There's not really any particular order to these things, but I figured we would start off with strange. Definitely ranking right up at the top of this category is the Sedlec Bone Church is Kutna Hora, Czech Republic.
Thousands of bones were removed from a cemetery in the 1800's and placed in the basement of a church. Then, someone decided to do something with them and made all kinds of "decorations" including a chandelier that is made with at least one of every bone in the human body.
Definitely some strange stuff!
You can see more photos and read all about it here...
Next up, and definitely in the strange category (but leaning towards morbid) was the Mummies Museum, El Museo de las Momias in Guanajuato, Mexico. You're not supposed to take any photos in this museum, and so we didn't. But here's a wikipedia photo that shows what it is you paid good money to see.
Hmmm.
For some reason, seeing these naturally mummified bodies didn't seem right. Even though it's really no different than seeing all of the bones of people. We can't really say that we enjoyed this museum, actually it was kind of depressing.
Here's the wikipedia article that explains more about it...
There are some other strange things that occur naturally that are a little better to see. Such as the "Petrified Waterfalls" at Hierve el Agua near Oaxaca City. These naturally occurring formations are similar to stalactites and stalagmites in caves...mineral deposits left behind from the water. Except here, they're not in a cave!
Kevin, at the base of the "waterfalls".
We had to drive the little blue car on a bit of a scary dirt road to get to this place. Have a look at some more pictures here...
Another different thing we did was at Mammoth Cave National Park in Kentucky. We figured, why do the normal tour when you could sign up for the "Wild Cave Tour"! So we did. Definitely an exhilarating experience and not a good thing to do if you have any problem with claustrophobia and enclosed spaces. Again, no pictures, but I did my best to describe the whole experience here...
Speaking of caves, when we were in Slovakia, we had heard about an ice cave. Now, this was the middle of summer so it was more than a little strange to be in a cave full of ice!
That column of ice in the center is about 10 ft tall!
Here's our write up from that day...
There are some other natural things that we've seen. One that stands out is the Angel Oak Tree near Charleston, South Carolina.
Kevin, at the base of the magnificent Angel Oak Tree.
If you're ever around Charleston, you have to go see this strange tree that is said to be 1,400 years old. Here's a little more info from the day we went there...
The world is a strange place, isn't it? We often wonder what there is out there that hasn't been found yet. We are soooo looking forward to seeing what weird and interesting things exist in Namibia and South Africa!
If it is there you will no doubt find it.
ReplyDeleteTrue, hehehe!
DeleteWell, feeling proud of myself. Actually made it to one of those spots. "Kutna Hora" was indeed creepy.
ReplyDeleteYou'll find some cool spots in Africa, I can well imagine.
Kutna Hora was a beautiful town and some beautiful churches but the Sedlec Bone Church was definitely an interesting one for sure.
DeleteWe sure are hoping to find some interesting sights in Namibia and South Africa.
Egads...I remember all these posts. And yes, you two do seems to find the most unusual places to visit.
ReplyDeleteI know I could handle the Angel Oak Tree...not sure about all the rest...lol
If you ever get to Charleston, NC you have to make sure to stop by and see the Angel Oak Tree, it really is amazing.
Deleteyep some strange places...
ReplyDeletedid you know that St Louis was the site of 1904 World Fair and we have many buildings here still from then.
I do remember that St. Louis held the World Fair but couldn't have told you offhand what year it was. Guess that is something that we can check out next time we stop by for a visit. :)
DeleteHave you been to see the spirit bears? We have a 29.5 foot minni winnie and are remodeling it to prepare for travel. Back to Mazatlan first. We ripped out the old carpet and put in new floors, vinyl plank flooring. There isn't a square corner inside that motor home. Have done some local camping in the Olympic National Park. We previously lived aboard our 38 sailboat so we are prepared for little living.
ReplyDeleteNo we haven't seen the "spirit bears" but it is something we would love to see, perhaps one day.
DeleteWould love to see pictures of all your renovations. We didn't find it hard at all going from what we considered a big house to living in a motorhome. It sure is a lot easier to keep clean!
Hope you travel around Mexico more, rather than just staying in Mazatlan. There is so much out there to see, it's such a beautiful country.
You and Ruth have ceratinly seen many unusual places. I saw the mummy museum in Guanajato many years ago and, at that time I was able to take pictures. I found it very interesting, especially the story behind them. If you ever make it Lima, Peru there is a similar stache of bones under an old church.
ReplyDeleteWe agree Dianna, the museum was interesting as to the story and history behind the mummies but we just thought that the "bodies and spirits" of the people should not be displayed like that and should rather be left alone. I know I wouldn't want my dead body on display for the world to see. I guess that is why we didn't mind the bone church as much because at that point they were still in a church but the bones were separate so you didn't actually see the "person".
Deleteyou are right those are very strange places but also very interesting:)
ReplyDeleteYes, they are and we hope to find more of them. :)
DeleteI think I like the natural weird things better. We did the wild cave tour and at that time they said if you were taller than X or weighed more than Y you might want to reconsider. I always wondered if anyone got stuck in those narrow places in the dark with only a headlamp.
ReplyDeleteWhen we did the "Wild Cave Tour" your chest area couldn't be wider than X. There was one spot on the tour that no one with a bigger chest than X would have been able to squeeze through.
DeleteStrange places indeed. You had me a little worried with the first two... :cO
ReplyDeleteWe look forward to finding more weird and wonderful places!
Delete