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Nicolas | ✈️ 𝙏𝙧𝙖𝙫𝙚𝙡 & 𝙀𝙭𝙥𝙡𝙤𝙧𝙚

@explorewithnicolas

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🧑‍🔧a mechanical engineer showing you the world in his free time!
📍Back from 🇨🇴
👇Follow to explore the world with me!
✈️26 countries

POSTS STORIES REELS

I made a friend in Budapest 🇭🇺: a dream of architecture !

Day 2:
- Walking to the Buda side by crossing the chain bridge 🌉
- taking the tram to Buda castle 🏰 with a beautiful view over Budapest
- Visiting the parliament building 🏛️
- Walking up to the Fisherman's Bastion seeing the sunset 🌇
- Exploring Budapest by night 🌃

Rapid history of the parliament building:
The Hungarian Parliament Building, completed in 1904, is the seat of the National Assembly and a symbol of Hungary’s SOVEREIGNTY.🗣️ Its design was inspired by the Palace of Westminster in LONDON 🇬🇧.
The building’s symmetry is not just aesthetic: one wing housed the Lower House and the other the Upper House, mirroring the UK’s bicameral system. Since 1945, Hungary has had a single chamber, but both sides remain in use for offices and ceremonial functions.
At the center, beneath the great dome, rests the Holy Crown of Hungary, underscoring the continuity of statehood. SADLY IT'S FORBIDDEN TO TAKE FOTOS THERE! (So I can't show you pictures of this place) 😢Over the decades, the Parliament has been the stage for debates and decisions that shaped the nation’s destiny.

📸: 21.07.2025

#travelblogger #travelcontent #travel #exploretheworld #explorewithme #traveltheworld #hungary #budapest #budapeşte #basilica #cathedral #parlamentbudapest #parlament #parliament #parliamentbudapest #parliamentbuilding #budacastle #fishermansbastion by @explorewithnicolas

Father-son trip to Morocco 🇲🇦: Medersa Ben Youssef

Day 2 Afternoon :
- Visit of the Medersa Ben Youssef

A little history about the Medersa Ben Youssef:

The Medersa Ben Youssef, located in Marrakesh, Morocco, is one of the most significant Islamic theological colleges🧑‍🎓 in North Africa. Originally founded in the 14th century by Sultan Abu al-Hasan of the Marinid dynasty, it was later rebuilt and expanded in the 16th century by the Saadian Sultan Abdallah al-Ghalib around 1565. Named after the Almoravid sultan Ali ibn Yusuf, the medersa served as a center for Islamic education, accommodating up to 900 students. Its architecture is a stunning example of Saadian artistry, featuring intricate zellij tilework, carved cedar wood, and stucco. The medersa functioned for over four centuries before closing in 1960. It was later restored and opened to the public as a historical site. Today, Medersa Ben Youssef stands as a remarkable testament to Morocco’s Islamic heritage and architectural excellence, drawing visitors from around the world for its beauty and historical significance.

📸: 26.04.2025

#travelblogger #travel #fatherson #fathersontrip #arabworld #northafrica #magreb #marrakesh #marocco #arabpalace #riad #exploretheworld #explorewithme #travelcontent #traveltheworld #medersabenyoussef #medersa #arabicarchitecture #colorsofmorocco by @explorewithnicolas

With sis in Portugal 🇵🇹: Lisbon ✈️

It's my first trip alone with my sister, but I think this will not be the last because it was fantastic! 😍
Normally we have disputes quite often 😂 but this time everything has gone well!

Day 1:
- Arrival 🛬
- after check-in, a walk through a market for the Festas dos Santos Populares
- walk through Baixa
- Visit of Praça do Comércio 💛
- walk through Alfama 🏰
- Visit of the Sé de Lisboa (Cathedral) ⛪
- Eating Pulpo 🦑 in a good Portuguese restaurant and drinking port wine 🍷

Rapid history recap of Lisbon 🇵🇹:

Lisbon, Portugal’s capital, has a long history dating back to Phoenician and Roman times, when it was called Olisipo. After centuries of Roman and then Moorish rule (Berbers and Arabs from north of Africa) , it was reconquered by Christians in 1147 during the Second Crusade and became the capital in 1255. During the Age of Discoveries (15th–16th centuries), Lisbon was a key maritime hub, launching explorers like Vasco da Gama and expanding global trade.
A turning point came on November 1, 1755, when a massive earthquake, followed by a tsunami and fires, destroyed 85% of the city and killed tens of thousands. The Marquis of Pombal led the reconstruction, introducing modern, earthquake-resistant architecture in the rebuilt Baixa district.
In the years that followed, Lisbon experienced monarchy, revolution, dictatorship, and democracy. Today, it remains a dynamic European capital known for its resilience, cultural heritage, and architecture shaped by both triumph and catastrophe.

📸: 01.06.2025

#travelblogger #travel #exploretheworld #explorewithme #travelcontent #traveltheworld by @explorewithnicolas

David guetta : The Monolith tour 🎶🔊 with the black eyed peas as guests 🫛

This is the second time I was on this amazing concert (the first time it was in Marseille last year) 😍 just a great experience 🎉

🎶 : 13.06.2026

#davidguetta #themonolithtour #blackeyedpeas #davidguettaconcert #stadedefrance by @explorewithnicolas

I will never forget this view 😍⛰️

📍 Glacier Point, Yosemite National Park, California, United States of America 🇺🇸 (37.7304, -119.5730)

The perfect place to be completely immersed in nature and witness Yosemite’s iconic granite cliffs, waterfalls, and endless wilderness from above! 🌲✨

Would you add this to your bucket list? 👇

#YosemiteNationalPark #GlacierPoint #CaliforniaAdventure #NatureLovers #TravelGoals by @explorewithnicolas

Wait… people in the Middle Ages worked LESS days than we do? 💀

Farmers in the Middle Ages worked around 120–180 days a year in the fields… while today most full-time workers average around 240–260 working days a year.

