I bought some Christmas ornaments, a t-shirt for my son, a calendar and embroidered pillow cover at Neuschwanstein, and a small toy for a friend on our trip to Germany. To be honest, I found the easiest thing to do at most of these places was to pay by credit card. I hated carrying cash around, and I wanted to minimize having to stop at ATMs, so anything that I could charge (souvenirs, meals, on-our-own sightseeing), I charged. Also, keep in mind, depending on the exchange rate, you may not be able to take out as much cash from the ATM as you think you will (which means you just have to stop at the ATM even more times). I have a cc with no foreign transaction fees, so it was a no-brainer. I think, in total, I probably spent under $300 on souvenirs, and I was highly motivated to not over-do it because we had very limited extra room in our suitcases (and dirty clothes ALWAYS take up more room than clean ones!).
But I put that on a credit card. Really, it was mostly the magnets, that I would pick up in tiny shops or street kiosks that I paid cash for. Not a lot of cash used or needed.
) and I'm travelling with my mom so the kid (aka me) is coming along LOL.
