Ballooning over Bavaria
© HP Huber/Huber/eStock
If Germany's tallest mountain wasn't high enough for you, we can lift you to even greater heights. While visitors who summit the 9,700-foot Zugspitze may contend with snowdrift-whipping winds, passengers aboard this hot air balloon are carried by the gusts, enjoying a sense of stillness and silence no matter how stiff the breeze. Of course, that's no excuse to leave the hat and scarf at home: Sometimes cruising thousands of feet above solid ground, a balloon's basket can be a bracingly cold place, especially over alpine settings where the Earth is elevated to begin with.
Where icebergs are born
Sailing with icebergs
The 'cotton castle'
Roly-poly divers
Busting a big move
An iceberg's remains
One chill carnivore
Height meets light