I recently spent some days in England’s beautiful Peak District National Park and was immediately enchanted by its lovely nature and cute little villages. The beautiful landscapes of the area was certainly the reason for its use as a filming location for tons of movies, including several Pride and Prejudice adaptations, The 2011 film version…
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A 2-Day Itinerary for Pretty Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic
Karlovy Vary was one of those places we didn’t expect to like as much we did. I’d always pictured it as a somewhat insipid, stodgy town, mainly visited by bourgeois folks constantly sipping mineral water from oddly shaped porcelain cups. To be honest, that version of the town definitely exists, but there’s also way more…
Visiting the Filming Locations of ‘James Bond: Casino Royale’ in Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic
Thanks to its beautiful 19th-century architecture, the spa town of Karlovy Vary has served as a filming location for many Czech and international movies, most famously for 2006’s Casino Royale, the first Bond film starring Daniel Craig. In the movie, Bond travels to Montenegro to take part in a high-stakes Poker tournament, but in reality…
A 4-Day Itinerary for Senegal’s Beautiful Basse Casamance Region
Southern Senegal’s Casamance Region felt like a place of transitions to me. For one, this is where the drier Sahel Zone to the north gives way to the more tropical landscapes of the southern parts of West Africa for the first time. Apart from that, there’s a mixture of cultural traditions, languages and religions that…
A Travel Guide to Senegal’s Haute Casamance Region
Senegal’s Haute Casamance is said to be the least visited part of the country, and judging by the tiny amount of other toubabs I spotted, this certainly seems to be true. This also means that traveling in the area gives you as candid a glimpse into everyday Senegalese life as you’re likely to get. I…
A Guide to Bijilo Forest Park aka. Monkey Park in Bijilo, The Gambia
Bijilo Forest Park (aka. Monkey Park) is a good destination if you need a break from beach loungers and bumsters while you’re hanging around The Gambia’s northern coast. The little patch of coastal forest sits conveniently on the edge of the main tourist zone – just a few minutes from the main strip in Kololi….
9 Fantastic Things to Do in Banjul, The Gambia’s Sleepy Capital
Banjul certainly is one of the more unusual capitals I’ve come across. Contrary to many West African cities, it has a laid-back, sleepy vibe and feels a bit fallen out of time. Compared to energetic and chaotic Serekunda, it almost feels like a slightly bigger village. I guess this is exactly why I enjoyed exploring…
Visiting Wassu, Kerr Batch and Other Megalithic Stone Circles in The Gambia
As an archaeologist, the impressive Senegambian Stone Circles were one of the main reasons I wanted to explore little-visited upriver Gambia. Scattered across a region of about 30,000 km2, there are more than a thousand of these structures, both in The Gambia and across the border in Senegal. I sought out quite a few of…
Chimpanzee-Spotting and Other Cool Things to Do in River Gambia National Park
The River Gambia National Park was one of my absolute highlights on my recent trip to The Gambia. Since the end of the 1970s, chimpanzees have been gradually reintroduced to the country by settling them in the park, and you can visit them by taking a boat tour around four islands in the river. Apart…
What to Know About Visiting The Gambia’s Sacred Crocodile Pools
The Gambia’s three sacred crocodile pools are one of the more unusual attractions I came across on my recent trip through the country. While at least one of them sees a fair number of visitors, they’re not tourist attractions in the classic sense and are still actively used by locals for animist rituals. Kachikally is…