Think Outside the Rink - Paterswoldse Meer Lake

I love ice skating but hate going in circles (in the rink, as well as metaphorically). Which is why I'm saving up to visit Paterswoldse Meer Lake in Groningen, Netherlands, where I'll be able to skate as far as my little legs can take me in a gorgeous, natural setting.

Now please excuse me while I work on perfecting my double axle for this trip.

Visit the Home of Dracula - Corvin Castle

If you visit one castle in your lifetime, make it the spectacular and spooky Corvin Castle in Hunedoara, Romania. It is one of the largest in Europe and also just happens to be the home of Dracula. Well, technically it was where Vlad the Impaler (Bram Stoker's inspiration for Dracula) was imprisoned for seven years ... but close enough. Don't forget to admire the bear pit, the place where unwanted prisoners were once quickly dispatched.

It's Possible to Get a Good Night's Rest on a Plane - Jumbo Stay Hotel

Are you the kind of person who doesn't get a wink of sleep while on a plane? Maybe you should try the Jumbo Stay Hotel in Stockholm, Sweden. The hostel is situated in a retired Boeing 457 whose interior was completely redesigned to include 27 guestrooms, a suite in the cockpit, and a café. Plus, the hotel is located right outside a real airport, so you can roll out of bed and catch your actual flight with no worries. It may the closest I'll ever come to flying first class.

Take a Trip Around the World - Verdenskortet

Do you want to see the world but have no time? Verdenskortet in Hobro, Denmark, may be the answer. The attraction features a to-scale map of the world measuring approximately 150 x 300 feet and constructed entirely out of dirt and rocks.

You can walk through all of Asia in just a few steps. Take a rowboat across the Pacific Ocean. Break for lunch at the adjoining cafe ... because even small-scale world travelers need to eat.

Get Lost - Longleat Hedge Maze

You know what they say if you're ever lost in a hedge maze: Just place one hand on a wall, and start walking. You'll eventually get out that way. That's something to keep in mind if you ever find yourself stuck in the Longleat Hedge Maze, otherwise known as the longest hedge maze in the world. It consists of more than 16,000 English yews and 1.75 miles of twists and turns. 

I've always wanted to get lost in an English hedge maze. Until it was time for afternoon tea, at which point I'd want someone to helicopter me out. 

Welcome to Ireland - The Dark Hedges

If I came upon this road flanked by crazily entwined beech trees that look almost sentient, my instinct would be to turn around and run as fast as I could in the other direction. But the intention of the Stuart Family, who planted the trees in the 18th century along Bregagh Road in Northern Ireland, was to create a welcoming pathway leading up to their mansion. To each his own, I guess?

Actually, we can all agree that this scene is beautiful. Creepy, but beautiful. And the name of this place, The Dark Hedges, doesn't really help. Maybe if they called this place The Friendly Trees That Definitely Won't Come Alive, I'd go visit.

No Sunblock Required - Turda Salt Mine

Photo credit: John Seymour

It's time you planned your next vacation ... to Transylvania. Wait, you say, what's there to do there besides visit old castles that may or may not be populated by vampires? Well, how about kayaking in an underground salt mine? Or bowling in an underground salt mine? Or getting a facial in an underground salt mine?

Romania's Turda Salt Mine has been around since the year 16 A.D. It wasn't until a couple of decades ago, however, that the site was transformed into an amusement park and spa specializing in salt therapy. So go and get your fill of salt, fun and good old-fashioned time spent underground, away from that annoying sun. Hmm ... sounds like the perfect place for vacationing vampires.

Volcano BBQ - El Diablo Restaurant

There's nothing like grilling a piece of meat over a volcano. What? You've never had the pleasure? Then you'd better get down to El Diablo restaurant on the island of Lanzarote in Spain, where chefs barbecue food over a dormant volcano with lava bubbling benignly under the surface of the earth at 750 degrees F. Now that'll give you a good sear.

What about safety, you ask? Well, the last eruption this volcano experienced was in 1824. So of course that means you're perfectly safe. Until you're not.

