ckoohle's User Profile - Atlas Obscura
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Sintra, Portugal

Castelo dos Mouros (Castle of the Moors)

An ancient and majestic fortress that played an integral role in Portugal's road to independence.
Cascais, Portugal

Boca do Inferno

A unique seaside cave where Aleister Crowley faked his own death.
Faro, Portugal

Capela de Ossos Bone Chapel

This small chapel is built of human bones and decorated with a golden skeleton.
Sintra, Portugal

Pena National Palace

This unreal Portuguese palace looks as though it's made from a pile of different castles.
Tomar, Portugal

Convento de Cristo

The medieval castle built as headquarters for the Pope's secretive Knights Templar.
Lisbon, Portugal

Bordallo Pinheiro Garden

A garden in Lisbon filled with giant porcelain creatures.
Lisbon, Portugal

Jerónimos Monastery

Elaborately carved to showcase the glorious wealth that the age of exploration brought to the Portuguese empire.
Lisbon, Portugal

Livraria Bertrand

The world's oldest bookshop still in operation.
Lisbon, Portugal

Carmo Convent Ruins

Legacy of the earthquake that nearly wiped Lisbon off the face of the Earth.
Hamburg, Germany

Herbertstraße

Hamburg's first legal sex work is relegated to a gated street that still does not allow pedestrian women.
Hamburg, Germany

St. Pauli Elbtunnel

Hamburgers are intensely proud of their tunnel beneath the river.
Hamburg, Germany

Blankenese Shipwrecks

Remnants of an exploded schooner and wrecked submarines form a breakwater.
Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland

Schilthorn Piz Gloria

A cablecar-station-turned-revolving restaurant with 360-degree views of the Swiss skyline.
Lerna, Illinois

World's Fastest Pop Machine

The 40-year-old machine serves soda quicker than you can catch it for a mere 75 cents a pop.
Tirana, Albania

Tirana's Colorful Facade

What happens when you cross a mayor and a painter?
Gjirokaster, Albania

Gjirokaster Castle

This ominous Albanian fortress houses tanks and downed planes as a reminder of their victories over Western imperialism.
Krujë, Albania

Krujë Castle

The elliptical citadel resisted the advance of the mighty Ottomans several times, thanks to the military prowess of the "Dragon of Albania."
Elbasan County, Albania

Bunkers of Albania

Hundreds of thousands of concrete bunkers crowd Albania long after the fall of Communism.
Përmet District, Albania

Benja Thermal Baths

A medieval bridge stretches over a sulfur-rich river that leads to year-round natural hot springs.
Sarandë District, Albania

Syri i Kalter: The Blue Eye

A naturally beautiful, seemingly bottomless deep blue spring.
New York, New York

The SeaGlass Carousel

Manhattan’s Battery Park has a whimsical carousel full of spinning, glowing fish.
Medvezhyegorsky District, Russia

Kizhi Island

Stunning examples of Russia's 18th-century wooden architecture.
Priozerskiy rayon, Russia

Church of Andrew the Apostle

A little church on a tiny island looks like something from a fairy tale.
Falkirk, Scotland

Torwood Blue Pool

The mystery of this small, brick pond eluded its possibly only investigator until his death.