Wikivoyage:Discover/2011

December 2011

 * During the Christmas season local business owners in Gävle contribute to construct a large straw goat (pictured) in Castle Square. The goat often is victim of a fiery death by pranksters.
 * The former copper mine Berkeley Pit in Butte, Montana is sometimes referred to by out-of-staters as the "Butte Hole".
 * Agra has three UNESCO World Heritage sites, the Taj Mahal and the Agra Fort in the city and Fatehpur Sikri nearby.
 * In the wine center of Bled castle (pictured), Slovenia one can learn how to cut off the top of the bottle with a blade.
 * Two major sights in Phnom Penh are not for the faint hearted - the infamous S-21 prison and the Killing Fields of Choeung Ek, where the Khmer Rouge killed thousands in the 1970's.
 * In Timbuktu the streets are made of sand (except one), and one has often to go down to get into the houses, because of the sand which has leveled the streets higher than the entrances of the houses.
 * Because of the swampy soil, the Royal Palace (pictured) in Amsterdam is built on no less than 13,569 wooden poles.
 * Suriname is the smallest independent country on the South American continent.
 * Cedar Point and Six Flags Magic Mountain are currently tied for the world's largest roller coaster collection at 17.
 * Rotorua is known as the thermal wonderland of New Zealand. Its hot springs and geysers (pictured) have attracted tourists for over a hundred years.

November 2011

 * The local specialty of the Savonia region around Kuopio is kalakukko - dark bread stuffed with fish. A literal translation of the name of the dish would be fish rooster.
 * Cameroon is known as "Africa in miniature" due to the diversity of cultures and nature found in the country.
 * Giz Qalasi or Maiden's tower (pictured) in Baku was built somewhere between the 7th and 12th centuries and may have served as a fire beacon, defensive fortification, astronomical observatory, or Zoroastrian temple.
 * Colorado boasts the highest overall elevation in the United States.
 * Turkish minibuses, dolmuș, have their name from "dolmak" which means "to fill", as they used not to start the journey without a sufficient number of passengers.
 * Auckland's Sky tower (pictured) is the tallest free standing tower in the southern hemisphere.
 * Winnipeg is the coldest city in the world with a population over 600000.
 * Rothenburg ob der Tauber is encircled by a city wall, which gives the old town the shape of a head, with the nose - the Castle Garden - pointing west.
 * One of the lesser known sights of Rovaniemi is the northernmost McDonald's in the world. (pictured)
 * Antarctica is the least visited continent, but still it receives tens of thousands of visitors each season.

October 2011

 * Despite its name, only a part of Kansas City is actually in Kansas.
 * In Pompeii (pictured) you can see small tiles called cateyes in the ground. The moon’s light or candle light reflects off these tiles and gave light, so people could see where they were walking at night.
 * Unlike other big cities, Bangkok's taxis come in thirteen different colours, including blue, orange, baby pink and even bi-coloured ones. Each colour represents a separate taxi company.
 * Brasilia, the capital of Brazil, is designed in the shape of a giant bird or airplane.
 * The Museo del Jamón (pictured) that can be found at many locations in Madrid are not ham museums but restaurants.
 * Guindy Snake Park in Chennai breeds more than 30 species of Indian snakes.
 * Churchill, Manitoba is nicknamed the Polar Bear Capital of the World.
 * Amsterdam (pictured) has more bicycles than inhabitants: 800,000 bikes compared to just 750,000 people.
 * 820 different indigenous languages are spoken in Papua New Guinea.
 * The Chinese city of Weifang is known as the Kite Capital of the World offering a kite factory, kite museum, and of course, hosts an International Kite Flying Festival.
 * Measured from its sea floor base to the peak Mauna Kea (pictured) on Hawaii is the tallest mountain in the world. Neighboring Mauna Loa has a larger volume than any other mountain in the world.
 * The Original Pantry Cafe in Los Angeles boasts that it has never closed or been without a customer since it first opened in 1924.

