bjarnold's User Profile - Atlas Obscura
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Los Angeles, California

The Last Bookstore

This iconic L.A. bookshop is housed in an abandoned bank—both symbolic and chic.
Oakland, California

Ratto's Market & Deli

International delicatessen has been owned and operated by the same family for more than 110 years.
Istanbul, Turkey

Rumeli Hisari

This half-forgotten fortress was constructed by the Ottoman conqueror of Constantinople.
Derinkuyu, Turkey

Derinkuyu Underground City

The deepest underground city in Turkey was designed to protect 20,000 people behind massive stone doors.
Aksaray, Turkey

Cappadocia

In this historic region, homes and churches are carved into ancient volcanic rock formations.
Yerevan, Armenia

Katoghike Church

This little medieval church hidden in the center of Yerevan was lost and rediscovered—twice.
Goght, Armenia

Geghard Monastery

This Armenian monastery was carved out of cliffs and named after the spear used to stab Jesus.
Tbilisi, Georgia

Tbilisi Sulfur Baths

A cluster of historic bathhouses built on the famed hot springs that gave the Georgian capital its name.
Georgia

Gergeti Trinity Church

Take respite inside this jaw-dropping church while climbing the volcano where Georgia's Prometheus was once chained.
Tbilisi, Georgia

Leaning Tower of Tbilisi

The charmingly disheveled clock tower of Tbilisi's puppet theater.
Krakow, Poland

St. Mary's Basilica

St. Mary's features one of the most spectacularly decorated cathedral interiors in all of Europe.
Krakow, Poland

The Bones of the Wawel Dragon

Real bones which are said to have belonged to a Polish dragon.
Oswiecim, Poland

Auschwitz Concentration Camp

The former Nazi concentration camp stands as a museum to remember this dark chapter in European history.
Chamonix, France

Argentière Glacier

Trek up this glacier before it disappears.
Chamonix, France

Vallée Blanche Aerial Tramway Support

Unable to build support structures on glaciers, the engineers for this tramway were forced to design a unique system.
San Gimignano, Italy

Towers of San Gimignano

These medieval skyscrapers dominate the skyline of this small Tuscan town.
Munich, Germany

Eisbachwelle

Go surfing on this urban wave, "hacked" by local surfers.
Berlin, Germany

Vestiges of the Berlin Wall

On the Spree bank, discover one of the last reminders of a symbolic wall that divided, and was torn down by the people.
Pisa, Italy

Guy Rope Anchors for the Leaning Tower of Pisa

The only visible reminders of an elaborate engineering project that kept the tower from reaching the tipping point.
Prague, Czechia

Velvet Revolution Monument

Nine bronze hands protruding from a wall honor the student uprising that led to the fall of Czechoslovakia's Communist government.
Hřensko, Czechia

Pravčická brána (Pravčice Gate)

Europe's largest natural bridge has a 19th century royal chateau built into its side.
Prague, Czechia

Museum of Communism

This Prague museum collects brutalist relics and memories from the country's former Soviet rule.
Prague, Czechia

Strahov Monastery

Two stunning 17th-century libraries and a cabinet of curiosities.
Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Sarajevo Roses

A number of craters left by fatal mortar strikes have been filled with red resin to remember those lost during the Siege of Sarajevo.