Just step out from your world of merry nightlife and evocative skylines: much beyond the classic sights of Eastern Europe you hear the oceans sing, walk with witches and go back in time. Prepare to shudder-or smile-at some of the most startling sights that welcome you in the eastern precincts of Europe.
Raclawice Panorama of Wroclaw, Poland
What can better combat museum fatigue than a show-stopping huge painting? Here, you may feast your eyes upon a masterpiece that is massive and most immersive of its kinds. The Ractawice Panorama brings you close to a battlefield where you can smell gunpowder, well almost!
This stunning painting depicts the famous Battle of Rac?awice, which took place in 1794. The painting extends 114m around the colossal walls of a rotunda and amazes all visitors with its detailed descriptions of shrubs and sand formations alike. This epistle of Poland’s war-torn history will surely make your jaw drop down to the floor!
Hill of Witches, Lithuania
The forested sand dunes of Lithuania’s Curonian Spit teem with folkloric wooden sculptures and carvings-from the macabre to the mischievous. Located in close vicinity to Juodkrant?, a beachfront town, this startling place beckons with sights of children sling down the tongue of a giant witch, parents cringing at spooky Satanic visages hidden in the thick foliage of trees and warty-nosed banshees waiting to entice visitors with their out-of-the world looks and appeal. Say “hello” to mushroom-headed gnomes or then flee through the dark aisles of Lithuanian myth-before relaxing your nerves by the tranquil seafront.
Sea Organ in Zadar in Croatia
Zadar’s waterfront -an amazing creation which makes you come closer to the soulful tunes of the ocean, is indeed a place worthy of your visit. The tide’s ebb and flow pushes sea water into the pipe of the organ and creates music that ranges from sonorous chimes to loud, full-on moaning cacophony-the sounds being largely dependent on the weather conditions. Savor the delights of the evening light show dedicated to Sun Salutation, walk along the zig-zag illuminated pier or bask in the glory of its neon squares -there is a lot to do and see in Zadar.
Ghost town of Prypiat in Ukraine
Ukraine, living with the legacy of 1986’s mammoth nuclear accident, remains to seethe under the effect of radioactivity-with large tracts of its farmlands still abandoned and towns closer to the location of the ruined reactor still in the dark. Guided tours take you into the ghostly realms of Prypiat, one such affected town. Here, you need to tread with care, as broken pieces of glass and other furniture still lie strewn across the place. Gaze up at the rusted Ferris wheel that turns no more, note the graffiti that stare down at you from blackened walls or get startled by shadowy figure lurking in corners- the ghost town of Prypiat does send shivers up your spine.
The other places worthy of your look and experiences are the chilling ambience of Hotel Viru, in Tallinn, Estonia and Capuchin Crypt in Brno -the frosty pink exteriors of this monastery ensure long-lasting preservation of the bodies of departed monks– that lie in state in their daily-wear garbs.
