But it is still no a country and now would seem to be moving even furhter away from it. what you are saying was not a secret, it is all in Delors's "plan." But the Euorcrats are off in their abstraction. At some point they will have to ditch it becuase they will not become a nation. It is a gamble that Brussels made and lost. Time will tell.
I don't see any indication that it's moving away from it. All I can see is that it's not moving toward it at the rate that had been expected. It's like when a politician says "budget cut" when in reality he's just referring to an increase that's less than someone expected.
IMHO, the most likely scenario is that an EU country or two starts to talk about reinstating their "old" currency.
Once the ball gets rolling, the Euro will die a natural and quite fast death.
As you stated, the "glue" that justifies a currency is the underlying concept of country.
Have a safe trip.