Devious political maneuvering and four ancient, working telescopes are central to the world's second-oldest observatory.

Graffiti covers the walls of a room where university students through the centuries have waited nervously to defend their theses.

The birthplace of most all of Europe's space missions is here on the Dutch coast.

The 20-mile causeway that separates the Netherlands from the sea.

A radio telescope for listening to the stars, based in one of the cloudiest countries in the world.

This giant radio telescope would be a rusting ruin if it hadn't become such a beloved relic.

This disused VLF radio station is no longer in service but the surrounding town still bears its name.

Yup, that's a 330-foot yacht passing over the highway.

Its town washed away centuries ago, this lonely tower by the sea tells the tale of a mermaid and a curse.

The ruins of this Dutch castle sit atop a labyrinth of once-secret tunnels and passageways, dating back over 900 years.

After sunset the heart of Zanzibar's historic Stone Town neighborhood transforms into a culinary playground.

In Zanzibar, a historic 19th-century palace is a reminder of the world's shortest war.

Old ships and machinery fill a historic harbor in the city that's home to Europe's largest port.

These slanted cubic abodes are a creative if odd solution to a zoning pickle.

Birthplace of the "Cat in the Cradle" and a cluster of iconic, original windmills that let the Dutch tame the seas.

A historic observatory now an astronomy museum beautifully situated at the moat of the Middle Age city centre.

Vienna's giant wonder wheel had a starring role in one of the greatest noir movies of all time.

A 'living museum' in Leiden, the oldest of its kind in the Netherlands.

A former plague hospital turned medical museum.

The largest 19th century panorama in the world still in-situ.

This fairy tale forest hides scenes from some of the more obscure and bizarre Western nursery stories.

This sprawling Belgian fort was once thought of as impenetrable but now it is simply an abandoned relic.

Sweden's "good old days" painstakingly re-created in a model village.

Giant WWII fortresses that fired 8,000 rounds a minute, now home to thousands of pigeons.