Travel quirks, part 1: signs, billboards and writings

When I’m traveling, I’m a compulsive photographer: my camera is always out and clicking. Photograph first, ask questions later. Some people get annoyed at this, but I love the result: a huge gallery of all my adventures that provides me an endless supply of smiles & nostalgia for years to come.

I’ve decided to blog about some of my travels, but rather than the standard “look at me in front of famous location X” and “here we are at tourist trap Y” style blog post, I decided to do a series of posts on the quirkier photos I’ve taken. Travel is full of the unplanned, unexpected, and the unimaginable. Of course, this is exactly why everyone should do it: discovering things that are new and different makes you a more complete person.

But don’t expect any major revelations from this series of posts. Just sit back and enjoy the quirkiness of the world we live in, starting today with strange signs, billboards and writings.

The Museum of Communism in Prague is conveniently located next to a casino and right above a McDonald’s. In the words of Rick Steves, “Lenin must be turning over in his grave”.

I can only wonder how humans figured out that these are the most effective rules for dealing with mountain lions. The “pick up children without bending” is particularly intriguing in a martial-arts-movie-standoff kind of way.

Monks used the bones of 40,000 people—victims of Plagues and wars—to decorate the church. Imagine chandeliers, altars and coat of arms made entirely of bones. This is the signature of the head monk responsible.

“Parking for Latvians only”. We ran into this in a random parking lot in San Mateo. Somebody must have thought they were being extremely clever with this sign and that no one would dare park in their spot. Imagine their surprise when I showed up.

Much like the bureaucracy that was housed in the Ministry of Ministries, this sign had issues.

Feel free to provide your own caption.

This guy’s face was all over Budapest.

If you fall off a cliff, you will sh*t your pants.

I wonder if East Germany was the first city in human history where walls were built not to keep invaders out, but to keep the population in.

The huge tablet on the right, which was perhaps 4 feet wide, 2 feet tall and 1 foot high, was labeled as a “small letter”. Apparently, “mailman” was a demanding profession in Ancient Greece.

No comment.

To be continued…

The quirkiness continues in Travel quirks, part 2: gastronomic adventures and Travel quirks, part 3: sculpture, animals, doppelgängers, art and more!