As for folks not knowing the scale of distances:
Some co-workers in a cafe in Germany were planning their 'Getaway & see America' roadtrip & were asking me (the Yank) for suggestions. They had already purchased tickets for JFK in NYC & were planning thir trip via rental car. They had pencilled in a big loop: New Orleans & Chicago & were to fly out of JFK again. All in one week. When I explained that this was roughly like driving to Moscow for them, they reconsidered.

Also- I had a (Very Brief) stint as a tour guide. I took my group from Vienna through some of Austria, Switzerland & Germany. One of the first things I told the group was to pay attention to their coins, as they are more valuable than they initially seem & cannot be exchanged once you have left the country of issue (All pre-Euro).
One very well-to-do man approached me a good week or more into the trip & hauled out a HUGE pile of coins (D-Mark, Swiss Frank, Austrian Shilling, US Coins, some assorted coinage of dubious origin- obviously pawned off on the unsuspecting Yank). More than USD $30.00 in coins in various denominations. He was using a note every time he bought something- didn't trust the locals (who did him even worse, knowing he was using a note for a small purchase even though he jingled like a dray horse as he walked).