These enormous, stern-faced statues greet visitors with lanterns, and sometimes costumes.

In the waters outside Helsinki, a tiny island once used as a military outpost now welcomes visitors.

The last permanent exhibit dedicated to the Soviet leader.

Finland's oldest astronomical observatory once played a crucial role in seafaring and timekeeping.

If you visit Santa's village, you can get your passport stamped to show you crossed into the Arctic Circle.

This insurance company building reminds customers that witches, bears, and gnomes are out there, best be insured.

An abstract monument to a symphonic composer.

This endearingly discomfited urinating statue commemorates the sneaky pees had by us all.

This irregularly shaped sea fortress has defended not one but three different sovereign states.

An alien church provides much needed silence in the midst of a Finland shopping center.

A subterranean house of worship carved right out of the bedrock.

The first monument in Estonia that was made by an Estonian sculptor.

A unique sculpture calls the outside of this steakhouse home.

A spectacular Petrine Baroque summer palace commissioned for Catherine I by Peter the Great.

The Guardian of Tallinn.

The most famous location in China was home to whole dynasties worth of imperial rulers.

A Balinese resort, empty and trapped in time.

This underwater sculpture park is the basis for a manmade coral reef.

The inky volcanic sand leads to reefs teeming with aquatic life waiting to be discovered by snorkelers and divers.

This sacred cave temple is home to thousands of bats and according to legend, a giant snake king.

Sacred waters rescued from the wrath of a volcano.

A preposterously luxurious hotel with gold-plated iPads, Rolls Royce chauffeurs, and a staff that trains by watching "Downton Abbey."

On any given day this sprawling market houses literally tons of government-regulated gold, gems, and precious metals.

The world's largest frame offers spectacular views of the city's past and present.