Mary Ann, We spent time in the CR and Germany this summer. Had a very difficult time cashing $100 and $50 dollar bills in both places. Luckily we were staying with German friends and they put the U.S. bills into their checking account (after much discussion with the kindly bank folks...) and gave us Euros in exchange. No one in Europe wants U.S. hard currency anymore, as there are so many good counterfeits floating around. My advice - either use European ATM machines or carry U.S. twenties to exchange into Euros. Banks are also not real happy with Travelers Checks either. ATMs gives good exchange rates against your Visa or Mastercard. My experience is that Euros are the easiest to use and Visa is the preferred card in Europe. When in Plzen with German friends, my friend put her open purse down when looking at some souvenirs on the main drag and within seconds the wallet in her purse was gone. She reported it to the police, but there was not much interest in finding her "lost" wallet . Luckily, she called her father immediately back in Germany and stopped all charges on her credit cards. Three weeks later a Czech citizen found the wallet and mailed it to her. All her cards were intact but of course no cash. Don't look to the Police to offer much help or hope. WOMEN - HANG ON TO YOUR PURSE - KEEP IT CLOSED - DON'T SET IT DOWN. MEN - KEEP YOUR WALLET IN YOUR FRONT POCKET. ALL = ONLY CARRY ONE CREDIT CARD AND ONLY ESSENTIAL ID CARDS. Regards, Bill Streitz Shalimar, FL