Author: Ms. R.

If you look closely, you can find a little star embedded in the wall of the Mosque-Cathedral in Córdoba. Known to some as the Estrella de los Deseos (Wishing Star), this star exactly is located in a corner of the Cathedral-Mosque, next to Torrijos street. It is actually a type of fossil. People who walk by often touch it and make a wish, just in case it will be fulfilled. Despite the alleged magical properties that have been attributed……

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In a remote rainforest in Madagascar’s northeast, Doménico Randimbiharinirina and Dominik Schüßler wandered into a ghost town. Its inhabitants were long gone, and the wooden frames and thatched roofs of dozens of huts slumped and rotted into creeping vegetation. Locals had told the two scientists about this abandoned village. About three years earlier, it was home to more than a hundred people. But then the residents fled. They rebuilt their village several miles away, unwilling to return to this……

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The easternmost point in Denmark might be also its most remote. Christiansø is a small Danish island, part of the archipelago known as Ertholmene, which is located 18 kilometers (11 miles) northeast of the island of Bornholm. It is also home to the easternmost point in Denmark (Greenland and the Faroe Islands included). With an area of just 55 acres, this small rocky outcrop in the middle of the Baltic Sea hosts a permanent population of some 90 people. The small……

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When photographer Vladimir Cech saw fresh lynx tracks by a fallen tree in the border region of the Bohemian Forest in Czechia, he hoped that his homemade DSLR camera traps would catch the wildcat. They didn’t, but what he did get was spectacular: a quiet image of a red fox delicately making its way across a tree trunk over a stream. The magic of the picture, according to Cech, is in the details: the lift of the fox’s leg,……

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The glass skywalk of Cabo Girão, situated at the top of the highest promontory in Europe, is the highest cliff skywalk in Europe. Situated nearly 2,000 feet (580 meters) above sea level, the cliff walk first opened in 2012. It is composed of a suspended glass platform, which allows brave visitors to appreciate the geology of the volcanic cliffs and look down at the beach below.  Look out for the fajãs or cultivated platforms made from volcanic lava flows and……

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Parkersburg has been dubbed proudly by its residents as “the birthplace of West Virginia.” This small city sitting on the Ohio River served as the Union’s very first invasion point into the Confederate states, changing the course of the Civil War. The state of West Virginia was born by those remaining loyal to the Union, Parkersburg served as a transit and medical hub until the end of the war.  Considering its extensive 19th-century history, it comes as little surprise……

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The city of Venice has always been naturally protected from external attacks due to its position in the middle of the Venetian Lagoon. For centuries, almost no effort was made to fortify the area surrounding the city. During the 14th-century, the first stronghold was constructed in the lagoon. The defensive system around Venice was expanded during the wars against the Ottoman Empire in the 16th-century. One fort was constructed on the tip of Sant’Erasmo Island, overlooking the main waterway……

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Nearly 200 miles of tunnels snake beneath Helsinki, providing a weatherproof subterranean playground for the Finnish capital’s residents and visitors. Yet hidden behind the bright lights of the underground attractions—which include a museum, church, go-kart track, hockey rink, and more—are emergency shelters fitted with life-sustaining equipment: an air filtration system, an estimated two-week supply of food and water, and cots and other comforts. The shelters reflect a chilling geopolitical reality for a small country that shares an 833-mile border……

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One of the largest shopping malls in Czechia was constructed on the site of the former Josef Barracks. The site was owned by the military until it was sold in the early 1990s and developed into the Palladium shopping complex, which opened in 2007. The ornate façade of the original building was preserved and some parts were incorporated into the mall’s design. During the construction process, archaeological excavations were conducted and several medieval ruins were discovered. Most of what was……

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The fact that George Herman “Babe” Ruth, often heralded as the greatest baseball player of all time, was born in Baltimore, Maryland is no secret. However, the fact he attended a “reform school” is a little less known. At the age of seven, Ruth was sent off to live at St. Mary’s Industrial School for Boys near the far southwestern edge of the city. Run by The Xaverian Brothers, St. Mary’s was chartered in 1866 and operated as an orphanage and……

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Mariah Reading uses unique canvases for her paintings. When the nomadic park ranger and frequent artist-in-residence finds lost objects and trash while adventuring in state and national parks across America, she paints the surrounding landscape on the item, highlighting waste and showcasing the beauty of the protected areas. She has captured the morning light flooding through the gaps between redwood trees at Big Sur on a lost Croc, mimicked the steep cliffs of Channel Islands National Park on a……

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