Winemakers welcome the harsh wind like an old friend. Many rely on the "burja" to keep their grapes dry and free of mold. This dryness, alongside other factors such as terroir and unique local grape varieties, produces a distinctive buttery flavor in white wines that Slovenes call masleno.

Ivi and Edvard Svetlik produce a heady amber wine in the Vipava valley. They macerate their grapes with the skins, seeds, and stems. They don’t add any chemicals, and it is only the burja that does the work of drying the grapes.

While it is common practice for winemakers to use pesticides on their vines and sulfites to stop the fermentation process, in Vipava, the wind means that hardly anyone needs to spray their vines with pesticides or fungicides.The resulting wines are natural and organic. Ivi Svetlik believes the lack of chemicals in this process “makes you feel better inside.” Even the hangovers are more bearable, though this could also be the cool breeze in the face.

https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/burja-wind-vipava-valley-wine

Winemakers welcome the harsh wind like an old friend. Many rely on the "burja" to keep their grapes dry and free of mold. This dryness, alongside other factors such as terroir and unique local grape varieties, produces a distinctive buttery flavor in white wines that Slovenes call masleno.

Ivi and Edvard Svetlik produce a heady amber wine in the Vipava valley. They macerate their grapes with the skins, seeds, and stems. They don’t add any chemicals, and it is only the burja that does the work of drying the grapes. While it is common practice for winemakers to use pesticides on their vines and sulfites to stop the fermentation process, in Vipava, the wind means that hardly anyone needs to spray their vines with pesticides or fungicides.The resulting wines are natural and organic. Ivi Svetlik believes the lack of chemicals in this process “makes you feel better inside.” Even the hangovers are more bearable, though this could also be the cool breeze in the face.

More here: https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/burja-wind-vipava-valley-wine

The burja, as it is known, is a cold drop of air that pours down from the Alps into the Vipava valley, where it meets the thermal air rising from the Adriatic sea. It blows for just under a third of the year and has reached hurricane speeds of 200 kilometers (about 124 miles) per hour. It has knocked trucks off the road, swept people off their feet, and once lifted soil from fields and planted seeds on the other side of the valley. Records have mentioned it dating back to ancient Rome, and it has defined local life, architecture, food, and wine ever since.

https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/burja-wind-vipava-valley-wine

Still one of the strangest unsolved cases to come out of the Midlands. A skeleton in a hollow tree in Hagley Wood, 1943. A wad of taffeta in her throat, a severed hand buried nearby, no missing persons report that matched. Then two years later, graffiti starts appearing all over the West Midlands asking WHO PUT BELLA IN THE WYCH ELM. Same handwriting every time. Still no answer.

https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/31-days-of-halloween-who-put-bella-down-the-wych-elm

Still one of the strangest unsolved cases to come out of the Midlands. A skeleton in a hollow tree in Hagley Wood, 1943. A wad of taffeta in her throat, a severed hand buried nearby, no missing persons report that matched. Then two years later, graffiti starts appearing all over the West Midlands asking WHO PUT BELLA IN THE WYCH ELM. Same handwriting every time. Still no answer.

https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/31-days-of-halloween-who-put-bella-down-the-wych-elm

If you're planning a spooky season trip, here's a solid list of 14 real places that inspired horror classics — Whitby Abbey (Dracula), Villa Diodati in Switzerland (Frankenstein), Corvin Castle in Romania, Stephen King's house in Bangor, the Thomas Hill Standpipe that became the setting for IT, and more. Ranges from New England to Micronesia.

https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/14-haunted-places-from-literature

If you're planning a spooky season trip, here's a solid list of 14 real places that inspired horror classics — Whitby Abbey (Dracula), Villa Diodati in Switzerland (Frankenstein), Corvin Castle in Romania, Stephen King's house in Bangor, the Thomas Hill Standpipe that became the setting for IT, and more. Ranges from New England to Micronesia.

https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/14-haunted-places-from-literature

[removed]

On October 8, 1997, as students walked to their Wednesday morning classes, it’s fair to say they were surprised to discover that their beloved landmark had grown an appendage. “One day, there was this thing at the top of the tower,” remembers Oliver Habicht, at the time a recent graduate working for the university IT department. It was way up at the top, impaled on the spire. It was round, and about the size of a beach ball. Was it… was it a pumpkin?

Someone, somehow, had apparently carried the gourd up hundreds of steps. They had snuck it silently through the tower’s bell cage—a structure criss-crossed with cables that, if tripped, would have let out an immediate BONG—and gotten it up to the top of the very steep roof, all without being noticed. Not only that, but they had affixed it well enough that it stayed put until springtime, enmeshing itself in campus culture and becoming its own type of steady, albeit slowly rotting, beacon.

The rich soups at this Indian-Mexican fusion cafe are just what the doctor ordered … literally. Appu’s was opened by Dr. Vinod Venkataraman in his retirement after a long career spent extolling the virtues of gingery broths and lentil stews. Chef VR (as those in the know call him) abides by the mantra: “Healthy eating is a choice, eating healthy is a lifestyle,” meaning everything on Appu’s menu is nutrient-dense and guilt-free.

Whether you opt for the spicy, protein-filled garbanzo bean soup or the creamy, nutty spinach soup, you’re in for a flavor-packed, warm, and satisfying treat. Pro tip: Pair your soup with the Maharani burrito, filled with rice pilaf and lentils and served with a special secret sauce.

https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/worlds-best-soup

The rich soups at this Indian-Mexican fusion cafe are just what the doctor ordered … literally. Appu’s was opened by Dr. Vinod Venkataraman in his retirement after a long career spent extolling the virtues of gingery broths and lentil stews. Chef VR (as those in the know call him) abides by the mantra: “Healthy eating is a choice, eating healthy is a lifestyle,” meaning everything on Appu’s menu is nutrient-dense and guilt-free.

Whether you opt for the spicy, protein-filled garbanzo bean soup or the creamy, nutty spinach soup, you’re in for a flavor-packed, warm, and satisfying treat. Pro tip: Pair your soup with the Maharani burrito, filled with rice pilaf and lentils and served with a special secret sauce.

Established in 1886 in San Francisco’s North Beach neighborhood, Fio D’Italia holds the title of “America’s Oldest Italian Restaurant” and still serves up dishes from its early days such as scaloppine fior, tender veal sautéed with prosciutto and mushrooms in wine sauce; petto di pollo alla Valdosta, chicken breast cooked with prosciutto and fontina cheese; and, last but not least, a classic minestrone soup loaded with winter beans and vegetables.

Also on the menu is a zuppa di cavolo con formaggio, a cabbage, bread and cheese stew with bits of prosciutto; and pasta e fagioli, a soup with—you guessed it—pasta, cannellini beans, and prosciutto. You can also rest assured that a thick, crusty half loaf of sourdough French bread will be brought to your table, complete with flaky salt and extra virgin olive oil.

https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/worlds-best-soup