Interview: Barbora Nevosadova of Tripomatic

© Tripomatic | Barbora Nevosadova

Name: Barbora Nevosadova

Profession: Co-founder of Tripomatic, an online trip planner

Age: 32

Packing Tip?

Upload a copy of your passport to Dropbox — that way you always have a copy, no matter what happens.

Favorite travel memory?

When I was 13, I visited London with my dad. It was the first time I traveled somewhere with just my dad. He could not speak any English, so I had to take care of everything and I felt very important. My English was far from perfect at the time, but we had fun. We visited all the places we wanted to see and we both enjoyed our stay very much.

Bucket List Destination?

Iceland, Israel and New Zealand, if I have to choose just a few of them, but my travel bucket list is very, very long.

Favorite off-the-beaten-path spot?

Finland and its beautiful lakes — when traveling to Scandinavia, most people choose to see Norwegian fjords, but I fell in love with Finnish countryside and lakes.

What kind of traveler are you?

I love staying in one place for some time. I lived in England, Finland and Sweden, and it was great to have a new base for my journeys. You can also really get to know the country and its people, it is a much more intense experience.

Funniest travel story?

When I was working as an au pair in England, my friend and I went to visit a nearby town. We walked there for a bit and when it was time to go back to the train station, we were not sure about the right way. We walked for another 20 minutes, when it was obvious we were lost. When we asked for the shortest way to the train station, people looked a bit horrified and told us it was too far away to walk there. One of them offered us a ride. We really needed to catch the train, so we happily accepted. It turned out the guy was a priest in the local church, and we stopped at his home to meet his family and have ice cream and arrived at the train station in time.

Best meal you’ve had on your travels?

Once in Norway, we were fishing at the seaside. We caught a tiny mackerel that would be too small for any Norwegian fisherman. But we were excited about our triumph and grilled the fish on a fire. It was the best fish I have ever eaten in my life.

Craziest thing you’ve done while traveling?

I haven’t used a safety belt. We were about 400 kilometers north from the polar circle on a boat taking us to a peninsula where a friend of ours lived. It was raining heavily and the sea was rough, but we did not see it at that moment. We were laughing at the safety belts and joking about crazy Norwegians putting safety belts everywhere. Then, we got to the open sea. It was not possible to buckle in as we had to use both hands to keep us in the chairs. I could not even be sick, as I had to keep myself in the chair. When we stopped after one-hour ride, I was incredibly relieved that we survived. My hands ached from holding on the chair handles, but I was alive. It was the last boat that sailed to the peninsula for three days; they decided to stop other boats because of the weather.

Favorite item collected from your travels?

I bought a pair of red earrings when we were crossing a border between Sweden and Finland. I wore them a few years later when I was getting married to my husband, who I had met in Finland.

Where next?

This year, I am planning just one or two family trips with my kids. Our daughter is too little to enjoy long-haul traveling, but I hope this is the last year when we hold back on traveling. Then, I want to continue with ticking off my travel bucket list.