(1889-1950): She was a Slovenian writer, traveller and polyglot, born in Celje. She travelled extensively around the world and wrote several books about her experiences, including Globetrotting Through Siberia and Central Asia” and “In the Land of Silent”. She finished high school in Graz, from where she went to London in 1909 to study languages. She studied English, French, Latin, Italian, Norwegian, Danish, Russian and Spanish.

At the beginning of the First World War, in 1914, she had to flee to Sweden and Norway because, as an Austro-Hungarian citizen, she was unwelcome in London. In 1918, she returned to Celje, where she founded a school for foreign languages, and her decision to travel around the world was ripe. She used her savings to buy her first typewriter, the famous Erika, which followed her for the rest of her life. She prepared for her journey by practising her painting skills and taking additional lessons in geography, history, natural history, botany and zoology.