Alma Karlin: The Slovenian Woman Who Travelled The World Solo For 8 Years & Learnt 13 Languages In The 1930s

Alma Karlin was the epitome of the spirit of a traveller. She was and is revered for her travel writings. Karlin, a Slovene, travelled the world solo for nearly a decade and, in the process, learned over 13 languages. However, the travel writer gave up her career to resist the Nazi regime when national socialism started gaining popularity in the country.

Alma Karlin, A Slovenian Woman Who Travelled The World Alone

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During her 8-year journey, given that she was a woman travelling the world alone, Karlin had seen much worse than worst. She had survived an attempted rape in Peru, an attempted poisoning in Panama, humiliation in the States, police interrogation in Taiwan, unrequited love in Japan, and poverty in the Pacific Islands.

Karlin returned home when her etiquette-obsessed mother begged her to come back in a letter. Her mother was on her deathbed, and even though she was not fond of her, she decided to return home. However, even though her journey ended on an abrupt note, her return was that of a martyr. By that time, Karlin had become a best-selling author and had even kicked off what we know as fan clubs today.

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She was loved by her readers, critics, and the media. The New York Times had dubbed her the first woman to circle the globe alone and without foreign financial assistance. But this fame started to fade away with the rise of national socialism in Germany. Karlin was fiercely against Hitler¡¯s cruel regime, and she did not hesitate to mobilise in accordance with her beliefs.

Karlin¡¯s Life Had Never Been Easy

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Her life had never been easy. Karlin was born with a drooping left eye and later found out that she had a slightly raised shoulder. Her father was an officer in the Austro-Hungarian monarchy and raised Alma with military disciplinary standards.

When her parents discovered that she had a raised shoulder at the age of 13, she was strapped onto braces, equipment designed to straighten her "defect." She called them "torture devices." Alma¡¯s liberation came to her when she turned 18 in 1908 and travelled to London to study foreign languages, despite her mother¡¯s opposition.

While there, she learned English, Spanish, Italian, French, Russian, Danish, Finnish, and Swedish. Alma worked on her own dictionary that had information about the 10 languages she was learning. She went on to learn three more languages and buff up her arsenal. Alma¡¯s knowledge of languages helped her travel the world with relative ease.

Alma Karlin was the paragon of an eternal traveller. She once said, "If I was to be born again, I wish to be a bird, so I can travel."