The Daily Croissant

Photo: ShutterStein   

"The Ice Castles are miraculously made entirely out of ice with no supporting substructure. Their beauty lies in their organic, ever-evolving nature. These changing ice formations are dynamic, larger than life, and something entirely new and unique.s."

"Nothing sparks an imagination like walking through the turquoise-colored tunnels of the Ice Castles. The Ice Castles evolve throughout the winter, as builders artistically hand-place thousands upon thousands of icicles to create simply unique and amazing ice structures. Formed completely from frozen water — with no supporting substructure — the Ice Castles beckon people to play, pose and ponder within their glistening walls." Ice Castles   

"The word paradise often conjures images of a luscious beach, blue-green waves, and hammocks stretched between palm trees. However, the Czechs might offer a different opinion on the subject.  

Cesky Raj, or the Bohemian Paradise, is a protected area in the North of the country, covered in majestic forests, hilltop castles and volcanic pillars. Only a day-trip away from the capital, Prague, it has become a popular tourist destination.

Among the sites in the area, the hruba skala or rock town, is the most famous. Just seven kilometers from Turnov, the rock town is punctuated with volcanic sandstone pillars shooting through the tree line. The bright white of the pillars strikingly contrasts the deep greens of the surrounding woodland. Although the hruba skala is the most notable of rock outcroppings in Cesky Raj, the rest of the protected area is dotted with similar volcanic pillars and a hike around the area is a breathtaking endeavor."

"Rennes-le-Château (Rènnas del Castèl in Occitan) is a commune in the Aude department in Languedoc in southern France.  

It is known internationally, and receives tens of thousands of visitors per year, for being at the center of various conspiracy theories.

Starting in the 1950s, a local restaurant owner, in order to increase business, claimed that the 19th century priest Bérenger Saunière had discovered the treasure of Blanche of Castile. The story achieved national fame in France, and was then enhanced and expanded by various hoaxsters, who added that the priest, Father Bérenger Saunière had found proof of a secret society known as the Priory of Sion. The story became the origin for hypotheses in documentaries and bestselling books such as The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail and the fiction thriller The Da Vinci Code."

Pamukkale, Turkey 1920x1200 wallpaper  

Written by Natalie

"Pamukkale, meaning "cotton castle" in Turkish, is a natural site in Denizli Province in southwestern Turkey. The city contains hot springs and travertines, terraces of carbonate minerals left by the flowing water. The ancient Greco-Roman and Byzantine city of Hierapolis was built on top of the white "castle".  

The unique formations of travertine (calcium carbonate) shelves, pools and stalactites, which hug the ridge above town like a white scar, were created by the area’s warm mineral water, which cools as it cascades over the cliff edge and deposits its calcium. It’s a strange piece of landscape unlike anything else you’ll see in Turkey, and it now appears on the Unesco World Heritage list."