Travel with Rick Steves · Saturday, August 29, 2026
Historian Jacob Miknowski discusses the outdated and often negative stereotypes associated with the term 'Eastern Europe.' He notes that countries are actively trying to distance themselves from this label, with some Baltic states even aspiring to be considered Nordic.
“But as much as that branding, Eastern Europe still has that negative connotation. I don't think Eastern Europeans like that. They don't like it.”
“For 50 years it was the iron curtain. There's the West and the East. But the iron curtain's old news. Most people you meet on the streets weren't even born then.”
“So the countries that love countries, they're rebranding as Central Europe.”