Bali island in Indonesia is known for its beautiful beaches, crystal waters, and dazzling tropical landscapes. The village of Trunyan, however, practices a not-so tourist-friendly tradition that may come as a surprise to the island’s usual sunseekers.
The forests of the Jigokudani valley in Japan are surrounded by imposing cliffs and fountains of steaming hot water. It’s a breathtaking contrast to see the steam of the springs against the starkness of the snowy landscape. Locals refer to Jigokudani as “Hell Valley,” both for its appearance of “smoke” and its harsh climate.
Fort Worth, Texas, is often credited as the “birthplace” of the American West. In the 1800s, it was teeming with cattle, cowpokes, and stagecoach robbers. Today, the Fort Worth Stockyards, sitting about 35 miles (56 kilometers) west of Dallas, is a popular tourist attraction that works hard to preserve the history of the Wild West.
At the fork of the Ohio and Big Sandy rivers in Kenova, West Virginia, former mayor Ric Griffith and his small army of volunteers spend three weeks every year designing, scooping and carving 3,000 pumpkins. After the carving is done, the volunteers decorate the front of Griffith’s Beech Street house and yard with pumpkins of all shapes and sizes.
Before the 19th century, most prisons were filthy, corrupt, and disorderly. They offered lawbreakers little chance to reflect and “repent” of their wrongdoings since prisoners were too busy trying to avoid disease, starvation, and abuse. The Eastern State Penitentiary, located in the residential Fairmount neighborhood of Philadelphia, was designed to remedy the ills of the prison system and offer inmates a chance to be “penitent” for their crimes.
In 1961, the Cuban Missile Crisis was the topic of every news broadcast and the headline in every newspaper. Americans lived in fear of a potential missile strike. Even John F. Kennedy, the then-President of the United States, fell prey to the constant worry of an attack. The POTUS decided to take action, creating an underground bunker in the Grand Canyon, Arizona with supplies and food for over 2,000 people to live in (relative) comfort for at least a month.
Renowned Swiss artist Ugo Rondinone wants to promote the “creative expression of human presence in the desert.” His large-scale public art installation, titled “Seven Magic Mountains,” does that and more. It is a towering display of seven, colorful towers that soar above the landscape, just outside of Las Vegas, Nevada.
Just outside the small city of Šiauliai stands a small hill with a big history. Kryžių Kalnas, or “The Hill of Crosses,” rises proudly from the landscape as the national pilgrimage center of Lithuania and a beacon of the nation’s rich history and tradition.
Backyard landscapes vary wildly by homeowners’ taste and style, but one Austin yard stands out as the most unique of all. The aptly named “Cathedral of Junk” towers over the home of folk artist Vince Hannemann, boasting over 60 tons of accumulated trash.
Only the most fortunate can avoid the sharp pain of a broken heart in this life. For everyone else, each ended relationship leaves a trail of memories – some sweet, some less so. The Museum of Broken Relationships showcases society’s breakup stories from countries all over the globe, in a unique display of artifacts and storytelling.
