Lucky Charms destinations that continue to draw travelers, visitors- curious to see if good fortune, legacy, tradition can also rub off on them.
Luck is part of what defines our success. Either within our professional lives or with how we find love, it is luck which helps give us the edge. Whether being lucky enough to be born with a flexible mind, having the good fortune to be born into a supportive family or just having the luck of genetics which helps dictate long-lasting good health, there are dozens of uncontrollable aspects within our lives which we can think of as luck.
We know this, we understand this, and we try to manipulate this luck to help us do better. With that in mind, we thought it would be interesting to take a look at some of the world’s most interesting demonstrable luck symbols, to help you plan out your next lucky trip, or just to get a few ideas for yourself.
Nailing Good Fortune in Vienna
Located in Stephanplatz within Austria’s capital of Vienna, the Stock im Eisen tree has long stood as one of Europe’s most favored good-luck charms. According to Betway, this tree dates back to the middle ages and has been so popular that it actually requires modern protection.
With the first nails being placed in the tree while it was still alive (around 1400-1440 A.D), the tree is the home to many legends. As what Atlas Obscura reports as the last remaining tree of an ancient forest, this stands as all the more significant based on the fact that nails were actually rather expensive during these early years.
Now protected within a glass viewing-booth raised sometime before 1991 due to the sheer volume of nails currently sitting within, those lucky enough to get in on this good-luck symbol can rest assured that their efforts will remain for the rest of time.
Love Locking in Serbia, and Beyond
Now a rather popular act the world over, the famed love padlock tradition is thought to have started back in Serbia. The Most Ljubavi Bridge located within the town of Vrnjačka Banja began the tradition at least 100 years ago, with ABC reporting that it was the poet Desanka Maksimovic who brought international attention to this now popular site.
Now standing as a good-luck fortune to all couples who add to the currently very-full railings, this bridge is credited with beginning what is now an international phenomenon reaching from Paris to China. Each containing its own message for the future, this bridge still stands as a reminder of the love which binds us, and our hopes for the future.
Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II’s Bull of Luck
Located within the northern Italian city of Milan lies the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II. Named for the first king of the kingdom of Italy, this landmark and shopping center completed in 1877 is home to many brilliant and long-famed pieces of art. Chief among these is the mosaic of the bull of Turin.
Originally designed with especially large testicles, even for a bull, somewhere down the line, the rumor started that these hanging good-luck-charms could spread their luck to any who knew the ritual. Placing a heel on the testicles on the bull and spinning around three times is supposed to generate good luck, and from the popularity, we might think it actually worked.
Now the poor bull suffers an eroded hole where thousands of luck-seeking visitors have sought to boost their fortune, though the popularity of this bull remains as strong as ever.
The Gift of Speaking
One of the most famous international good luck sites, and one dedicated to gifting visitors exceptional speaking clarity and quick wit, is the Blarney Stone. According to Blarney Castle & Gardens, this stone has brought in regular folk and celebrity travelers the world over, all of whom have stooped over backwards to plant a big one on the world’s most kissable rock.
Now cleaned regularly (and thankfully) this stone continues to be an enormous selling point for the Irish town of Blarney, bringing in more than 300,000 visitors each year. This means that even if the stone itself doesn’t end up giving you the gift of the gab, at least it’s a great place to meet other luck-minded travelers.
Starting Your Own Tradition
Important to remember here is that none of these good-luck symbols came about naturally – they were all created by man. This means that even those of us who are unable to travel, perhaps through our own lack of fortune, are not without means to create their own luck.
Start your own lucky practice, dedicate a little corner of your life to helping improve your lot, and you might be surprised at just how far it gets you. We would warn against kissing random stones or touching bull testicles, however, as those seem like pursuits best left to the professionals.
