In hindsight, it seems a bit silly to be surprised by the unexpected when traveling. After all, the entire point is to see and experience new things, otherwise, why spend all the time and money? So one should at least expect some amount of surprises and fortunately for all of us, these travelers made sure to document the unusual or unexpected things they encountered while traversing the globe. 

So, wherever you are, get comfortable and prepare to scroll through all the memorable little things tourists and travelers have run into, upvote the experiences that caught you by surprise, and be sure to comment your own stories. And if some of the things listed here are pretty normal where you are from, let us know!

#1 In Denmark, Some Of Our Light Signals Are Small Vikings

Image credits: Ulle82

#2 This Museum In Berlin Has "Touchable" Versions Of Their Paintings For Blind People

Image credits: ppmtn

#3 Rainy Day In Ireland

Image credits: Mary Bardin

Despite the dangers and discomfort, humans have been fascinated with travel for thousands of years. There are early Medieval examples from all over the world, while the earliest example is “Periplus of the Erythraean Sea,” which is a first-century text describing travel conditions, currents, and weather patterns throughout the Mediterranean Sea and the Indian Ocean.

Less a piece of literature, it was more like a guide for merchants who were looking to travel in these areas, though it seems likely that any merchant with half a brain would still need to hire captains and sailors with experience. Currently, it’s not even known who authored the text or if it even had one author, as there is the possibility that it functioned more like a collection of different people’s experiences. 

#4 The Algerian Sahara By Night. With No Light Pollution, The Sky Is Truly Incredible

I spent four days camping out in the remote Algerian Sahara - just me and a local guide. I took a million photos but this was one of my favorites. Freezing cold at night, but free of all light pollution the sky was breathtakingly beautiful.

Image credits: xe3to

#5 They Have Pet Carts In Grocery Stores In Italy

Image credits: MerleChi

#6 After 4 Days Of Trekking Over The Salkantay Pass To Get To Machu Picchu, I Woke Up Around 3:30 Am To Try To Get There Before The Rest Of The Tourists

100% worth it for seeing the sunrise alone.

Image credits: feastandexist

Marco Polo is a more commonly known traveler, but he was not the only one of his contemporaries to write about his experiences. In China, one of Marco Polo’s many destinations, there were even writers who would make “day trip essays,” which would give readers some basic information about different locations that are, as the name suggests, a day’s travel away. However, these essays mainly focused on using the locations to provide some sort of moral lesson, which tells us that even a thousand years ago, people could not help from editorializing. 

#7 An Albino Turtle I Saw On My Vacation In Sri Lanka

Image credits: mouthfulloflemons

#8 Spotted The Hogwarts Express On My Trip To Scotland Last Year

Image credits: Kiwizftw

#9 My Hotel Phone In Iceland Has A Special Button That Will Wake You Up If There Are Northern Lights In The Sky

Image credits: KristjanHrannar

Indeed, in the 16th century, traveling to what at the time was Persia (mostly modern Iran) and the Indian subcontinent was so popular, that these accounts were often put together into collections, so interested readers could just buy one book and compare. There were similar collections for Europe, though it was seen as less exotic than Asia, and often focused on a single region, such as the Italian peninsula. 

#10 A Tram On The Stuttgart Rack Railway With A Trailer For Bikes. Stuttgart, Germany

Image credits: LaSuze7

#11 In The Ancient Egypt, Cats Were Sacred Animals. It Seems That Nothing Has Changed Since Then

Image credits: MorphaKnight

#12 My Hotel In China Has A Card To Give To A Taxi Driver So You Can Find Your Way Back

Image credits: why_im_single

As maritime technology developed, the means of transportation itself became a topic of interest. Similar to the travel vlogs of today, there was a lucrative niche describing the realities of ocean voyages and the various sights and experiences one could have. Of course, the average person on, say, a transatlantic ship had a much worse experience than a literate, generally wealthy traveler. 

#13 Train Seats In Japan Facing Outwards So You Can See The Scenery

Image credits: diohondoriavylv

#14 A Non-Muslim Section At A Grocery Store In Dubai

Image credits: Bnmakr1

#15 Wuppertal's Suspension Railway (Monorail), Germany

Image credits: pangea

This all goes to show that these travelers, documenting and photographing the things they saw are part of an ancient tradition. While we might think of Marco Polo’s writings as more highbrow, he probably would have used a camera, if he had the option, as a picture can really show you what a thousand words can’t. Hopefully, this list has put some wanderlust into you and there will be more interesting experiences from around the world for all of us to enjoy online. 

