This celebration of Latvia’s freedom and independence avoided demolition over half a century of Soviet occupation.

The statue of a legendary giant who carried Christ and shouldered the world's sins.

This enigmatic artifact remained buried in a churchyard for years.

This charming Latvian lane doubled as Baker Street on the Soviet Union’s version of Sherlock Holmes.

A stone marker and sculpture in the city of Riga stake a claim for the very first community Christmas tree.

The reconstruction of this prominent building fulfilled a long-written command.

Medical museum that houses most notably the taxidermied remains of Vladimir Demikhov's famous two-headed dog experiment.

A preserved oak tree about 3,500 years old found in Riga, Latvia.

3,000 market stands in five former Zeppelin hangars.

A former Latvian headquarters of the brutal KGB secret police is now open as a grim reminder of their atrocities.

This mountainside mural of a person carrying a torch was created for the 1994 Winter Olympics.

The grounds and buildings of an old wood pulp mill have been transformed into an innovative art park and museum.

A former factory serves as a shrine to the industry that sustained Santorini for decades.

This black sand beach was crafted from volcanic explosions including the historic Minoan eruption.

A Bronze age settlement on the Greek island of Santorini might have been the inspiration for Plato's Atlantis.

A quirky bookstore hidden beneath a sea of whitewashed Greek villas.

Stockholm's famed ghost train is now on display at an art park in northern Sweden.

A tiny village is home to the world's only diner completely devoted to the many varieties of traditional Swedish dumplings.

The world's first purpose-built indoor shopping mall opened in Sweden in 1955.

The first overseas server for Facebook in Sweden's tundra.

This little gallery is devoted to one small town's passion for a very special cheese.

The cheese slicer may be a Norwegian invention, but the biggest ones in the world are found in Sweden.

Communism's topsy-turvy effect on Poland has been brought to life in this wacky tourist trap.

Deep in a Polish forest, this collection of Iron Age megaliths still holds onto many of its ancient secrets.