Mateja Lončar
Mateja (pron. MAH-tay-yah) is the owner Mateja Travel. She graduated from the University of Ljubljana in Slovenia with a bachelor’s degree in Physical Education and Master’s and Doctoral degrees in Kinesiology. After working for ten years in the City Office for Sport in Ljubljana, the Slovenian capital, she joined the national sports watchdog at the Ministry of Education, Science and Sport. These experiences allowed her to work with people of all ages and walks of life: from children to students and adults, from university professors to school teachers and principals, and from business professionals to tradesmen to craftspeople of all skills and abilities.
While traveling around Slovenia, Mateja was exposed to countless splendid yet little-known places, distinct cuisines, and intriguing people. After moving to the United States with her spouse, a professor at Washington State University, she started Mateja Travel. Since then, she has dedicated herself to organizing active holidays for American travelers who want to see one of the world’s most beautiful places.
In her free time, Mateja enjoys cycling, hiking, running, swimming, skiing, walking, and playing tennis. Throughout school, graduate school, and her professional career, sport has been an important part of Mateja’s personal and professional life–so much so that she has incorporated sport into her international tours.
Franc Rožman
Few mountain guides are more experienced – or more entertaining – than Škof (pron. Sch-kh-OFF). This former member of Slovenia’s Police Special Unit, and later, Chief of Police for Elite Athletes, loves nature, mountains, and everything outdoors.
Škof, or “The Bishop” (a.k.a. Franc Rožman) is a certified instructor of alpine skiing, cross-country skiing, and Nordic walking. He has guided mountain trips and ski tours with participants ranging from beginners to experienced to professionals.
His mountaineering efforts include summiting Mont Blanc (Europe’s highest peak, 4808 m/15,777 ft) multiple times from multiple routes, as well as summiting twenty-plus other European 4000-meter peaks. He also reached the summits of Huascarán Sur (6768 m/22,205 ft) in Peru, climbed the altitude of 7700 m (25,200 ft) on Cho Oyu (the sixth highest mountain in the world), and skied off the top of Mt. Elbrus in Russia (5642 m/18,510 ft).
He has:
- climbed in the Yosemite and Rocky Mountain National Parks in the United States
- taken part in several editions of the Haute Route (one of the most prestigious six-day ski-touring traverses in the world –http://www.chamonix.net/english/winter-activities/ski-touring/routes/haute-route),
- run road and mountain marathon races and
- completed Rajalta Rajalle–hiihto (http://rajaltarajallehiihto.ranua.fi/In-english/RR-info), a border-to-border cross-country ski tour near the Arctic Circle in Finland, covering 440 kilometers (273 miles) in seven days.[[WOW!!]]
Kaja Rožman
Kaja Rožman graduated from the Secondary School for Catering and Tourism in Ljubljana before completing undergraduate degrees in Theology (2010) and Art history (2014) at the University of Ljubljana.
Kaja is an experienced tour guide who worked at:
- the Cankar Dom Gallery (https://www.cd-cc.si/en/other/halls/cd-gallery),
- the Modern Gallery (http://www.mg-lj.si/),
- the Museum of Contemporary Art Metelkova (http://www.mg-lj.si/en/visit/779/info_msum/),
- the City Museum (https://mgml.si/en/city-museum/) in Ljubljana,
- National Galery (https://www.ng-slo.si/si/) and
- at the Ljubljana Opera House (http://www.opera.si/en/home/).
A true native Ljubljančanka, Kaja supports local cultural events, either leading tours or visiting them on her own. When she’s not at a concert or exhibition, she’ll probably be outdoors in one of Ljubljana’s beautiful parks, studying to learn more about them!