Places Ru Chia Wants to Go

This celebration of Latvia’s freedom and independence avoided demolition over half a century of Soviet occupation.

This enigmatic artifact remained buried in a churchyard for years.

This charming Latvian lane doubled as Baker Street on the Soviet Union’s version of Sherlock Holmes.

A small museum contains one of the largest collections of ethnic and traditional headgear in the world.

A vast and unlikely aviation museum kept alive for over 50 years due to one man's tenacity.

A stone marker and sculpture in the city of Riga stake a claim for the very first community Christmas tree.

The reconstruction of this prominent building fulfilled a long-written command.

A preserved oak tree about 3,500 years old found in Riga, Latvia.

Latvia's symbolic mountain-shaped national library is home to millions of cultural tomes.

A black cat protests the City Guild in Riga's Old Town.

The oldest housing complex in Riga is a mini timeline of architectural trends.

3,000 market stands in five former Zeppelin hangars.

A former Latvian headquarters of the brutal KGB secret police is now open as a grim reminder of their atrocities.

A Chinese meditation center in the middle of rural Sweden, partly funded by a member of ABBA.

An autonomous republic of Orthodox monks.

The short-lived history of a new republic and British control in West Florida.

A century-old prison in the heart of Vilnius is now a lively bar, dance club, and artist residency.

A 300-kilogram egg sculpture that embodied a neighborhood revival.

This former KGB building is now a museum memorializing the people who suffered during the Soviet regime.

While this monument tile is shrouded in mystery it also marks the end of the longest ever human chain.

The largest coin pyramid in the world is a carefully balanced stack of over 1,000,000 pieces.

These traffic lights celebrate the 100 year anniversary of the women's suffrage movement in Lithuania.

An abandoned masterpiece of Soviet Brutalist architecture.

Travelers who fall victim to this mermaid's charms are destined to stay in Užupis forever.