In the Science of Traveling Well, we share great experiences which leave a positive impact and ask experts about the science behind what makes these experiences so enjoyable. In this episode, we head to the Serbian city of Novi Sad to enjoy visiting one of the world's largest forts. To help us understand what makes a visit here so fascinating, my colleague Dr. Jelena Farkic and I explain our findings from the project Forts in Transition. Funded by the Stichting Innovatie Alliantie, we worked in this project with the Southern Water Defence Line in the Netherlands, and Regional Landscapes and the Agency of Nature and Forest in Flanders to bring forts into the spotlight for you. Join us to learn why a visit to a fort is not to be missed from any European vacation.

Our second episode from a little getaway in Rotterdam, in this episode we see if taking photos makes a vacation better or worse. To help us figure this out, we have some old, barely functional and very weird cameras :) and happiness psychologist Dr. Jaime Kurtz, expert on vacation experiences and photographing.

Works cited:https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1096348013491606?casa_token=XV2wr0JCg48AAAAA%3AWXv_gNhi1B4_qUH4r5KLHiViQDQ9MRLXzUIk3uXFzQl9hC59NAIb86rISqE7JUS9qj3tuMy6aBk

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/jtr.2069?casa_token=dGig06MDtNkAAAAA%3AhOHSbW9_pV3mOt68RFMzUgSnavlFBehECazhoZPFI9TGE5HEM-73CRe0aHHbM0lb__bltlGDvUfKNw

http://set-publisher.com/index.php/jbas/article/view/1319

And especially Jaime's awesome book: https://jaimekurtz.com/book-the-happy-traveler/

Some of the places visited:

Rotterdam https://rotterdam.info

CitizenM hotel https://www.citizenm.com/hotels/europ...

Dune cafe (On @europeancoffeetrip) https://europeancoffeetrip.com/cafe/d...

Markthal https://www.markthal.nl/en/

This video is aimed at people who are currently in a romantic relationship. There's only one expert in the world on the link between vacationing and romantic love, and here he explains why–and how–you should vacation with your partner. We apply this knowledge to understand a romantic wintry visit my wife and I took to Rotterdam.

Works cited: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0047287519892340 https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01490400.2023.2174216 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S266695792400003X

Some of the places visited: Rotterdam https://rotterdam.info

CitizenM hotel: https://www.citizenm.com/hotels/europe/rotterdam/rotterdam-hotel

Dune cafe: (On @europeancoffeetrip) https://europeancoffeetrip.com/cafe/dune-rotterdam/

Markthal: https://www.markthal.nl/en/

In this video, we're going mountain biking. Perhaps a strange idea in a region with no mountains, but fear not, there are several lovely trails in the forests around Breda and we are going to joyfully explore them together. It's a great way to stay close to nature even in the colder months. To explain the many benefits of mountain biking, we are joined by Peter Ward, professor at Brigham Young University in Utah. The landscapes are different, but the joys of riding the rough stuff on two wheels are the same.

Mentioned in the episode are information sources for nearby mountain bike trails: https://www.mtbtracksoosterhout.nl

And all mountain bike trails in the Netherlands: https://www.mtbroutes.nl

For many folks, the last couple of months of the year are defined by…shopping. What makes shopping fun for some people? Does it mix well with a vacation? What effect does it have on local residents? We answer these questions and more with my colleague Dr. Jeroen Klijs, economist and Professor of social impacts of tourism. We discussed my experiences shopping last year just before Christmas in my hometown, and my favorite vacation destination, Bratislava.

Mentioned:

Visit Bratislava (official Bratislava tourist information)

Kaviaren Vtak (speciality café and roaster in Bratislava)

Isadore (Slovak sustainable cycling clothing)

JR Line Modelar (model hobby shop in Bratislava)

None of the above links are sponsored in any way.

Is artificial intelligence a good travel guide? Should you get your travel advice from machines or humans? In this episode I travel to enchanting Bled, Slovenia, and ask two AI-powered systems, ChatGPT and Travel With Zoey, to help me find coffee and bike routes. It works… not quite as expected. Join me in a conversation with Travel With Zoey CEO Rajneesh Badal to find out why, and more importantly, learn how you can get the best travel advice in today’s technological landscape.Other tools and contacts I used:European Coffee Trip (Speciality Coffee information platform)Goat Story (Slovenian coffee roaster and coffee equipment maker)Komoot (Trip planning and navigation platform)None of the above links are sponsored in any way.

In the Science of Traveling Well, we share great experiences which leave a positive impact and ask experts about the science behind what makes these experiences so enjoyable. In this second episode, we partner with the Zuiderwaterlinie––the Southern Water Defense Line––to bring you a bike ride to Geertruidenberg, a small fortified city about 20 kilometers north of where I live. Today we explore how different moments during an experience like this shape the experience as a whole. Should we make sure that every trip has one amazing highlight? Or that it ends on a high note? Does the rest of the journey even matter? There’s a lot of money and effort tied up in those questions every time we take a trip, so they’re pretty important.Our expert today is my colleague Dr. Wim Strijbosch, with whom I conduct research in our Experience Lab: https://www.researchgate.net/lab/Breda-University-of-Applied-Sciences-Experience-Lab-Marcel-BastiaansenFor today’s episode we partnered with the Southern Water Defense Line, one of the Netherlands’ most amazing collections of places to visit:https://www.zuiderwaterlinie.nland visited Geertruidenberg, a fortified city across the water from the Biesbosch national park:https://www.vestingstadaandebiesbosch.nl

In the Science of Traveling Well, we share great experiences which leave a positive impact, and ask experts about the science behind what makes these experiences so enjoyable. In this inaugural episode, we explore the benefits of doing something for the first time––novelty. What is the feeling of novelty, where does it come from, and why is it enjoyable? More importantly, how can you have more novelty in your life, without spending excessive amounts of money?

Our expert today is my colleague Dr. Marcel Bastiaansen, neuroscientist and head of our university’s Experience Lab:

https://www.researchgate.net/lab/Breda-University-of-Applied-Sciences-Experience-Lab-Marcel-Bastiaansen

Today we travel to Antwerpen, Belgium’s second largest city:

https://visit.antwerpen.be

And visit the Middelheim Museum, a sculpture garden:

https://middelheimmuseum.be/en