A recent article on the Web site of the Guardian Unlimited, So what on Earth's the big attraction?, caught my eye. It lists some of the world’s so-called wonders that many travelers have found disappointing. While I don’t agree with everything included on the “underwhelming” list, I can understand where people are coming from. If a place has been melded into your consciousness from an early age, you naturally have high expectations for it. But we’ll focus on disappointing travel experiences in a future entry. What I want to put out here for discussion are those amazing places throughout Europe that you hear next to nothing about until you are right on their doorstep. I’ve put together a little list of five spots that impressed me, of which I knew little or nothing beforehand.

The island of Bornholm: A brochure picked up in Copenhagen perkily advertised “Bornholm -- The Sunshine Island.” Since Denmark in winter is one of the grayest and dreariest places I have encountered, I took that one with a grain of salt. But spring came, and ever the sucker for a travel pitch, I ferried on over to Bornholm, a Baltic island between Sweden and Poland, rented a bike and explored the island. I encountered charming thatch-roofed cottages, white sandy beaches, smokehouses selling freshly smoked fish, a unique round church, and the ruins of an imposing fortress. I have since returned twice, and on neither visit had Bornholm lost its magic.

Kraków’s Salt mines: A salt mine? Since I was already in Kraków, Poland, it seemed a fair-enough bet for a morning’s excursion. Expectations were low as my guide, an older gentleman with halting English, and I set out. But wow! Contained within the 700-year-old Wieliczka salt mines’ vast chambers were underground lakes, sculptures, chapels, and salt chandeliers.

Vigeland Park, Oslo: A friend and I took the overnight ferry from Denmark to Norway and found ourselves with a day in Oslo to spend at our leisure. Vigeland Park features 212 sculptures of human beings, from tiny babies to the aged, in every imaginable position, illustrating a remarkably complete gamut of the emotions we humans experience in our lifetimes.

Brijuni, Croatia: I was tasked with organizing a conference on this island, no small feat. Arriving by water taxi after midnight, I was met by a cool, acacia-scented breeze and the sight of yachts, one of which belonged to Pavarotti, bobbing in the harbor. By daylight, pristine blue waters and scrub pines revealed themselves. Wandering the island, I found feathers from peacock tails, saw Roman ruins and caught the tail end of a polo match. The island of Brijuni, formerly the playground of Tito, is now a national park. Ensconcing conference participants in a drab and darkened hall to watch Power Point Presentations amid the beauty outside the window seemed unspeakably cruel.

Meteora, Greece: A poster of Meteora hung in the car rental bureau in my hotel outside of Athens, and upon first look, I desired nothing more than to drop all existing travel plans and head there immediately. But it was a great distance, so the trip had to wait for a future visit. Meteora’s stone fingers soar upward, and monasteries perch impossibly within their heights.

I am not sure if these are truly my top five, but they are the places that sprung to mind as I took on this topic. What European destinations unexpectedly bowled you over? I’m betting your selections will be entirely different than my own!