Schloss Benrath (Benrath Palace) was built as a pleasure and hunting palace for the Elector Carl Theodor. Today, the ensemble in its artistic unity of buildings, interior and gardens, 60 hectares in all, is considered one of Europe’s rare complete works of art of the late baroque period. The main palace building (corps de logis), with its furniture, porcelain, paintings, etc., gives an impression of court life in the second half of the 18th century. The eastern wing houses the “Museum für Europäische Gartenkunst” (Museum of European Garden Art) and the western wing the “Museum für Naturkunde” (Museum of Natural Sciences).

This series of grottoes, 40 kilometres southeast of Bari, are the biggest ones in Italy. They are 3 kilometres long and 71 meters deep and include long underground passages and deep caves covered with hundreds of stalactites and stalagmites formed over thousands of years by water erosion of the calcareous rock.

Just 30 minutes from Anchorage, the trail to Thunderbird Falls winds through a quiet forest before ending at a 200-foot waterfall. It’s an easy walk—about a mile each way—with a wooden viewing deck overlooking the falls. There’s also a steep little detour if you want to get down to the base and see it up close. Once the temperature drops, Thunderbird Falls becomes something else entirely—still, sharp, and frozen in place like glass.