This iconic 1,000-year-old medieval castle is a favorite of the film industry, most notably as the location for Hogwarts in Harry Potter.

The sign at the garden gate reads: "These Plants Can Kill."

At less than four inches in height, this iconic fictional character is the smallest public statue in all of Moldova.

There is a mouldering Jewish cemetery hidden away in the capital of Moldova.

A statue dedicated to the founders of communism.

Once the tallest building in Chisinau, this unique tower is a relic of Soviet architecture.

A forgotten remnant of the Soviet Union, Transnistria is an unrecognized country hidden behind a heavily militarized border between Moldova and Ukraine.

The secret meeting held in this building would forever change the world.

Nearly three decades since the fall of the Soviet Union, the hero of the USSR still stands over Belarus.

The apartment building where JFK's assassin lived after defecting to the Soviet Union.

Remains of the old fortification along the Western border of the USSR, now an elaborate defense museum.

A striking Soviet memorial commemorates the liberation of Belarus from the Nazis.

Take Soviet nostalgia to new heights by toasting the first man in space over a full spread of Belarusian and Soviet fare.

This Minsk museum has cat coffee, cat chess, cat art, and even a cat "staff," which visitors are free to take home.

A small museum in this border city displays the contraband art that has been stolen back from smugglers.

Remnants of the city's Soviet history hover over this modern fast-food outlet.

A solemn, monumental, kitschy palace of worship honoring victory in the Great Patriotic War.

An iconic Soviet statue of working-class people.

A former special storage facility for documents during the Cold War.

This newly renovated Soviet-era outdoor exhibition center is bigger than the principality of Monaco.

Stalinist skyscraper built with help of cryotechnology.

The "Mystery and Company of Merchant Adventurers" is an Elizabethan-era hangout in Moscow.

One of the last examples of Soviet architectural propaganda has a few technological tricks up its sleeve.

Gargantuan home of Russian science.