An abandoned whaling station on an active volcano offers hot springs in Antarctica, surrounded by ruined giants of industry.

Natural time capsule containing an alien ecosystem.

A floundering Polish shipyard was once the soul of the Solidarity movement that capsized communism.

A striking public sculpture representing the period of martial law in Communist Poland.

A huge wooden clock that is so beautiful its creator was forcibly blinded.

After the famous composer died in Paris, his sister snuck his heart out of the country to honor his wish that it be buried in their native country.

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

The walls and ceiling of this Polish church are decorated with thousands of skulls, with another 21,000 skeletons just below.

Countless stories attempt to explain Poland's mysterious J-shaped trees.

Fascinating early attempt at a Jewish autonomous settlement.

Volcanic irregularity? Odd erosion? Alien eggs? Local legends compete to explain these strange orbs.

Thanks to a spelling mistake this bizarre beaver-tiger hybrid became the symbol of a Siberian town.

The California secessionist movement has its own foreign embassy, in Russia of all places.

Gargantuan home of Russian science.

Stalin's secret bunker.

A small part of Russia that does not touch any other part of Russia.

No one knows why ancient labyrinths were built on this tiny northern island.

The coldest city in the world.

The deepest hole drilled in the name of science, where evidence of Precambrian life was found.

A dormant lightning machine equal to all the power in Russia.

Moscow's imposing monument to the Space Age.

Site of the largest impact event to occur over land in Earth's recorded history.

It took over half a century but a Russian monument to a famous and tragic space pup finally stands in Moscow.

This Russian religious complex is a Frankenstein's chapel that includes influence from almost all the major faiths.