Places Laura Andersen Wants to Go

A fountain standing as a testament to a doomed alliance.

Large miniature theme park with 100-plus models.

Step back in time and witness the fall of Constantinople.

This museum was invented in a novel before being made real by the author.

1513 Turkish world map, full of European state secrets and snarky commentary.

Turkish adventurer antiques in the heart of the Grand Bazaar.

Five sultans and their families rest in eternal splendor, teeming with overlooked beauty and drama.

This remarkably well-preserved Egyptian plinth is pretty well traveled for a giant piece of stone.

A marvel of Byzantine engineering under the streets of Istanbul.

The big toe of this towering monument to a Croatian national hero is worn from years of superstitious rubbing.

The oldest arboretum on the Dalmatian coast doubles as the gardens of Kings Landing in "Game of Thrones."

Now harmless, this looming post struck fear into the heart of medieval troublemakers.

An ancient knight and a symbol of the city's freedom.

This Croatian island is for sale but no one is buying due to the dozens of accused Nazi sympathizers who were massacred there after WWII.

A full figure 4th century incorruptible saint lies in a glass coffin in Croatia.

When Croatia became independent of Yugoslavia, the splintering governments left behind these concrete tunnels.

Formerly Yugoslavia's "forbidden island," this sleepy little city still holds the abandoned remains of military strongholds.

A wunderkammer of gold and silver reliquaries and ancient saintly bones.

Longest fortress system anywhere in Europe.

The complex has been abandoned since the Croatian War of Independence, barring a stint as a set for 'Game of Thrones.'

A wonderfully strange collection of 500+ stuffed frogs doing people things.

An ethereal glowing blue ocean cave in Croatia.

A curious little museum dedicated to the furry feline in the cat haven that is Old Town Kotor.

During World War II, this rice mill became a Nazi concentration camp.