Luxembourg

We just learned about the country of Lithuania

Let's learn a little about the country of Luxembourg!

Luxembourg is a small country in Europe, bordering Belgium, Germany and France.
People in this country speak either French, German or Luxembourgish.
It is less than 1,000 square miles, and has less than 1 million people living there.


(from: wikipedia - luxembourg)

The flag of Luxembourg is sideways stripes of red, white, and blue.
It's colors come from the royal family of Grand Duke Henry IV who was a rule back in the 1300s.


(from: wikipedia - flag of luxembourg)

To eat in Luxembourg you might have bouneschlupp, which is a soup with potatoes, bacon and onions.


(from: wikipedia - bouneschlupp)

Visiting Luxembourg you might go see the castle called Bourscheid Castle, built around the year 1000 AD.


(from: wikipedia - bourscheid castle)

The Court of Justice for the European Union is in Luxembourg City.


(from: wikipedia - court of justice of the european union)


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Lithuania

We just learned about the country of Liechtenstein

Let's learn a little about the country of Lithuania!

This is a small country in eastern Europe that borders Latvia, Belarus and Poland.
About 3 million people live there, and it's about 25,000 square miles. In this country they speak the language of Lithuanian.


(from: wikipedia - lithuania)

The flag of Lithuania is yellow, green and red stripes.
Yellow is for the sun and prosperity, green for nature and hope, red is for the blood of people who fought to protect the country.

(from: wikipedia - flag of lithuania)

To eat in Lithuania you might have cepelinai, which is potato dumplings stuff with meat, and covered with sour cream or gravy and bacon.
The name cepelinai means "zeppellins" because they look like the large flying blimps called zeppelins.


(from: wikipedia - cepelinai)

Visiting Lithuania you might go see Trakai Island Castle, built in the early 1400s.


(from: wikipedia - trakai island castle)

One special place is called the Hill of Crosses, where people have visited and left over 100,000 crosses through the years.


(from: wikipedia - hill of crosses)


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Liechtenstein

We just learned about the country of Latvia

Let's learn a little about the country of Liechtenstein!

This is a small country that borders Switzerland and Austria.
It is only 62 square miles, and about 39,000 people live there, and they speak German.


(from: wikipedia - liechtenstein)

The flag of Liechtenstein is a red and blue stripe with a golden crown on it.
Blue is for the sky, red is for the fires in people's fireplaces at night, and the crown is for the royalty.


(from: wikipedia - flag of liechtenstein)

The Rhine river makes up the border of Switzerland and Lichtenstein

(from: wikipedia - )

Visiting Liechtenstein you might go to the capital city of Vaduz and see Vaduz Castle, built before 1200 AD

(from: wikipedia - vaduz castle)


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Latvia

We just learned about the country of Kazakhstan

Let's learn a little about the country of Latvia!

This is a small country that borders Estonia, Lithuania, Russia, Belarus, and the Baltic Sea.
It is only about 25,000 square miles, and has about 2 million people living there.


(from: wikipedia - latvia)

The flag of Latvia is red with a white stripe in the middle.
There is an old story from Latvia of a soldier who wrapped himself in a white blanket before he died, and the blood colored the rest of it white.
The other soldiers used that colored flag to help get everyone to fight and win their war.


(from: wikipedia - flag of latvia)

To eat in Latvia you might have sklandrausis, which is a sweet pie made of dough with potatoes and carrots.


(from: wikipedia - sklandrausis)

Visiting Latvia you might go to Turaida castle, an ancient castle built in 1214.


(from: wikipedia - turaida castle)

Another famous building in Latvia is the House of the Blackheads.
The Brotherhood of the Blackheads was a group of people who helped defend the city of Riga.


(from: wikipedia - house of the blackheads (riga))


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Kazakhstan

We just learned about the country of Hungary

Let's learn a little about the country of Kazakhstan!

This country borders Russia, China, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan.
It is over a million square miles, and is the biggest country in the world that does not border any of the oceans.
Even though it is a very big country, there are only 18 million people living there.


(from: wikipedia - kazakhstan)

The flag of Kazakhstan is light blue for the Turkic people, sky and water.
There is a yellow sun for wealth, and a yellow eagle is for freedom.
The left side has a pattern that is used a lot in Kazakhstan culture.


(from: wikipedia - flag of kazakhstan)

To eat in Kazakhstan you might have beshbarmak, which is boiled meat with noodles and onion sauce.
The name means "five fingers" because in the old days when nomads traveled around they would eat this with their hands.


(from: wikipedia - beshbarmak)

To visit in Kazakhstan you might go to the Khan Shatyr Entertainment Center.
This place is covered by a mesh tent made of wires that goes up about 500 feet.
Under the tent is a big place where a lot of people can have fun playing sports, shopping, going to a beach resort or boating down a river!

(from: wikipedia - khan shatyr entertainment center)

In the southern part of the country is a spaceport used for launches into outer space.
It's the oldest spaceport in the world, and was the place that the Sputnik 1 and Vostok 1 rockets launched from.

(from: wikipedia - baikonur cosmodrome)


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Hungary

We just learned about the country of Georgia

Let's learn a little about the country of Hungary!

This is a country in the middle of Europe that borders Slovakia, Ukraine, Romania, Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia and Austria.
It is about 36,000 square miles, and about 10 million people live there.
The language of Hungary is Hungarian, and the name of the country comes from the Hun people who were the first to take over the land.


(from: wikipedia - hungary)

The flag of Hungary is sideways stripes of red, white, green.
Red is for strength, white is for faithfulness, and green is for hope.


(from: wikipedia - flag of hungary)

To eat in Hungary you might have hortobágyi palacsinta, which is a type of crepe filled with meat

(from: wikipedia - hortobágyi palacsinta)

Visiting Hungary you might go see the castle Eszterháza, built in 1765.

