Sam OBrien's User Profile - Atlas Obscura
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Brussels, Belgium

Cook & Book

A wonderfully kitsch bookstore the size of a supermarket.
Heuvelland, Belgium

Potato Vending Machine

Because sometimes you need to make a batch of frites even when the stores are all closed.
Bruges, Belgium

Smedenpoort Skull

The bronzed skull of a beheaded traitor was affixed to the city gate in the 17th century.
Eupen, Belgium

Jacques Chocolate Museum

Museum covers every step of the chocolate-making process, from cultivation to the finished product.
Antwerp, Belgium

St. Anna's Tunnel

Rare wooden escalators lead deep down into an otherwise staggeringly monotonous tiled tunnel.
Ghent, Belgium

Dr. Guislain Museum

A Museum of Psychiatry in a still-operating mental institution.
Brussels, Belgium

Musée de la Médecine

Medical history with an amazing, if frighting, collection of wax diseases on display.
Bruges, Belgium

The Lucifernum

This former Masonic lodge has been transformed into part museum, part bar, all awesome.
Osaka, Japan

Tavern Pachimon Wars

This bar is filled with Star Wars merchandise from around the world, all of it unlicensed knockoffs.
New York, New York

Gem Spa

For almost a century, this East Village newsstand has served egg creams to beats, hippies, punks, and everything in between.
Seville, Spain

Yemas de San Leandro

Hidden behind a wall, Spanish nuns distribute their signature sweets on a revolving tray.
Hanoi, Vietnam

Cafe Pho Co

Walk through a clothing store, across a courtyard, and up several flights of stairs for delicious coffee with a side of beautiful views.
East Molesey, England

Chocolate Kitchen at Hampton Court Palace

In 2013, historians discovered a hidden room devoted to the art of making royals' hot chocolate.
Mesa, Arizona

Organ Stop Pizza

Come for the pizza, stay for a performance on the world's largest theater pipe organ.
Mysore, India

Guru Sweet Mart

At this sweet shop, the descendants of a royal chef serve up the fudge-like dessert his ancestor invented for a king.
La Puente, California

Donut Hole

“It's the quality” (but probably also the drive-through donut tunnel) that has attracted diners since 1968.
Oxford, England

The Bear Inn

This centuries-old pub boasts a collection of more than 4,500 snippets of neckties from around the world.
Twillingate, Newfoundland and Labrador

Prime Berth Twillingate Fishery & Heritage Centre

This quirky museum celebrates the history of a local cod fishing industry.
Lindesnes, Norway

Under

The world's largest underwater restaurant is submerged off the southern tip of Norway.
Kaltbach, Switzerland

Kaltbach Cave

A 22-million-year-old sandstone cave is a natural habitat for award-winning cheese.
New York, New York

Taste of Persia NYC

Some of the best Persian food in New York comes from the front window of an unassuming pizza shop.
Bronx, New York

Bartow Station

A former connection to City Island, it has been abandoned since the 1930s.
Bronx, New York

Holiday Train Show at New York Botanical Garden

Every year model trains zip through a miniature New York City that's now 150 landmarks strong.
Hawthorne, California

SpaceX Space Cheese

The first privately-owned space capsule to orbit and land carried a secret payload: a wheel of Le Brouère.