Life followed the church calendar 🙏 with a lot of feast days, Holidays and breaks built into the year: In some regions around 80–100 days when normal field work didn’t happen (think Christmas 🎄 Easter 🐣 saints’ days, and seasonal festivals).

Work was also very seasonal 🌾 In spring and summer, people worked long days during planting and harvest (often 8–12 hours depending on daylight). But in winter ❄️ there was far less farm work, so daily life shifted to indoor tasks, repairs, and preparing for the next season.

Historians also think many people used a “biphasic sleep” pattern 😴 basically two sleeps instead of one. You’d sleep after sunset 🌙 wake up for a while in the middle of the night: to talk around the fire 🔥, pray, or do small quiet chores and then go back to sleep until morning.

But before you imagine medieval Europeans backpacking across the continent 😭, those “free days” weren’t for travel or vacations. Most of that time still went into basic survival: food, water, repairs, clothing, animals, and getting through winter.

So yeah… fewer official work days, but not really “free time” as we think of it today.

📍 📹 : Castelo de S. Jorge, Lisbon, Portugal 🇵🇹

👉 Would you prefer the modern or the medieval lifestyle?

Source: historical labor estimates from economic historians like Gregory Clark and Juliet Schor.

#History #MiddleAges #TravelTok #DidYouKnow #HistoryFacts by @explorewithnicolas

I turned my Morocco travel photos into LEGO scenes... and the results are insane 🤯🧱🇲🇦

Some of these look better than the real photos 😅

Want the AI prompt?

Comment *PROMPT* and I'll DM it to you.

🔥 Follow @explorewithnicolas for more travel content.

#MoroccoTravel #AIArt #LEGOStyle #TravelPhotography #legotravel by @explorewithnicolas

Would you climb 1350 steps for this view? 😍

📍 St John's fortress, Kotor, Montenegro 🇲🇪 by @explorewithnicolas

🇲🇦 Morocco Weekend: Fès Traditions 🐐🎨

📍 Fès | Day 4:

- Started our last day back at the famous Chouara Tannery, seeing the colorful dyeing vats and the centuries-old leather-making process up close 🟤🟡🔴

- Continued through the medina to visit the beautiful Médersa Attarine, known for its intricate zellij tiles, carved cedar wood, and Marinid architecture 🕌✨

- Passed by the Mosquée et Université Al Quaraouiyine, one of the oldest continuously operating universities in the world. While non-Muslims cannot enter, its importance to the history of education is hard to miss 📚🌍

- Ended the day at Fondouk Nejjarine, a former caravanserai that now houses the Museum of Wooden Arts and Crafts, showcasing Morocco's rich woodworking traditions 🪵✨

📚 Fès Traditions Recap :

The Chouara Tannery has been operating for nearly 1,000 years and remains one of Fès' most iconic landmarks.

The leather-making process still follows traditional methods:

1️⃣ Animal hides (mainly goat, sheep, and cow) are cleaned and soaked to remove impurities.

2️⃣ They are then softened in stone vats using natural ingredients that prepare the leather for dyeing.

3️⃣ The hides are moved into the famous colored vats, where natural dyes such as saffron, indigo, mint, and poppy flowers create the different colors 🎨

4️⃣ After drying in the sun, the leather is transformed into bags, slippers, jackets, belts, and other products sold throughout the medina.

These techniques have been passed down through generations, making the tannery a living piece of Moroccan heritage 🇲🇦

📸: 06.04.2026

👉 If you could bring home one traditional Moroccan craft, would it be leather goods, ceramics, carpets, or woodwork? 💭

#fes #morocco #chouaratannery #traditionalcrafts #visitmorocco by @explorewithnicolas

Someone else having a sis or girlfriend who is traveling only to shop? 😂 by @explorewithnicolas

Somehow I can spend 3 days deciding if a €20 item is worth it… but the moment I see cheap flights, suddenly I become financially fearless 😭✈️

👉 Anyone else financially responsible until flights are involved? 😭

#travelmoney #travelfinance #travelbudget #travelmeme #travelhumor by @explorewithnicolas

🇲🇦 Morocco Weekend: Fès Through History ✨🏺

📍 Fès | Day 3:

- Started the morning at the Royal Palace (Dar el-Makhzen), admiring its massive golden gates from the outside, then walked through the nearby Fès el-Jdid district 🏛️✨

- Stopped for lunch before visiting the Médersa Bou Inania, one of the most beautiful examples of Marinid architecture in the city 🕌📚

- In the afternoon, explored the Batha Museum (Dar Batha), a former palace filled with Moroccan arts and ceramics, that really showed rich culture and explained the rich history of Morocco 🎨🇲🇦

- Ended the day wandering through the medina, doing a bit of shopping, and passing by the Mausolée de Moulay Idriss II 🌙✨

📚 Moulay Idriss II Recap :

This day was especially centered around Moulay Idriss II, one of the most important figures in Moroccan history. He is the son of Idriss I and is credited with truly shaping Fès into a spiritual and political center in the early 9th century (around 808–828).

He is considered the founder of Fès as a major city, bringing together different tribes and establishing it as the capital of the Idrisid dynasty. His mausoleum in the heart of the medina remains one of the most sacred sites in Morocco, and the city’s spiritual identity is still deeply tied to his legacy today 🕌✨

(For more general history about Fès and the dynasties, check the recap in my Day 1 post 💙)

📸: 05.04.2026

👉 Do you prefer days packed with historical sites or slower wandering through the medina? 💭

#fes #morocco #medina #visitmorocco #MoroccoTravel by @explorewithnicolas