Audiovisual Walking Tour Guides
THE ORIGIN STORY BEHIND BARDEUM
Photo of English Channel by Kurt Stepnitz
AMANDA MERCER
Founder and CEO
Amanda Mercer founded BARDEUM after a series of life-changing events reshaped the way she thought about time, purpose, and the way we experience the world.
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A practicing attorney and former assistant prosecuting attorney and NCAA enforcement representative, Amanda holds a B.A. from Michigan State University and a J.D. from Wayne State University Law School. Her legal background - grounded in evidence, analysis, and clarity - deeply informs BARDEUM’s commitment to historically rigorous storytelling. But the spark for BARDEUM did not begin in a courtroom. It began in open water.
THE TURNING POINT
In 2012, Amanda was training as part of a six-woman relay team to complete a double crossing of the English Channel to raise awareness and funds for ALS/MND. Four months before the swim, she was diagnosed with stage 2 breast cancer.
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Over the next year, she underwent surgery, chemotherapy, radiation — and completed the record-setting swim, raising more than $120,000 for ALS research. A routine scan later revealed a brain aneurysm requiring emergency surgery. In a strange twist of fate, early cancer detection saved her life twice.
The experience clarified something simple and urgent: life can change in a moment. The things we long to do should not be postponed.
THE PROBLEM WITH "SEEING" HISTORY
Amanda and her late husband Todd began traveling again with their family - visiting iconic destinations like Washington, DC’s National Mall, museums, and historic landmarks around the world., museums, and historic landmarks around the world.
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But too often, the experience felt flat.
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At sites like the Roman Forum or during a walk through London’s royal parks, one column or statue could begin to blur together.. In museums, masterpieces blurred together. Occasionally, a gifted guide would illuminate the place with story and context - and suddenly everything made sense.
But guided tours were expensive, limited, or inconsistent in quality.
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The difference wasn’t access.
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It was storytelling.
THE INSIGHT
Before each trip, Amanda began researching the people and moments behind the sites. She told her family the stories of those who had stood on the same ground centuries before - rulers, rebels, artists, visionaries.
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Suddenly, the places changed.
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The Palazzo Vecchio wasn’t just a building - it was a stage for political intrigue.
The Doge’s Palace wasn’t a monument - it was the setting for Casanova’s escape.
A sculpture wasn’t marble - it was ambition carved in stone.
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Context transformed observation into understanding.
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Story transformed sightseeing into experience.
The Birth of BARDEUM
BARDEUM was created to bring that transformation to others.
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The name blends the traveling bard with the museum - storytelling and scholarship brought together. Every BARDEUM experience is written by bestselling authors and award-winning historians who craft immersive audio walking tours grounded in careful research.
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Designed for curious travelers who want more than surface-level facts, BARDEUM invites you to step inside history through self-guided storytelling experiences.
Why Storytelling Changes the Way We Experience History
History becomes meaningful when it is experienced as story - shaped by people, conflict, and consequence rather than isolated facts. BARDEUM’s tours are grounded in careful research and crafted through narrative, allowing you to explore at your own pace while engaging deeply with the past. It is self-guided learning designed to foster understanding, not just deliver information.