I have too many.. could go with Mendenhall or Greenland, but I can't pass it by...

http://puu.sh/2clq2

Mt. Rainier summit. Pretty close to what I saw (sun was a bit further up, but not much).. incredible place.

The Alps are pretty cool ..... going over the Italian Alps and driving down to Lake Locarno. As a city I love Paris, warts an' all.

The Sonoran Desert.

http://images.fineartamerica.com/images-medium-large/1-sonoran-desert-saija-lehtonen.jpg

Little propaganda for Holland: the "Loonse en Drunense Duinen"

http://www.flickr.com/photos/truus/1418907972/

(They're non-coastline dunes)

I've visited many many european countries, but without a doubt the most beautiful in my opinion was Norway, July 2010. Here are a few snaps of my sisters facebook. :P
Though I think Chamonix in France (alps) Also deserves a mention, as does Switzerland.

Damn. I'm so lucky to have travelled so much so young...

p.s That is a 15 year old me in that final picture standing next to my sister. I no longer have long hair, I grew out of that phase :P

https://fbcdn-sphotos-d-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/44816_425556552973_1227099_n.jpg

https://fbcdn-sphotos-b-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/40671_425556227973_7406833_n.jpg

https://fbcdn-sphotos-d-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/46184_425554287973_5657955_n.jpg

https://fbcdn-sphotos-h-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/40671_425556192973_24296_n.jpg

Oh crap, don't let Draug see that picture of your sister, she looks to be about 17.

She's 18 in that photo. Don't know if that makes it better or worse :/ haha.
That's quite litteraly a week before my 16th. So I probably should have just said 16. :P

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_9jlN40-QAs

My pal made this video of me during our camping trip. Enjoy!

Wouldn't the coolest place on Earth be Antarctica?

Nope, it would be the inside of a Venezuelan intercity coach. Their aircon chills it to a smidgeon above absolute zero. The only place that comes close to this extreme is the bottom left corner of my fridge, which is the coldest place in the UK.

I'm sure there's a "your mom" joke about the coldest place on Earth. I'm just not coming up with it.

I've visited a handful of museum ships, but this is the coolest one I've been to:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_North_Carolina_(BB-55)

The next time I go on vacation, I'll make a point of going somewhere with a nearby Iowa-class on display. The North Carolina-class is very impressive but the Iowa-class is the undisputed king of battleships. Carriers are fun but you don't get the same raw sense of firepower that you do when you're inside the magazine or gun house of a battleship.

Pah! You've not experienced the glory of a warship until you've been aboad the HMS Victory. Although the HMS Belfast is pretty cool... mostly because with a little tweaking her guns could be pointing right at the Houses of Parliament...

I'm going to go with Mt. Haleakala, Maui at sunrise. At 10,000 feet up, you are above the clouds and they spread out before you like a rolling ocean.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TXFr_2 9m1U

The HMS Victory may have the grandeur and style of an old sailing warship but it can't quite match the raw over-the-top more-than-you-would-ever-need-ever power of the USS North Carolina or the USS Missouri.

Most beautiful place on Earth? Maine. This is Fort Williams in Cape Elizabeth.
http://inherentlymeaningless.files.wordpress.com/2012/09/img_19291.jpg

I don't know about you guys but I think Michigan (USA) is very beautiful in the fall so many trees change colors every street is changeling colors :)

The North Carolina and Missouri may have packed more punch in their day, but there's a certain spirit around a ship like Victory who fought in the days when fighting was up close and personal. Besides, Victory still has her commission.

As does the USS Constitution. The point is that in absolute terms those 16" guns are ridiculously impressive and terrifyingly beautiful.

I'm not disputing that the HMS Victory has a shit ton of character and history. I was merely under the impression that these are the most beautiful places in the world in *my* opinion.

Leave it to gunfighter to choose a giant instrument of death as the most beautiful place in the world.

Fxxing conservatard.

In fairness, YJ, Battleships should be less offensive to your sensibilities than a lot of such instruments. Whereas atomic bombs, or bombs generally, or guns, or planes can all wreak havoc on civilian populations, a battleship is really pretty useless except against a foe who has actually come out upon the ocean against you. And if such a thing happens, well, you do actually want to have a good battleship.

(OK, admittedly, nowadays you don't really care about battleships, and there's some argument to be had about whether they were ever that useful, but at least the idea of the thing is as above).

I'm pretty sure YJ isn't offended the least bit, he just pointed out the predictable one-dimensionality of Mr 06.

As for your tangent, if Hitler lived earlier, his wunderwaffen would be either warships or artillery pieces. The fact that monstrose symbols of war like tessarakonteres or Vasa were never used doesn't miraculously transform them into giant instruments of notdeath.

There's also Kent State, where they killed a bunch of hippies. Also, Altamont Speedway, where a bunch more hippies were killed. Don't forget Khe Sanh, where we drafted and killed more hippies. All comparable to the beauty of an aircraft carrier.

what uly said.

+1 for a mention of Hitler in a thread titled "Coolest Place on Earth"

Following Gunfighter's theme, I'm going to suggest Pripyat at the coolest place on earth.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3105/2897573129_8a8d754e42_o.jpg

jesus guys is that the best you can do? I m starting to feel national pride and that can't be good :P Start posting some seriously nice places!

You have to admit that instruments of death like battleships have a perverse and terrifying but nevertheless impressive vibe. I mean, those ships can lob 2,000 projectiles 20 miles with incredible accuracy and sustained ROF. It's really a testament to human ingenuity and American over-the-top-ness.

Furthermore, I object to the charge that I am not only one-dimensional but also a "conservatard" .

This is an online forum. The only thing you know for sure about me is how good I am at Diplomacy and my username. Everything else could be a complete fabrication. For all you know, I could be either a 10-year-old with remarkable language and history skills or a 75-year-old with nothing better to do in the purgatory of retirement.

Second, being the most reasonable and well-spoken right-leaning person on this site certainly does not warrant the term "conservatard". Also, this term completely ignores my strong libertarian sympathies that are evident in many of my views on various political issues.