Baby, It's Cold Inside - Sorrisniva Igloo Hotel

Alta, Norway, can be a cold and beautiful place. And if after a day spent sightseeing in the frigid temps isn't enough for you, you can now spend the evening sleeping in frigid temps as well, in your very own igloo hotel room.

Sorrisniva, the adventure company that runs the hotel, promises that the temperature in the igloo will stay a constant -7 to -4 degrees and recommends that you wear woolen underwear to bed if you want to stay warm. I recommend that you check into the nearest Ramada instead.

Secret Underwater Hotel? Yes, Please! - Utter Inn

Ever wanted to sleep in an underwater hideaway? No? OK, me neither. But after learning about the Utter Inn in Sweden, you might. Take a boat out to the small red house floating on a platform in the middle of Lake Mälaren in Västerås. Enter .. and discover that the house isn't a house at all, but a portal into the depths of the lake! Crawl down a ladder and hang out in your own reverse aquarium, complete with windows that peer into the water.

You might even spot some Swedish fish. (Sorry, couldn't help myself.)

Tight Landings - Maho Beach

If plane spotting is your thing, then you'll want to book a trip to St. Maarten in the Caribbean, where planes get so close to Maho Beach while landing that beachgoers can practically touch them. As it is, the force from the plane is so strong that sand often goes flying, and sometimes people are actually blown off their feet!

Why people would be trying to feel the underside of a descending jet instead of running screaming from it is beyond me ... oh, who am I kidding? If I were there, I'd be trying to cop a feel, too.

Need to Disappear? - Mirrorcube

Tree hotels, while cool, are totally passé. Been there, done that, amirite? Well, the Swedes have stepped up their tree hotel game with Mirrorcube, the world's first invisible room. Nestled in the trees of the town of Harads in northern Sweden, the cube-shaped room is made of mirrored walls so that it blends in with the environment and virtually disappears. Even the birds didn't know it was there and kept crashing into it, so the designers had to add on an infrared film that only they could see.

My only question: When is Ikea gonna start selling these invisible cube rooms? I need one for my backyard. Although, thinking about it, the self-assembly could get a little tricky.

Now You See It, Now You Don't - See-Through Church

Here's a church that won't stay put - not exactly a spiritually comforting notion, but definitely an awesome one architecturally. The See-Through Church of Limbourg, Belgium, is an art installation that was designed to look completely solid from certain angles and like it's dissolving into thin air from other angles. The piece is called "Reading Between the Lines."

So what were the artists trying to say? That art is impermanent? That churches are impermanent? That life is impermanent? Oh, that's deep.

It's Obviously Black Magic - Crooked Forest

For this Halloween edition of Trippy Places, I present ... the crooked forest of Gryfino, Poland. What the heck is going on with this forest of about 400 trees? Why were they growing at a 90-degree angle? Did someone do this to them or is it a natural phenomenon? The world may never know. [Cue eerie wailing noises.]

Actually, the world has a few guesses. Some think that farmers purposely shaped the trees as saplings so that they could create interesting pieces of wood for furniture building. Others think a severe snowstorm may have kept the saplings in a bent position until the snow and ice melted. Still others (as in I) think that it was obviously black magic. But no one knows for sure, because just after the time the trees started growing this way, all the surrounding Polish towns were devastated by World War II, so no witnesses or records were left. Which might be an even eerier story, actually. [Cue more wailing noises.]

Row, Row, Row Your Boat, Gently Down the Street - Giethoorn

Streets are overrated, amirite? All that walking around is so tedious and unromantic. Well, in the Dutch neighborhood of Giethoorn, there's an alternative: canals instead of sidewalks. No running across the street to the neighbor's for a cup of sugar - you must row instead!

Dubbed "the Venice of the North," Giethoorn is home to about 2,600 residents, all of whom must feel like they're living in a storybook. I'd move in myself, but don't want to pay what must be a premium for flood insurance.

