Do You Know Countries of Eastern Europe?

You can probably find France, England, Spain, and maybe even Switzerland, Holland, and Austria (hint: it has a little arm separating Germany and Italy). but can you name the countries between Germany and Russia? Can you point out Albania, Slovakia, or Kosovo? What countries are between Italy and Greece?

I admit I am a serial learner. I remember when I was pregnant with my first child, I woke up in the middle of the night thinking: How can I possibly raise a child when I can't remember why WWI started? I got up and researched it, in case my newborn asked me the question the first time I swaddled her.

The curiosity about Eastern Europe may be due to my recent European trip, or possibly because I just rewatched Madame Secretary, a terrific show. Watching the show (and living in the world) made me realize how narrow my knowledge of geography is.

So let's learn the countries of Eastern Europe. I can share in the style I learn things. It might help you, and I'm sorry if it doesn't, and please excuse the crude way I limited which countries we look at at one time. Additionally, for memorization, I like to use mnemonic devices. They help me remember what I'm learning.

What's a Mnemonic Device?

A mnemonic device is anything you use as a way of remembering learnings. Many people use acronyms, etc. For example, when learning the lines of the treble clef, many of us learn the sentence: Every Good Boy Does Fine, (EGBDF). Also, you can remember the Great Lakes by HOMES: Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie, and Superior. According to science, the sillier or naughtier they are, the easier they are to remember. I kept mine clean for this blog. You're welcome.

Eastern European Countries to the East of Italy

The six countries just to the east of Italy, across the beautiful Adriatic Sea are:

• Slovenia

• Croatia

• Bosnia & Herzegovina

• Montenegro

• Albania

• Greece

Now, make the silliest sentence you can with the first letters:

• S

• C

• B

• M

• A

• G

My sentence is: Some Cat Beat Me At a Game, (Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Montenegro, Albania, and Greece).

The Next Seven

Moving more east, the next seven countries are:

• Poland

• Czech Republic

• Slovakia

• Hungary

• Serbia

• Kosovo

• Macedonia (North Macedonia to be precise, but many maps omit the "North")

Your silly sentence needs to start with these seven letters:

• P

• C

• S

• H

• S

• K

• M

My stupid sentence is: Please Can SHe Sell Krispy kremes to Me? (Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Serbia, Kosovo and Macedonia) It's not great, but there you go.

The Most Eastern Eight Countries

These eight countries are situated from north at the Baltic Sea to south at the Black Sea, and they border Russia. (I also excluded the little piece of Russia between Lithuania and Poland.) They are:

• Estonia

• Latvia

• Lithuania

• Belarus

• Ukraine

• Moldova

• Romania

• Bulgaria

So here, each word in your mnemonic sentence will start with:

• E

• L

• L

• B

• U

• M

• R

• B

Mine is really dumb: Every Little Lamb Buys Umbrellas, Mostly Red and Blue (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Belarus, Ukraine, Moldova, Romania, Bulgaria). Also, I remember that Latvia comes before Lithuania because the "lats" are on the top part of the body.

As we appreciate the beauty of Eastern Europe, we are saddened to think of the violence happening in Ukraine. Geography is never JUST geography, it is always besieged with ecopolitical considerations, social issues, and conflicts. Learning more about our world is a good start to better understanding,

Study and Test Yourself

Once you have spent a few days on each section of eastern Europe, test yourself with this fun quiz from GeoGuessr.

Have fun, and Bon Voyage!

Please Share and Comment

Please share this with anyone who loves travel or learning, and let us know if you have traveled to any of these amazing places.