Places RecklessThor Wants to Go

One of the world's tallest statues is also one of its most hated.

The Nazis lost more men trying to take this Russian-held Stalingrad apartment block than they did when taking Paris.

Two islands just 4 km apart separated by an International Border and Date Line.

Replica of mosque destroyed by Russia in the 16th century.

No one knows why ancient labyrinths were built on this tiny northern island.

Thanks to this small string of islands World War II still hasn't officially ended between Russia and Japan.

The world's tallest statue of a woman wields the world's tallest sword and is at risk of toppling over.

Europe's highest peak is a key pillar of the Seven Summits mountaineering challenge.

Stalin's march toward a more modern USSR flooded a monastery, leaving a unique and extravagant nautical marker, "The Flooded Belfry."

A small part of Russia that does not touch any other part of Russia.

A remote forest of stone pillars along the Lena river.

Nightmarish example of the unintended consequences of weapons testing.

The villagers of the coldest inhabited place on Earth adjust to unique challenges presented by day-to-day living.

A little church on a tiny island looks like something from a fairy tale.

This Russian religious complex is a Frankenstein's chapel that includes influence from almost all the major faiths.

Moscow's other, lesser known kremlin is a fairytale-like cultural complex modeled after Old Russia.

Furniture tries to escape an abandoned building in San Francisco.

The randomness of this wall of lava lamps helps encrypt up to 10 percent of the internet.

This shop and studio is dedicated to the art of the book, from letterpress to bookbinding.

The miraculous hydrant that saved the Mission District in 1906.

San Francisco's oldest surviving monument and meeting place for 1906 survivors.

Relics of the 1894 Midwinter Exposition continue to delight visitors today.

A nondescript building that's been functioning as a speakeasy for nearly a century and a half.

A pair of slides and a tree-lined stair corridor have been an urban oasis for nearly 40 years.