September 2011

 * According to legend, if you touch your zodiac sign on the Wishing Bridge in Tel Aviv's Jaffa District while facing the sea and make a wish, it will come true.
 * St. Sava (pictured) in Belgrade is the largest Eastern Orthodox church in the world.
 * The currency of Eritrea is called the 'nakfa', named after the city of Nakfa where the Eritreans fought for their independence against Ethiopia.
 * It takes 10 years and 30,000 litres of paint to paint the Harbour Bridge in Sydney. When it's finished, the painters have to start over again at the other end.
 * In Dalat you can choose sites based on your mood. Try the Valley of Love (pictured) when you're feeling good or the Lake of Sorrows when you're feeling down.
 * At the end of the cocaine tour at the Coca Museum in La Paz, each visitor is given a coca leaf.
 * The Bangladesh District of Yerevan was given its name because locals thought it was so far out of town and Bangladesh was used as a generic term for a "faraway place" in Armenia, like Timbuktu is used in the West.
 * Sigulda's bobsleigh track (pictured) is also open in the summer - but you'll ride on wheels instead of sliding on ice.
 * The Gu Mountain temples near Fuzhou contain important Daoist archives written in monk's blood.
 * If it's the pirate's life for you, head to Nassau's Pirate Museum, a recreation of a Caribbean pirate town.

August 2011

 * The first statue erected in honor of the musician Frank Zappa is situated in Vilnius, Lithuania.
 * London, Ontario is named after Britain's capital but you can also find a Picadilly Street, Covent Garden Market and Thames River (pictured) there.
 * The town Batman in eastern Turkey has not got its name from the superhero.
 * The "Extraterrestrial Highway" takes you to Rachel, Nevada, the closest inhabitation to the mysterious Area 51.
 * Salisbury cathedral (pictured) boasts England's highest spire.
 * There are 11 official languages in South Africa; more than any other nation.
 * The world's first passenger railway began in the UK in 1807 and ran for 8km along the coast from Swansea city center to the suburb of Mumbles.
 * Australia is home to six of the top ten deadliest snakes in the world as well as the deadliest spider, however the average tourist is unlikely to encounter any of these.
 * San Luis Obispo hosts the Bubble Gum Alley (pictured), where the walls are covered by old chewing gum.
 * Despite the name, french fries are proudly claimed as a Belgian invention.

July 2011

 * The Arba-Rucun Mosque in Mogadishu is said to have been built by a direct descendant of the Prophet Muhammed.
 * Winchester Cathedral (pictured) has the world's largest gothic nave.
 * Maid-Rite Sandwich Shop, along U.S. Route 66, claims to have the first drive-thru in the United States
 * Tim Ho Wan in Kowloon, is said to be the cheapest Michelin-starred restaurant in the world with Dim Sum dishes starting from about 1 USD.
 * According to legend, if you're in Santiago de Compostela's Praza da Quintana (pictured), formerly a cemetery, at midnight you'll be able to see all the persons that were buried there.
 * The temperature difference between winter and summer extremes in the alleged world's coldest city, Yakutsk might be up to 100°C or almost 200°F.
 * L'anse aux Meadows on Newfoundland is the only confirmed Viking settlement in North America and believed to be the landfall site of the Viking explorer Leif Eriksson.
 * The Marangu Route on Mount Kilimanjaro (pictured) is nicknamed the Coca Cola Route, because it is the easiest trail up the mountain and Coke can be purchased along the trail.
 * Manadonese cuisine includes cats, forest rats, fruit bats, and dogs, the last of which is the obligatory centerpiece of any wedding ceremony or Christmas feast.
 * The Capitol at Williamsburg, Virginia was the first capitol ever built in the United States

June 2011

 * Tristan da Cunha is the most remote inhabited island in the world.
 * Peterhof (pictured) is sometimes called the Russian Versailles.
 * Fortaleza can be seen from the sea on board a motorized schooner.
 * St. Thomas' Church, near Manchester, contains the largest wooden pulpit of England and possibly of the world.
 * Kano's indigo dye pits (pictured) have been in continuous use for 500 years, once used to color the garments of royalty.
 * Lisbon's Águas Livres Aqueduct includes the largest stone arch on the planet.
 * Seattle's former Grand Opera House is now a car park.
 * The Big Hole (pictured) in Kimberley, South Africa is the world's largest hand-dug excavation. It was created when thousands of people searched for diamonds at the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th centuries.
 * In Addis Ababa, Arat Kilo Avenue has a statue celebrating Ethiopia's victory in WWII over Italy, while Sidest Kilo Avenue is marked by a statue in memory of the 39,000 Ethiopians killed in the fighting.

May 2011

 * The leisure Centre (LC) in Swansea, UK touts the world's first uphill water slide.
 * According to a Dakota Indian legend, the Great Spirit divided Barn Bluff between two rival villages of Minnesota, and the remaining portion was moved to Winona and became the famous Sugar Loaf (pictured).
 * Santral Istanbul, a modern art museum in Istanbul, Turkey, is located in what was the first power station of the Ottoman Empire.
 * Susukino, Sapporo's red-light district, was originally created to keep labourers in Hokkaido.
 * General Sherman (pictured), in Sequoia National Park, California, is the largest tree in the world, by volume.
 * Although slavery was abolished in Ghana back in 1874, the stench of urine and bodily fluids from the slaves still permeate the halls of Elmina Castle.
 * St. Bernard de Clairvaux Church, a Spanish monastery from the 12nd century, diassembled and then rebuilt in North Miami Beach, is the oldest structure in the Western Hemisphere.
 * Dubai's Gold souk (pictured) dazzles people by selling gold in large quantities with little visible security.
 * If you go outside the settlements on Svalbard you are required to carry a rifle at all times to protect yourself from icebears.

