At the Hertie department store, Wolfgang Neubert - in charge of euro preparations - says the fear of fakes is overdone.

BBC: Euro safety worries fade away

Young students, including many from the Hertie School of Governance in Berlin, expressed their alienation from the distant bureaucrats in Brussels as well as their own national political leaders who seem out of touch with the concerns of daily life.

FORBES: Billionaire Berggruen's Focus On Governance Offers Solutions For The EU