The amazing underwater sanctuary that transforms into a county park

The Grüner See (also known as “Green Lake") is located in Styria, Austria. It is known for its scenic views and emerald-green water that trickles down from the surrounding snow-capped mountains. During the winter, before the ice melts, the lake is only 1-2 meters deep, and the surrounding area is used as a county park. However, by spring, the basin of land below the mountain fills with water, transforming the lake into an underwater sanctuary nearly 12 meters deep.

The Grüner See is pollution-free and is an immensely popular tourist destination for hikers, campers, and adventurers looking to enjoy nature.

The Argentinian town that resurfaced after being underwater for 30 years

Back in the 1920s, a tourist village named Villa Epecuen was established along the shores of Lago Epecuen, a salt lake some 600 kilometers southwest of Buenos Aires, Argentina. Lago Epecuen is like most other mountain lakes, except for one important difference—it has salt levels second only to the Dead Sea, and ten times higher than any ocean. 

The town's population peaked in the 1970s with more than 5,000 people. Nearly 300 businesses thrived there, including hotels, hostels, spas, shops, and museums. During that time, a long-term weather event was delivering far more rain than usual to the surrounding hills, and Lago Epecuen began to swell. On November 10, 1985, an enormous volume of water broke through the dam and inundated much of the town. By 1993, the slow-moving flood consumed the town until it was covered in 10 meters of water.

Nearly 25 years later, in 2009, the wet weather reversed and the waters began to recede. Villa Epecuen started coming back to the surface. No one returned to the town, except 81-year-old Pablo Novak, who is now Villa Epecuen's sole resident.

400 years old Church

In 2015, the remains of a Colonial-era church emerged from the receding waters of a river in the southern Mexican state of Chiapas. The Grijalva River watershed was hit by a drought this year, which caused the water level in the Nezahualcoyotl reservoir to decrease by 82 feet. 

The church was built in the mid-16th century by a group of monks (led by Friar Bartolome de la Casas) in the Quechula region, which was formerly inhabited by the Zoque people. It was originally lost to the waters of the Nezahualcoyotl reservoir in 1966 when it flooded.

Railway carriages into Holiday Homes

It's a first class idea that is also an original alternative to other accommodations out there. The Old Station in Allerston, North Yorkshire used to be a working railway station, but it has been converted into a family home and guest houses. The idea has proved to be a hit with visitors, and the houses evoke romantic images of the great age of steam trains as seen in Brief Encounter and The Orient Express. The homes are owned by Carol and Mark Benson. Mark, 55, who still has a day job as a surveyor for Network Rail, made the railway station their home.

Decorating cues from "The Simpsons"

A fridge full of Duff beer would make Joel Hamilton and Marcia Andreychuk's kitchen even more “excellent.” But for now, the Calgary couple are fine with transforming it into a replica of the one from the Simpsons, complete with orange and purple cupboards, lime green appliances, and carrot adorned curtains.

Hamilton, 35, is a lifelong fan of the show that's spanned 26 seasons and is part of the pop culture lexicon. A framed picture of the cartoon kitchen hangs on the wall as their inspiration, and the couple figures their real-life tribute is about 80% complete. The cost so far? About $2,300 estimates Andreychuk, 43, who noted the checkered floor made up the bulk of the price tag.

Andreychuk sewed the carrot curtains herself. The countertops, appliances, and cupboards have been touched up with colorful contact paper. Andreychuk said they weren't planning to extend the tribute to the living room and bedrooms.

Home into an Airplane

Lovebirds Steve and Vicky Everson took their marriage to new heights after spending £40,000 ($60,000) to turn their modest home into a plane. The pair transformed the two-up two-down terraced house in Bacup, Lancs into a replica of a Boeing 737.

The aviation project started in 2009 after they created a flight simulator in the spare room of their previous home in Milton Keynes. After moving north, they put it back together again. It was so big it stretched from one side of the house to the other.

The couple, who even tied the knot in a Concorde four years earlier, regularly take up to 12 passengers in their "airplane," on simulated “flights” to New York and Hong Kong. Broadcast engineer Steve, 42, said: “Everyone thinks we're a bit eccentric, but you have to do what makes you happy.”

Massive Indoor Aquarium

We all love fish, right? Well, maybe not as much as Martin Lakin, who almost destroyed his house to install a 5,000-liter aquarium right in the middle of it.

An architect warned him the bizarre renovation would make his whole house collapse. He went ahead with it anyway and tore the house in Rochester, Kent, apart, as his bemused wife Kay and son James looked on. Apparently the tank was so huge they could even swim in it before the fish arrived.

The tank cost around £50,000 ($75,000), but with the half ton of live coral, complex machinery (including an automated sunroof), pumps and computers that run the aquarium 24 hours a day, Martin reckons the total cost is around £150,000 ($230,000). Now that it is complete, it's home to more than 120 fish.