Country #7 is…Moldova!
My first reaction was “I don’t think I know where that is”.
(image from Wikimedia Commons)
From the BBC:
Sandwiched between Romania and Ukraine, Moldova emerged as an independent republic following the collapse of the USSR in 1991.The bulk of it, between the rivers Dniester and Prut, is made up of an area formerly known as Bessarabia. This territory was annexed by the USSR in 1940 following the carve-up of Romania in the Ribbentrop-Molotov pact between Hitler’s Germany and Stalin’s USSR.
Two-thirds of Moldovans are of Romanian descent, the languages are virtually identical and the two countries share a common cultural heritage.
Not really on the tourist map yet, Moldova is working through the same post-Soviet fallout that most Eastern Bloc countries have struggled with, but it’s moving on and somewhat upwards. From the little I’ve read so far, the people seem resilient. I’m looking forward to learning more.
(image from Wikimedia Commons)
interesting flag
Apparently, it’s very similar to the Romanian flag.
http://www.worldatlas.com/webimage/flags/countrys/europe/moldova.htm