Wicked places in Europe
The Communist Statue Park, or just "Statue Park" (Szoborpark), is a collection of Communist statues and monuments from the Communist period. When the Iron curtain felt in 1989, some enterprising soul saved the disgraced statues and is today displaying them for the joy of tourists. Here you can come face to face with Lenin, Marx, Engels, Dimitrov, Russian Captain Ostapenko, Bela Kun and other "celebrities" from the past, along with a fair amount of hammer-and-sickle.
This warm water lake is actually an extinct volcano crater with slightly radioactive water. The water temperature can reach 38 degrees in summer and never drops below 22 degrees during winter. The thermal lake is apparently the largest "biologically active, natural thermal lake in the world" and has been a private health spa since 1795. The depth is from 2m to 30m, so people float around in inner tubes among the water lilies. Though it's a very popular spa - particularly for elders - and has been going through several upgrades (like chip wristbands), it still has this traditional Eastern bloc spa feel about it.
The Irish speed limits in the countryside are simply crazy. 100 km/t is the norm on often narrow and winding roads, where two cars hardly can pass without knocking each other's side mirrors off. At particular narrow sections with blind curves the speed limit might "just" be 80 km/t, but only skilled rally drivers will able to steer clear of trees, oncoming traffic, and the occasional loose sheep at that speed. So driving in Ireland is challenging, but fun. Oh, did we mention they also drive on the left side!
Branding itself as "unfriendly, unheated, uncomfortable" this prison/museum/hotel is set in a former KGB penitentiary, in an area that used to house a Soviet naval base. The haunting experience here is not the two-hour tour of the inmates' daily lives as KGB prisoners conducted by former guards - though the tour is grim in its own right. For a truly haunting experience, you can spend a night locked up inside the prison. You will be handcuffed, shouted at and woken by sharp lights and sirens during the night; the treatment is miserable, just as it were for the inmates. It is both a horrific and memorable experience. Certainly not for the faint-hearted, but an attractive option for those who seek a better understanding of detainees' conditions than what regular museums can provide. Located in Liepāja's northern suburb of Karosta, meaning War Port, the prison share the neighbourhood with a range of abandoned apartment buildings. These empty concrete blocks, five to six floors high, are left as a crumbling reminder that the Soviet Union and the KGB are no more.
There are sail boats, there are yachts, and then there are super yachts – and the marina at Vittoriosa has all of them. At the bottom of the harbour you find normal sail boats, but as you stroll further out, the yachts get bigger and bigger until you might stand in front of something like the "Maltesian Falcon". A 289-foot luxury yacht which costed more than $ 150 mill. to built and can be rented for the modest price of $600,000 per week (it's the one behind with the masts).
Trans-what? Yes, Transdniestr is a self-proclaimed republic located mostly between Dniester River and the eastern Moldovan border to Ukraine. The breakaway territory declared independence from Moldova in 1990 and sports its own president, border control, police, and even money. Even with these impressive efforts, nobody recognises Transdniestr as an independent state, besides a few similar breakaway states like the ex-soviet territories of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Nevertheless, it has recently become possible, and rather easy, to visit this wanna-be-state. Crossing into Transdniestr from Moldova feels like travelling back in time and makes Moldova look like a futuristic utopia. The journey requires border crossings (your passport is not stamped, sorry), change of money, and the skill of reading Russian since this is the official language of Trandsniestr. Dobro pozhalovat!
The Formula One Monaco Grand Prix is not held at a dedicated racetrack, but in the real streets of Monaco. You can actually walk the circuit in off-racing season (the circuit is also used for other races than F1). The most famous bend on the circuit is the Fairmont Hairpin (named after the luxury hotel next to it), which is a 180 degree turn right before the tunnel. It a popular spot for motor sport fans to have their picture taken in off-racing season – just take care, for you can still get hit by cars.
The place to be seen in Monaco is in front of Monte Carlo Casino. Sports cars from all over Europe (Russian license plates are not uncommon) glide past the casino entrance in front of a gawking crowd of daytrippers and cruise ship tourists. The most exhibitionistic luxury car owners have their car valet parked right in front of the casino in a row with other Bugattis, Rolls Royces, Maserati, Ferraris, Lamborghini – anything less will get parked in the underground garage.
This is probably the weirdest UNESCO site in Norway. It's a complex of hydroelectric power plants, factories, transport systems and towns built by the Norsk Hydro Company in the early 20th century to manufacture artificial fertilizer. It is a big area to get the grasp of. Probably the best way to explore it is to do one of the self-guided walks established by the tourist office in Rjukan (one of the factory towns). Keep in mind that people still live here. The building in the picture is the Såheim Powerstation, which is located in Rjukan and is still owned and run by Norsk Hydro.
Treriksrøysa is a point where the borders of Norway, Finland and Russia meet. It might not sound too crazy, but the journey you have to undertake to get here is. First you need to get to Kirkenes, which is far away in the first place. Then you need to drive to Øvre Pasvik National Park, which is a bumpy road, but sealed. Then follows a 19 km long potholed dirt road through forest and past lakes, and very close to the Russian border (your cell phone might switch to a Russian network). Then there is the last 5.5 km of beautiful hiking along a well marked path with sections of boardwalk. You feel very remote out here in the middle of nowhere, with only bears and Russia as neighbors (and the Norwegian military). However, do not cross into Russia, not even sticking your arm or peeing inside their territory, for heavy fines will follow (for there are cameras). It's alright to venture into the Finnish side and have a short peek. The actual mark for the border intersection isn't particularly mind blowing, but the adventure is.