Places Laura Andersen Wants to Go

These bronze pamphlets remember a remarkable group of Germans who fearlessly opposed the Nazis in the very center of their power.

Among the ostentatious rococo ornamentation of this church, an image of death cuts the life-thread.

Daily jousts and dancing barrel makers in Munich's mechanical clock.

The prototype for all Nazi concentration camps.

These blingy, baubled skeletons lie in glass boxes inside a baroque Bavarian church.

In this truly magical place, rent hasn't been raised since the year 1520.

The fairy tale castle of the “fairy-tale king,” this was also the inspiration for Disney’s “Sleeping Beauty.”

A small but immensely extravagant palace built by the "Night King."

The stones of this formerly witch-obsessed castle were used to build a church.

A rare example of a German cemetery with traditional grave markers dating back several generations.

Originally envisioned by King Ludwig II to rival Versailles, Herrenchiemsee's "New Palace" remains half-gilded for lack of funds.

Soaring over 6,000 feet in the Bavarian Alps, this beer garden was once Hitler's 50th birthday present.

In a small churchyard in Dingolfing, Germany the quaint Schusterkapelle is there to remind you of your imminent mortality.

The world's tallest church tower reveals a spectacular view to anyone up to the task of climbing the daunting staircase.

The great Danube river starts here.

A striking 12th-century-style castle built on the edge of a cliff.

This ancient ruined monastery has been destroyed by fire so many times that it seems like God hates it.

The site of Austria's biggest concentration camp now honors its victims.

Part ski resort, part modern art space, this lodge brings giant metal spiders and bloody doors to the Austrian Alps.

The shell of a medieval fortress offers commanding views of the area it once protected.

English-speaking soldiers discovered Europe's best one-liner at the end of World War II, before the town’s name changed.

Ugly 18th-century dwarf statues living in a perfectly landscaped Austrian garden.

The personal charnel house of Anton Bruckner.

Baroque celebration of the end of the Great Plague of Vienna.