What's Better Than an In-Ground Pool? - Embassy Gardens Sky Pool

I've always dreamed of having a pool in my backyard, but with the newly built "sky pool" at Embassy Gardens apartment complex in London, I'm beginning to realize that my dreams are pretty pedestrian. Because why have an in-ground pool when you can have one that stretches between the tops of two luxury buildings instead? Assuming you're a gazillionaire, of course.

Actually, maybe you don't have to be a gazillionaire. Note to self: Discuss with neighbor the idea of putting in a sky pool between our two houses next summer. It won't be 10 stories high ... and I'm actually not quite sure what the point of it would be exactly. All I know is that I want one.

Who's Up for Some Food? - Dinner in the Sky

There's always room to push yourself, even when it comes to fine dining. For example, you COULD eat at your regular Saturday-night bistro, with your feet planted on solid ground. But why not challenge yourself and have your moules frites 180 feet in the air instead?

Dinner in the Sky was originally a Belgium concept, but it's now taken the world by storm. Diners allow themselves to be harnessed to their seats and hoisted into the air, suspended for the duration of the meal along with the table and wait staff. Some Dinner in the Sky restaurants even dangle musicians in the air next to you for some classical accompaniment. Just take care not to drop your fork, and choose your immediate seatmates wisely - table-hopping is definitely frowned upon here.

Room With a View - Kakslauttanen Arctic Resort

Credit: Kakslauttanen Arctic Resort

Everyone's got the Northern Lights on their bucket list. But while I'd love to catch a glimpse of Aurora borealis, I'd hate to catch a cold while waiting for the light show. I know. I'm a wimp. But hey, who doesn't like being warm and toasty?

The good folks at Kakslauttanen Arctic Resort in Lapland, Finland, totally get that. They've built an entire village of "glass igloos," or small, private hotel rooms with a glass ceiling so that you can gaze up at the icy skies while tucked into your bed, chugging hot cocoa. For you masochists, there are also some traditional igloos at the resort that are made of real ice. But book those at your own discomfort.

When One Waterfall Isn't Enough - Plitvice Lakes

Credit: Travel49.com

The last time I saw a waterfall in person, I thought to myself, "This is beautiful. But why is there only one of them? I need to see more waterfalls. Preferably clustered close together." Okay, I didn't really think that, but now that I've seen images of Plitvice Lakes in Croatia, that's what I'll be thinking. Because what's more beautiful than one waterfall? Well, how about A DOZEN WATERFALLS.

The waterfalls flow into 16 gorgeous lakes found in Plitvice Lakes National Park. And if the sheer quantity of waterfalls isn't enough, get this: The water is known for changing colors, from azure to green to grey, depending on the organisms in the water and the angle of the sunlight. This place has totally ruined the way I look at things. Now instead of enjoying and being satisfied with watching the sunrise, I think, "Wouldn't it be better to watch A DOZEN suns rising?" 

Riding on Stars - Van Gogh-Roosegaarde Bike Path

Credit: ABC News

If you've ever been to the Netherlands, you know that biking is the preferred mode of transportation there. Look the wrong way while crossing the street, and you'll get mowed down by not one bike, but an entire fleet of bikes. I know because it almost happened to me. I also tried renting a bike while I was there, which proved to be an equally humiliating experience, as the Dutch are certified giants while I'm the size of a prepubescent girl. I was finally assigned a children's bike that was still too large, because it seems that even Dutch children of bike-riding age are taller than me.

Given all this grief, the Dutch would have to come up with a pretty awesome attraction to lure me back to their country. Which they now have, dammit. The world's first glow-in-the-dark bike path can be found in Eindhoven, and it features polished, solar-charged stones arranged in the same pattern as the stars in Van Gogh's "Starry Night." Artist Daan Roosegaarde designed the path as a tribute to Eindhoven's most famed resident, and you literally get to ride across a glowing, twinkling work of art. So, yeah. I'm going back to the Netherlands. But this time I'm bringing some platform shoes with me.