Grand banqueting halls, opulent lobbies and vast ballrooms; you could easily be forgiven for thinking this was a collection of photographs was documenting some of Europe’s grandest hotels. However, a closer look will reveal the majestic rooms to be engulfed in swathes of dust and moss; hotels that once hosted royals and high society abandoned to the elements. This is the latest result of urban exploration photography, going beyond “no entry” signs to capture images of dilapidated buildings across Europe. IT worker Thomas Windisch, from Graz in Austria, indulged his passion for photography by traveling across the continent, visiting over 100 abandoned hotels along the way. Here: inside a hotel in Austria. (Photo by Thomas Windisch/Caters News)

A women attends a class at a driving school in Kabul August 17, 2014. Kabul is one of the world's fastest growing cities and its streets are increasingly blocked by cars and buses. In the city's private driving schools, students pay a $60 fee for a 45-day course, which includes oral and practical driving tests at the country's Traffic Department. Some of the women who have signed up say learning to drive is a way to escape unwanted gazes and physical harassment on the cramped, crowded minibuses that are often the only method of urban public transport. (Photo by Mohammad Ismail/Reuters)

The Eiffel Tour-the body language of balance. I came across this group of young adults from Sarajevo, Bosnia, having fun testing their balance two nights ago in on the Esplanade de Trocadero. (Photo and comment by Peter Turnley)

A girl jumps over a campfire while celebrating Ivan Kupala Night, a traditional Slavic holiday not far from Kiev on July 6, 2013. During the celebration, originating in pagan times, people plait wreaths, jump over fires, and swim naked. (Photo by Sergei Supinsky/AFP Photo)

A general view of Stonehenge during the annual Perseid meteor shower in the night sky in Salisbury Plain, southern England August 13, 2013. The Perseid meteor shower is sparked every August when the Earth passes through a stream of space debris left by comet Swift-Tuttle. Picture taken using a long exposure. (Photo by Kieran Doherty/Reuters)

Chinese women holding toy guns dance for a revolutionary song during their daily exercise at a square outside a shopping mall in Beijing, June 29, 2014. About 30 local residents formed this “Nanguan” art group that enjoys performing to revolutionary songs and dance performances as part of their daily fitness activities at night. (Photo by Jason Lee/Reuters)

Radin the Sunda pangolin hitches a ride on Nita as their keeper looks on. The elusive and nocturnal Sunda pangolin produces only one or two offspring a year and Radin is the third pangolin baby born in Night Safari since 2011. (Photo by Wildlife Reserves Singapore)

Burlesque dancer and Lucha VaVoom co-founder Rita D'Albert gets dressed before the Lucha VaVoom “Night of the Vampire” performance in Los Angeles, California October 29, 2014. (Photo by Patrick T. Fallon/Reuters)