -- just who has the cheapest bratwurst.