Tim Schauermann presented a program on his and Nancy’s trip to Eastern Europe last summer. Mike Abraham from the Arizona Diamondbacks was unable to make it, so Tim filled in. Thanks, Tim.

Tim and Nancy’s trip was part of a cruise called Bucharest to Budapest. It included the Black Sea as well as the countries of Romania, Hungary, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and they added Poland. Most of these are countries that Russia took over and imposed Communism on after World War II.

Tim gave a brief history of the area. There are four religious factions which are important: Eastern Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Muslim and Christian. They form a sort of cross which divides each of those four factions. The area has been at war for the better part of the past 2,000 years. Some countries have ruled themselves only since the Berlin Wall came down in 1990.