Places Mat Wants to Go

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

A unique Baroque monument that creates a fascinating “theater of memory” focused on the themes of human transience and the hope for resurrection.

The original Budweiser has a long-standing naming dispute with its American counterpart.

Too much gossip or just missing curfew could land you in here for a couple of days.

This Slovak bridge is known both for its connection to a national uprising and its UFO-shaped eatery.

A perfectly preserved hill village where the buildings are painted like white lace.

A gorgeous stone viaduct crosses over a bucolic valley.

Inside this Krakow church, an explosion of psychedelic color.

This centuries-old wooden wonder was built in less than a year and is one of Europe's largest timber-framed churches.

This dazzling wooden church was constructed as part of an elaborate peace project after the Thirty Years' War.

This unusually shaped mountaintop tower looks like a UFO floating over the city.

Towering sandstone rock formations where 'The Chronicles of Narnia' was filmed.

Ruins of a German castle on top of a towering stone pillar.

Near Dresden, a scenic medieval castle ruin offers atmospheric views, educational ties to forestry, and a glimpse into Saxony’s past.

This clock in a village famous for toys gives a countdown to Christmas.

Home to the world's largest collection of nutcrackers.

This historic stone bridge has an entire neighborhood clinging to its sides.

These 17th-century mummies are no longer naturally preserved, but remain on display today.

In 1830, cemetery workers in Cham unearthed a chamber housing thousands of skeletal remains from the 13th century, which can still be viewed today.

Burgers and fries in the shadow of a dreaded Nazi symbol.

A castle from the Holy Roman Empire that hosts traveling youth... in its stables.

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

This 8th-century Bavarian monastery is home to an exquisite Baroque-era library.

When a medieval fire claimed the original St. Stephen’s Cathedral, it sparked a pattern of unquenchable organ building.