Extraordinary Places to Visit

Want to take a different vacation, one that offers unique experience of the extraordinary. Listed are some of the world's most beautifully built and provocative structures that will when visited will provide memories that will last a life time. If you're into architecture, or like taking photographs then be sure to schedule a trip to one or more of these unique and stimulating places.

For a Hans Christian Anderson fantasy experience a visit to Sweden's Glaskogen Nature Reserve you will find the Dragspelhuset or "accordion house". It is sometimes called the accordion house because it expands and contracts with the seasons. During the winter the Dragspelhuset forms a neat cocoon with a double skin to keep out the cold, but in the summer it morphs and extends to form an idyllic forest hideaway among the silver birches. The Dragspelhuset came about when Maartje Lammers and Boris Zeisser found a 18^th century fisherman's cabin in the middle of Glaskogen, a 28,000-hectare national park. They wanted to renovate the cabin but local bylaws did not allow them to expand the cabin more than 30 square meters. So the husband and wife team built a core static bedroom, kitchen and dining space, then designed a 4.5 meter cantilevered lounge section to extend over a nearby waterfall.

To spend a night in the Dragspelhuset is truly a Hans Christian Anderson fantasy experience. Reindeer skins line the snug interior and there is a wood-fuelled stove, power to the house is provided by solar panels. To get there fly into one of the nearest international airports, either at Oslo or Goteborg and take a train or bus to Arvika, then take bus 162 to Glava and hike 16 km to Lenungshammar. Once there you can hike to Barlingshutt where you will find the Drapspelhuset. You can go on line at www.dragspelhuset.com to read more about this wonderfully different structure.

The next truly different structure is the Nakagin Capsule Tower in Tokyo Japan. It was built in 1972 as an apartment building that can be configured entirely to meet its occupants' needs. You can start out having only a one studio-spaced-sized room then when the need arises for more room, you can simply bolt on a few interconnecting rooms to create the needed space. The extra capsules are assembled off-site and delivered complete with furniture, telephone points and stereos then are slotted into place with high-tension bolts.

The tower was designed by Japanese architect, Kisho Kurokawa, now the structure is considered as more a symbol of architectural experimentalism than a practicable way to house people. To get there fly into Tokyo Narita International Airport, then take the Narita Express to Tokyo Station (57 Minutes) and then take the JR Tokaido Lione to Shimbashi Station (2 minutes). After a 15 minute walk you will find the Nakagin Capsule Tower.[i]

A visit to the Beehive in Culver City, Los Angeles, California will be an interesting adventure. It is a two storey Beehive. a typical Moss of artful reinvention of industrial space rendered in glass and sheet metal. When visiting the Beehive, you will first go through the reception and first-floor conference room to get to the roof terrace. which has an inspiring view across the city. What is neat is that the stairs also forms the room, following the shape of the exterior wall. It is located 9.5 km from Los Angeles International Airport, you take 405 north and exit towards Washington Blvd, turn left onto Sepulveda Blvd and turn right onto Venice Blvd and a final right onto National Blvd. While there be sure to check out the other buildings, which include the Kodak complex. Go on line at www.exicowenmoss.com for more info.

When in Ireland, be sure to visit the Guinness Storehouse. 34-year old Arthur Guinness took over a run-down brewery in 1759 and formulated a recipe for a new barley-infused brew, and by the 19^th century, his grandson was presiding over one the largest brewery in the world. The Storehouse was completed in 1904 and was the first steel-framed structure build in the British Isles. After visiting the six floors, you will enjoy a free sample the brew, in the top floor that is in the shape of the next of a pint which is called the Gravity Bar and offers 360 degree views of the city, the Wicklow Mountains and the Irish Sea.

The Guinness Storehouse is Ireland's most popular tourist attraction; it is situated in St Jame's Gate Brewery, a 15 minute walk from the center of the city. There are many buses and trams that you can take while enjoying other sights and sounds of the city. Check out www.guinness-storehouse.com for more information.

Postman Ferdinand Cheval had a dream where Christians, Muslims and Hindus could worship freely side by side and it took him 33 years to build that dream, known as Le Palais Ideal du Fracteur Cheval. It is a magical place that is peppered with intricate Muslim and Christian iconography and is guarded by a petrified menagerie of bears, boa constrictors, lions and elephants. Locals thought Cheval was mad while he was building his dream. He worked day and night, using a wheelbarrow to cart pebbles and stones up to ten kilometers a day and when on to shape a pharaoh's tomb, a cave of the Virgin Mary complete with angels, a staircase spiraling up nine meters, a Hindu temple and three giant Egyptian figures. Le Palais Ideal is located in the village of Mauterives, in the Drome, around 25 km north of Romans and 48 km south of Lyon. For more information go to www.facteutcheval.com.

There are many strange and interesting places to visit and when scheduling your vacation or just when you're traveling on business, do some research on the areas where you will be visiting and check out some of the unique and different places. It will be an adventure and will give you a lasting impression and experience.

[i] All information taken from 50 Great Adventures by Jonathan Lee