#16 This Tree In Morocco Is Filled With Real Goats Standing On It

Image credits: freebird348

#17 I Visited Antarctica Recently

Image credits: _mitch_the_gr8

#18 Some Roads In Australia Are So Long And Boring That They Have Trivia Signs To Keep Drivers Alert

Image credits: eppinizer

#19 My Buddy And I Got Our Faces On The Foam Of Our Beers In Ireland

Image credits: Nick_C12

#20 These Two Different Sets Of Shopping Baskets At A Department Store In Bangkok - For Those That Need Help Or Want To Be Left Alone

Image credits: saksith

#21 Found A Statue In Rome With Bunny Socks

Image credits: wigglingelephant

#22 This McDonald's Has A "Drive-Thru" For Boats. Located In Hamburg, Germany

Image credits: peter_the_meter

#23 Found A Door Entering A Field In Denmark

Image credits: michaelsj92

#24 Went To A Beach In Iceland And Took A Full-Color Picture That Looks Entirely Grayscale

Image credits: AcerRubrum

#25 I Found This Ceiling Light Full Of Rubber Ducks In A Pub In Edinburgh

Image credits: mALLIC2k6

#26 These Sprinklers On The Road Near The Ski Resort I'm At In Japan To Keep The Road From Freezing Over (Salt Water If You Were Wondering)

Image credits: TheWolvis

#27 Giant Hives Hanging From The Ceiling Enclosed In A Glass Case With Outdoor Access At The “Home Of Bees” In Poyales Del Hoyo, Spain

Image credits: addisonfun

#28 Here In Italy Bars Are Starting To Use Pasta As Straws To Reduce Plastic Use. Our Technology Amazes The World Another Time

Image credits: GranFabio

#29 Lisbon Consists Of 7 Hills. In Order To Make It Easier For Residents And Tourists To Move Between The Different Neighborhoods, This Open-Air Escalator Was Installed

Image credits: rebordacao

#30 This 2D Café We Visited In Seoul

Image credits: aasquared3

#31 Subways In Japan Have Women-Only Cars

Image credits: CommitteeOfTheHole

#32 This Slide At The Berlin Mall

Image credits: mikenice1

#33 This Warning Sign For Ghosts At An Old Castle In Poland

Image credits: Solvargen

#34 This Guy Makes Pizza Using Volcanic Vents On The Volcán De Pacaya In Guatemala

Image credits: Yellowman230

#35 One Of My Bucket List Items Was To Visit This Stunning Town Where The Houses Are Literally Under The Rock

Beautiful white houses line up the narrow streets of Setenil de Las Bodegas.

Image credits: screwywabbit

#36 My Apartment For The Night In Porto, Portugal Has A Preserved 12th-Century Wall And Staircase Encased In The Bedroom

Image credits: Sirnando138

#37 In Finland, There Are Buttons To Thank The Bus Driver

Image credits: _Goat_Juice_

#38 In Italy They Got Free Water In Little Towns. You Can Choose Between Water With Gas, Cooled Or Regular

Image credits: aex_n53

#39 The Town We Vacationed In Has Red Street Lights To Not Mess With The Wildlife

Image credits: MonkeyMcBucks

#40 This Albino Reindeer I Saw While Traveling In Finnish Lapland

Image credits: reddit.com

#41 This McDonald's In New Zealand Has A Decommissioned Plane You Can Dine In

Image credits: timfox1

#42 Desert Oasis In Peru - Huacachina

Image credits: Forward2323

#43 The Bone Church In The Czech Republic

Image credits: LightRifter

#44 The Way These Trees Grew On A Street In Amsterdam

Image credits: Neanderthal_Gene

#45 Today I Discovered That, In France, McDonald's Serves Mcbaguettes

Image credits: _ImpersonalJesus_

#46 Traveling Within Iceland Because We Couldn’t Go Elsewhere. Found These Guys Sheltering From The Wind

Image credits: Microrator

#47 Α Trireme At The Piraeus Port, Greece

Image credits: Athalos124

#48 Green Train In Lower Silesia, Poland

Image credits: augustiner

#49 I Was Visiting The Gulf Of Mexico Last Week, And It Was Genuinely Difficult To See Where The Sea Stopped And The Sky Started

Image credits: EkantTakePhotos

#50 UPS In Italy Use These "Bicycle Trucks" To Deliver Packages To Places In The Narrow Streets Of Rome

Image credits: hayaimonogachi