This memorial to the victims of the Romanian Revolution of 1989 is often compared to a potato on a skewer.

This communist behemoth is the heaviest building in the world and a legacy of a brutal regime.

Romania's triumphal arch looks out over Bucharest.

This once-derelict building is now one of the most beautiful bookstores in the world.

The possible imprisonment of Vlad the Impaler here earned the medieval castle its nickname, "Dracula's Castle."

A fire once nearly devoured this gorgeous 14th-century Gothic cathedral.

The European towns of Brașov and Râșnov each have proud signs reminiscent of the Hollywood sign.

This snug medieval lane is one of the narrowest streets in the world.

Legions of Roman soldiers bathed in this ancient spa complex under a Budapest transit station.

Late at night, the bust of the "Dracula" actor was snuck onto the facade of this Budapest castle.

A fake Transylvanian castle houses a cathedral of antlers.

Uh, pardon me, ma'am, but I couldn't help noticing that there's a Columbo statue in the middle of Budapest.

Built in 1870 at the bridge that connected Buda and Pest, this spectacular incline railway was almost lost forever during World War II.

This Hungarian castle was built out of cardboard and wood until it proved so popular that it got upgraded to stone.

A trail of iron footwear stands as a monument to the thousands executed along this riverbank during WWII.

This series of Baroque passageways in Vienna's cultural center mix old architecture with modern art.

On a winding Vienna side street, one museum has turned their windows into a monument to history’s peace-minded heroes.

The solemn exterior conceals an opulent interior of this 17th century church.

A neo-Gothic church built to thank God for saving the Emperor of Austria from an assassination.

An exquisite Baroque church in Vienna's old town.

A silly medieval mural preserved on the side of a Viennese house.

The townhouse where the "Blood Countess" Elizabeth Báthory started her murderous career.

Beautiful Austrian natural history museum with carved ceilings and row after row of ancient taxidermy.

Baroque celebration of the end of the Great Plague of Vienna.