Places ilja Wants to Go

An abandoned mansion is now a haven for urban explorers.

This Minsk museum has cat coffee, cat chess, cat art, and even a cat "staff," which visitors are free to take home.

Learn to make this village's specialty: volcanic mud tofu.

This was the second largest mercury mine in the world and one of the oldest preserved mine complexes in Europe.

This cypress grove is a unique site considering these trees are not native to the region.

This enormous sinkhole hides a secret world created from divine wrath.

There are two dozen tanks just sitting in an open field in Lower Saxony.

The history of German architecture is explored across this fairy-scale mini-city.

"The most colorful grottoes of the world.

An intricate and amazing house built by architect Karl Junker.

This incredible stone temple is a monument to death, victory, and fantasy architecture.

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

These massive moving sand dunes have swallowed an entire village and are still on the run.

This disappearing geyser has been attributed to witchcraft, but really it's all about rainfall.

This Nazi ruin was the site where Hitler was almost blown up by a suitcase bomb.

A narrow strip of land is home to the tallest migrating dunes in Europe.

Lithuania's outdoor sculpture trail of wooden folk art.

Sculpture garden of religious statues made it through Soviet rule.

A peculiar family mausoleum built by a German nobleman captivated by the occult.

A curious art park at the geographic center of Europe is home to 3,000 television sets and other wonders.

An old hill fort covered in over 100,000 crosses is a symbol of Lithuanian nationalism and beliefs.

Museum deep in the catacombs of St. Michael the Archangel Church is explored by touch, sound, and smell.

Ever-growing collection of devils in art.

An ornate century-old elevator still connects the two halves of Bad Schandau.