A modern Nordic Pompeii on the Icelandic island of Heimaey.

Twisted girders are all that remain of an Icelandic bridge that was wiped out by a combination of volcanic heat and glacial floods.

This beautiful, historic church looks like something out of a simpler past.

The picturesque birthplace of Icelandic democracy is drenched in the blood of its brutal past.

An Icelandic island full of diving birds and legend.

This stunning concert hall has become a symbol of Iceland's national recovery.

This tumultuous Icelandic lava field looks so alien European researchers want to use it as a stand-in for Mars.

Every summer local children form "pysja patrols" to save young birds that have wandered from their nests.

This tiny museum's sizable collection is jammed into a former underground public toilet.

Three columns of volcanic rock shoot out of the ocean.

If a glacial river suddenly diving into a sheer chasm via a dramatic, multi-stage waterfall isn't peak Iceland, it's certainly close.

This valley of hot springs and boiling mud pots is home to the record-holding "Geysir," which originated the English word.

The most powerful waterfall in all of Europe.

This elegant arc of a waterfall marks a religious turning point.

Iceland's largest lagoon is home to stunning multi-colored icebergs.

From Austrians to Nazis to Soviets, this historic Budapest fortress has a history as complex as the city itself.

Museum dedicated to the terror regimes of Hungary.

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

This historic toy museum brings a little whimsy to a city not usually remembered for such things.

A memorial for a young woman and her ghost, which are claimed to have caused countless deathly shipwrecks.

Tiny castle in the middle of the Rhine made you pay to pass.

Every hour the doors open to reenact the legend of the heroic mayor who saved his town by drinking a gallon of wine.

A fearsome dragon clings to a corner of Munich's city hall.

This lurid German fountain plots the sad course of marriage from dating to death.