(from: wikipedia - eszterháza)

There are a lot of types of special Hungarian dances, like Csárdás.

(from: wikipedia - csárdás)


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Georgia

We just learned about the country of Estonia

Let's learn a little about the country of Georgia!

Don't confuse this with the US state of Georgia, it's on the other side of the world!

This is a small country that borders Russia to the north, Azerbaijan to the east, and Armenia and Turkey to the south. It also borders the Black Sea.

About 3 million people live there, and it is about 27,000 square miles.


(from: wikipedia - georgia (country))

Georgia's flag is from the old medieval Kingdom of Georgia that ruled the land in the middle ages.
It is a red cross on a white background, with smaller red crosses in the other four corners.


(from: wikipedia - flag of georgia)

To eat in Georgia you might have nigvziani badrijani. This is fried eggplant with walnuts and garlic.


(from: wikipedia - badrijani)

Visiting Georgia you might go see

(from: wikipedia - rabati castle)

Georgia is home to an ancient monastery in the town of Vardzia
It is built in a cave with over 400 rooms, with paintings and churches and bell towers.

(from: wikipedia - vardzia)


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Estonia

We just learned about the country of Czech Republic

Let's learn a little about the country of Estonia!

Estonia is a small country in Europe, bordering Latvia and Russia, and the Baltic Sea.
It is about 17,000 square miles, and has about a million people living there.
There are many islands in the sea that are part of Estonia, over 2,000 islands!


(from: wikipedia - estonia)

The flag of Estonia is blue, black, and white stripes.
The blue is for the sky, the black is for the soil and for the hard times of the people, and the white is for purity and hard work.

(from: wikipedia - flag of estonia)

To eat in Estonia, you might have mulgipuder, which is sort of like a meat and potatoes pudding

(from: wikipedia - estonian cuisine)

Visiting Estonia, you might go see the Kuressaare Castle, which was built in 1380 AD.

(from: wikipedia - kuressaare castle)

There is a palace in Estonia called Kadriorg Palace, built in 1725 for Catherine I of Russia.


(from: wikipedia - kadriorg palace)


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Czech Republic

We just learned about the country of Cyprus

Let's learn a little about the country of Czech Republic, also called Czechia!

This is a small country in the middle of Europe, that borders Austria, Germany, Poland and Slovakia.
It is about 30,000 square miles, and 10 million people live there.

The country has had many names through the years, but one of the most famous was "Bohemia".
One of the leaders long ago was named Wenceslas, and was the person in the famous old song Good King Wenceslas.


(from: wikipedia - czech republic)

The flag of the Czech Republic is a blue triangle on the left, and a white and red stripe.
The blue is for loyalty, the white is for peace and the red is for courage.


(from: wikipedia - flag of the czech republic)

To eat in the Czech Republic you might have svíčková, which is steak with vegetables, spices and boiled in cream.


(from: wikipedia - svíčková)

Visiting the Czech Republic you might go see the famous city of Prague.

(from: wikipedia - prague)

Built in 930 AD, the St. Vitus Cathedral is the largest church in the country.

(from: wikipedia - st. vitus cathedral)


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Cyprus

We just learned about the country of Croatia

Let's learn a little about the country of Cyprus!

This country is an island that is in the Mediterranean sea, off the southern coast of Turkey.

A little over a million people live in Cyprus, and it is only about 3,500 square miles.

The people living on this island are mostly either Greek or Turkish.
In Greek, the name for the island was Kupros, and there was so much copper on the island, that the word "copper" we use comes from the name of the island.

A person living on this island would be called a Cypriot.


(from: wikipedia - cyprus)

~ The flag of Cyprus has the shape of the island in orange, the color of copper that is mined in Cyprus.
It also has olive branches, for the peace they want to have between the Greek and Turkish people.

(from: wikipedia - flag of cyprus)

To eat in Cyprus you might have haloumi, which is a type of cheese made from goat and sheep's milk.

(from: wikipedia - cypriot cuisine)

One of the oldest schools still in use in the world is the Pancyprian Gymnasium made in 1812.


(from: wikipedia - pancyprian gymnasium)

Another famous place in Cyprus is the Church of Christ Antiphonitis, that was built before 1200 AD.

(from: wikipedia - antiphonitis)


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Croatia

We just learned about the country of Bulgaria

Let's learn a little about the country of Croatia!

Croatia is in central eastern Europe, on the Adriatic Sea. It borders Hungary, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Montenegro. It is across the sea from Italy.
There are about 4 million people in Croatia, and it is about 57,000 square miles.


(from: wikipedia - croatia)

The flag of Croatia is red, white, and blue with the coat of arms of Croatia on the middle.
The colors are for the three old kingdoms of Croatia:
- Red and white - Croatia
- Blue and white - Slavonia
- Blue and yellow - Dalmatia

The coat of arms has a red and white checkerboard for the old kingdom of Croatia, and then five small shield shapes for the history of the different people that lived in Croatia: - Croatia - A gold star over a crescent moon on a blue background
- Dubrovnik - Two red stripes on a dark sheild
- Dalmatia - Three yellow crowned leopard heads
- Istria - A golden goat on a blue background
- Slavonia - A gold star over a picture of a black marten with a red and white background


(from: wikipedia - flag of croatia)

To eat in Croatia you might have pašticada, which is like beef stew with bacon, garlic, onions and spices.

(from: wikipedia - pašticada)

Diocletian's palace is an ancient palace built around 500 AD for the Roman emperor Diocletian.

(from: wikipedia - diocletian's palace)

There is an ancient Roman arena that was made around 27 BC, and is the only Roman ampitheater that still has all of its four side towers.

(from: wikipedia - pula arena)


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