April 2011

 * When Louisville, Kentucky suffered a flood in 1937, the Brown Hotel was partially submerged and a worker caught a 2-pound fish in the lobby.
 * Fes' Al-Karaouine University (pictured) is the world's oldest university.
 * One of the Buddha's actual teeth is kept at the Temple of the Tooth in Kandy. His sweet tooth, perhaps?
 * Sean's Bar in Athlone, Ireland, established in 900 AD, claims to be the oldest pub in Europe, and maybe even the oldest in the world.
 * Visitors to JSA/DMZ (pictured) need to sign a voucher where they agree to accept responsibility for "injury or death as a direct result of enemy action".
 * Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center in Nashville, Tennessee is the largest non-casino hotel in the world.
 * The famous tulip garden Keukenhof in Lisse, Netherlands is only open in the spring when the spring flowers are in bloom.
 * The eternal flame in Accra's Independence Square was lit in 1961 by the nation's founder and first president, Kwame Nkrumah.

March 2011

 * Emin Minaret (pictured), in Turpan, is the tallest minaret in China.
 * In the Highlands, Ecuadorians eat cuy, or guinea pig. The entire animal is roasted or fried and often served skewered on a stick.
 * Billund is known as the home of the LEGO toys.
 * Andaman Islands' Barren Island is the only active volcano in South Asia.
 * Nordkapp (pictured) is promoted as Europe's northernmost point, despite the fact that the neighboring peninsula Knivskjellodden on the same island is situated 1,457 m (4780 ft) further north.
 * In Kassala's Khatmiya, it is said that the man buried there is so holy that rain never falls into his mausoleum, despite the fact that it has no dome to cover it.
 * The origins of the Namib Desert Horses near Lüderitz are unknown, but some say they were left here by the German Army in WWI. Others think they came from a shipwreck.
 * Paradesi Synagogue, in Kochi (pictured) is the oldest synagogue in the British Commonwealth of Nations.

February 2011

 * Due to its pristine environment and harmonious society, the tiny Kingdom of Bhutan has been called "The Last Shangrila".
 * The Vasco da Gama Bridge is the longest bridge in Europe, linking Lisbon and Almada.
 * The Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial in Washington, D.C. has a bronze statue in memory of Fala, Franklin D. Roosevelt's scottish terrier.
 * Bien bar in Bergen, Norway is located in an old pharmacy. Wooden drawers with labels for bandages and hemorrhoidal cream line the bar walls.
 * Damascus is credited with being the oldest continuously inhabited city in the world.
 * For fans of folklore, the sites along Okayama's Kibiji District take you from beginning to end of the battle between Prince Kibitsuhiko and the demon Ura, which is said to have inspired Japan's famous Momotaro tale.
 * You need to scuba dive if you want to get into Jule's Undersea Lodge, in Key Largo, Florida.
 * The Ritz Hotel in London was the first hotel in the world to offer a private bathroom for every guest room.

January 2011

 * If money is tight, Gabrovo's House of Humour and Satire offers many solutions, from cutting off your cat's tail to avoid losing heat when letting it out to heating knives so guests won't be able to hog up your butter.
 * Golden Gate Bridge (pictured), in San Francisco, is the most popular suicide place on the planet.
 * For fans of Animal Planet's Meerkat Manor, you can actually see your favorite 'characters' at Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park in Botswana.
 * The Casino Caravela, in Panaji, Goa, is the only legal casino in India.
 * Much red, orange and yellow material has been used in Bologna's architecture. Therefore the city is nicknamed Bologna la rossa (Bologna the red) (pictured).
 * Almost everything is preserved in Bob Marley's house (now a museum) in Kingston, even the bullet holes from a murder attempt.
 * Of the countless equestrian statues in Washington D.C., the Joan of Arc Statue in Meridian Hill park is the only female equestrian statue.
 * The Russians celebrate New Year twice: once on January 1st, according to the Gregorian Calendar, and once on January 13th/14th, according to the Julian Calendar.
 * One popular local delicacy in Mongolia is boodog – marmot cooked on hot stones.