Laverna's post | Quora

How the Dollar, Krona, and Czech Koruna Changed the Way I See Money Okay, real talk: have you ever found yourself staring at a bunch of coins and bills in a foreign country, totally confused about what anything is worth? I’ve been there more times than I’d like to admit. The most mind-boggling experience, though, has to be my recent trip to Europe, bouncing between countries that use the dollar, the Swedish krona, and the Czech koruna. Trust me, it was a financial rollercoaster I didn’t see coming! From Dollars to Krona: Sticker Shock & Sandwiches So, I’m a US dollar kind of person—grew up with it, think in it, dream in it (kidding, but not really). My first stop was Stockholm. I knew Sweden didn’t use the euro, but nothing could prepare me for seeing “89 kr” for a sandwich. My brain did a double take. Was I about to drop almost a hundred dollars on lunch? Turns out, 89 kronor is about 8 bucks. Still, it took me days to stop panicking every time I saw a price tag. I kept googling “dollar to krona” like my life depended on it. And let’s not ignore the actual coins. Krona coins feel heavy, almost like they mean business. I kept pulling out random coins at cafes, hoping I wasn’t tipping someone a fortune or, worse, accidentally short-changing them. My favorite fail? Trying to pay for coffee with a 5-kr coin, thinking it was worth way more than it actually was. The barista just grinned and slid it back to me like, “Nice try, tourist.” Embarrassing, but kind of hilarious in hindsight. The Czech Koruna: Where Everything Looks Crazy Expensive Just as I finally got used to the krona, I landed in Prague, and the real confusion began. The Czech koruna (CZK) is a whole different game. 100 CZK for a coffee? 2000 CZK for a dinner? At first glance, I felt like a millionaire and a pauper at the same time. The numbers are huge, but the *actual* cost is way less than you’d think. 100 CZK is like $4.50. Still, my inner saver was screaming every time I looked at a menu. What really got me was how the Czech koruna coins come in all sorts of shapes and sizes. Some look like play money. There was this one time at a market when I paid for some trdelník (that super yummy cinnamon pastry) and the vendor handed me back a handful of these chunky coins. I felt like a kid playing Monopoly. It’s wild how your brain tries to make sense of value based on the size of the coin, but trust me, it’s a trap. Why It All Matters: More Than Just Numbers Switching between the dollar, krona, and koruna wasn’t just an exercise in mental math (though my phone calculator never got such a workout). It made me realize how much our relationship with money is shaped by what we’re used to. Back home, I barely think twice about dropping $7 on a latte. But in Sweden or the Czech Republic, that same amount feels different, just because of how the number looks. It’s like my brain is hardwired to react to big numbers with anxiety, no matter what currency it’s in. And honestly, there’s something kind of freeing about breaking out of those habits. I stopped obsessing over the exact conversion after a while and just focused on enjoying the experience. Whether I was paying in dollars, krona, or koruna, what mattered was the adventure, the people I met, and the stories I collected along the way. My Takeaway: Don’t Let Currency Confuse You Out of Living If there’s one thing I want you to take from this, it’s that traveling between the US, Sweden, and the Czech Republic taught me way more than I expected about money—and about myself. Sure, the numbers can be scary and confusing at first, but that’s all part of the journey. Don’t let the exchange rates or unfamiliar coins stop you from trying that amazing pastry, buying that cute souvenir, or just living in the moment. Money is weird, but the memories are priceless. Have you ever had a hilarious or confusing currency moment abroad? Drop your stories below—I’d love to hear them! And if you want more travel tales and financial fails, hit that follow. Let’s make sense of the world together, one currency at a time!