This semi-secret storybook hedge maze is also the oldest garden in the city.

One of Antoni Gaudí's most classic buildings is well-known for its "dragon-back" design.

Now harmless, this looming post struck fear into the heart of medieval troublemakers.

This old wooden funicular railway leads to a cemetery in the forest.

This massive concrete sculpture is said to be the heaviest communist monument on Earth.

"Holy Wisdom" overlooks the city that became its namesake.

A vast Communist-era exhibition space in the Bulgarian capital.

Sofia's legislative center is continuously reinventing itself.

A striking symbol of the Bulgarian capital.

Eastern Bloc nostalgia, anybody?

A Bulgarian monument to Russia's role in World War II is constantly being painted in pop culture protest.

A collection of art from Bulgaria's time as a communist state.

This historic black and white monastery is one of Bulgaria's architectural jewels.

A flamboyant five-story building in Bulgaria resembles a crawling snail.

An architectural marvel that spans the Arda River, and has stories of a haunted past.

The ceiling of Prohodna Cave in northern Bulgaria affords a peek at the sky via two deity-sized-eye-shaped holes.

A memorial museum to the political prisoners who were held at Sighet Prison, once one of the most feared places in Romania.

The second-largest Jewish temple in Bulgaria was deserted after World War II, seized by the communist government and then abandoned again.

Moss and stone turn this waterfall into an otherworldly liquid veil.

The bust of Romania’s most notorious ruler, Vlad Dracula aka "Vlad the Impaler," keeps watch over the ruins of his medieval court.

One of the most controversial statues in Romania is an emperor with no clothes.

One of the oldest churches in Romania is believed to have been built on the site of a pagan temple.

This fairy-tale castle would make Dracula (who is said to have been imprisoned there) jealous.

A muddy alien landscape that is home to rare species of exotic plants.