Places Calmmseas Wants to Go

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

This stone amphitheater was once part of Nazi Germany's plan to promote propaganda.

A man-made slag heap that you can "ski" down, and is home to the world sandboarding championships.

Centuries of warfare, tragedy, executions, and poetry come together in this 13th-century fortress.

This natural "sea of stones" was once used by the Romans as a quarry.

This 18th-century folly is one of Europe's rare "garden mosques."

The mass grave of the 27 victims of the "Vampire of Hanover."

This ancient oak tree plays matchmaker for singles willing to branch out from the usual dating scene.

Take a walk in a recreation of ancient Rome.

A unique bridge with an equally unique view.

Dedicated to the European Sinti and Roma peoples murdered during the Holocaust.

A German town is growing a building out of trees.

A ruined castle stands atop a hill surrounded by dragon lore.

A former Nazi lookout tower with a magnificent view of the Rhineland.

This wooden hotel is a temple to German sustainability and forest conservation.

Legendary site where an evil bishop was devoured by rodents.

A rare water-powered funicular, it uses a huge tank of water and gravity to do its work.

A small man-controlled waterfall powers an Art Nouveau elevator and is accessed via narrow gauge, solar-powered tramway.

A historic steam train meanders along one of the most scenic rail routes in Germany's Black Forest.

A tiny island is connected to the mainland by a private railway that residents travel in their own personal wagons.

In this brilliant blue spring in Germany, legend has it that a sad mermaid learned to finally laugh.

The site where a plot to assassinate Hitler was planned—and its conspirators were executed—is now a powerful memorial to the German resistance during World War II.

Shimmering sea-colored mosaics and Jesus statues cover this opulent building.

As lake waters recede, a German village reemerges after more than a hundred years.