Eastern Europe
Our own Andy Bohlen and his wife, Lisa toured Eastern Europe with a group of Rotarians on FreedomQuest Tours 2019 last May. They visited Finland, Estonia, Luthuania, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Austria, and Hungary. These Rotarians from the south metro joined in on two trips. One going south and one going back north ending in time to attend the Rotary International Conference in Germany.
The group was led by Prior Lake Rotarian, Rick Olson, and any extra funds were gifted to a college in Lithuania. Rick's goal was to educate Americans about Eastern Europe. Rotarians were expected to walk 5-6 miles a day and bring good shoes for cobblestones. The food and beverages were outstanding. The people were friendly and the cities were clean. The group never felt unsafe.
The people of the Baltic States are particularly proud of how their independence from the Soviet Union was won. These countries were some of the earliest in their resistance to Soviet occupation. Significant events included:
-The Baltic chain of Freedom was a peaceful demonstration on Aug. 23, 1989 in which over 2 million people joined hands forming a 419.7-mile human chain through Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania.
-Between 1986 and 1991, the people of Estonia protested with large peaceful demonstrations which used the weapon of “Song” which rattled the Soviets and became known as the “Singing Revolution.”
Andy had many more stories and said the experience was phenomenal!
Thank you, Andy for sharing your trip with us.