zkušenosti

/ Stories that shaped the way I work

➤ Trip Design & Location Scouting

➤ Languages & Translation

Guiding

Markéta Machálková hiking in the Austrian Alps.

From mountain huts to coastal trails, wineries and whisky distilleries, through historic towns and castles, I've guided active and sightseeing trips across Europe and Canada.

For me, the journey is as much about the people and the small moments as it is about the destination.

♥️ Mountains · National Parks · Historic Towns & Small Villages · Castles & Ruins · Unexpected Detours

Favourite trips I guided

🇬🇧 Scotland on MTB

The Scottish Highlands in their full glory: dramatic landscapes, cosy pubs, whisky, fish & chips, and, of course, plenty of rain.

Marketa cycling through the Scottish Highlands in the rain.

🇨🇦 BEST OF CANADIAN ROCKIES

Three weeks of camping our way through Glacier, Banff, Jasper, Mt. Robson, Whistler and Vancouver—with daily hikes, turquoise lakes and always one eye out for bears.

🇫🇷 Holiday in Provence

Ah, Provence... the Mediterranean, sunshine, lavender, vineyards, and of course—the cheese.

A hiking group enjoying a barbecue at Cascade Ponds in Banff National Park, Canada.

Marketa hosting a French cheese tasting with a table of regional cheeses.

📍 West Highland Way, Scotland, UK

📍 Cascade Ponds, Banff National Park

📍 Côte d'Azur, Provence, France

🇲🇽 Mexico - Yucatán, Mexico City

🇺🇸 USA - Southwest

🇨🇴 Colombia - Medellín & Guatapé, Antioquia

🇬🇧 England

🇨🇿 Czechia - Bohemian Switzerland (home)

🇫🇷 France - Normandy, Brittany, Champagne, Burgundy

🇮🇹 Italy - Lago di Como

🇫🇷 Corsica

And where else?

Trip Design & Location Scouting

Marketa working from a coworking space in Mexico City.

Every memorable journey begins long before the first step.

I've designed journeys ranging from outdoor adventures and road trips to coworking retreats, company offsites and expeditions across every continent (yes, including Antarctica).

Some trips call for firsthand knowledge and walking the trails myself, others rely on working closely with trusted local partners and agencies. Either way, they're built on meticulous research and connecting lots of little dots.

Good planning often goes unnoticed – and that's usually a good sign. When it doesn't... that's what Plan B is for. And C. And occasionally F.

❤️ Big Ideas · Tiny Details · Maps · Logistics · Local Connections · Backup Plans · and of course Spreadsheets

A few projects I'm proud of

🌍 Coworking Retreats Around The World

community retreats • 2-12 weeks • 10-30 participants

From scouting destinations and local partners to planning, logistics and supporting local businesses, I helped shape coworking retreats where international communities of digital nomads could live, work and connect.

Projects included: Mexico City · Oaxaca · Buenos Aires · Patagonia · Cape Town · Marrakesh · Lisbon · Porto · Madeira · Valencia · Tallinn · Montenegro · Goa · Dharamkot · The Philippines...

Created a space where an international remote-working community could live, work and experience the Prague I know and love—from neighbourhood bakeries and farmers' markets to beer gardens and evenings by the river.

🇨🇿 Prague Coworking Retreat

community retreat • 2 weeks • 15 participants

Marketa holding a plate of traditional Czech doughnuts (koblihy).

Here, have a donut

🇺🇸 American Southwest Incentive Trip

company adventure • 2 weeks • 35 participants

Inspired by my own travels, I planned a two-week incentive trip that combined iconic cities, national parks, film-famous landscapes and a touch of Las Vegas into one memorable journey.

🇹🇿 Tanzania Company Adventure

company adventure • 11 days • 25 participants

Designed in close collaboration with a local destination partner, this incentive trip combined wildlife in Ngorongoro Crater and Lake Manyara with the beaches and Stone Town of Zanzibar.

Community Facilitation

Participants designing logos together during a creative skillsharing workshop in Playa del Carmen.

Community lunch with participants from around the world, Medellín, Colombia.

Participant leading a yoga session during a community skillsharing event, Medellín, Colombia.

Shoes left at the door while participants gather for a community potluck in Medellín, Colombia..

Interactive workshop exploring how dating apps shape modern relationships, Playa del Carmen, Mexico.

International community gathering at a coworking space in Mexico City.

Participants sharing homemade food during a community potluck in Medellín, Colombia..

Much of my work has been about creating space for people to meet, step outside their comfort zones and feel part of a community.

We hosted a wide range of events, from potluck dinners and themed parties to skill-sharing workshops, goal-setting sessions and Deep Meaningful Conversations.

I especially enjoyed helping people discover they had something worth sharing, then creating a space where they felt comfortable enough to stand up and do it. Those became some of my favourite events. Every community was full of people with fascinating skills, stories and passions, and I loved creating the opportunity for them to share them with everyone else.

♥️ Potlucks · Local Adventures · Honest Conversations · Community Care · Skill Shares · Workshops · Safe Spaces · Conflict Resolution

Languages & Translation

Languages shape pretty much every chapter of my life, and they're part of almost everything I choose to do.

Marketa rock climbing near Revelstoke, British Columbia, Canada.

Literary Translation

Currently translating The Rock Warrior's Way: Mental Training for Climbers by Arno Ilgner into Czech.

One of those rare projects that combines my love of climbing, languages and self-discovery.

My Language Learning Project

I built My Language Journals to create the kind of language learning resources I'd always wished existed.

A long-term passion project for curious, independent learners.

Marketa and her roommate in Brisbane, Australia.

Living & Working Abroad

I've lived, worked and volunteered in a lot of different places, often following the language as much as the destination.

That's how I ended up in Canada, Australia, the UK, France or Germany, to name a few.

Teaching English

Teaching English was my first chance to share my love of languages.

I loved helping people challenge old habits, gain confidence and find their own voice in English.

Adventures

Curiosity has taken me on some wonderful adventures, big and small. Somehow, many of the things I'd dreamed about since I was a kid became real, and I feel incredibly lucky.

The experiences I treasure most often came from slowing down, staying with locals and saying yes to unexpected ways of experiencing a place.

That's how I ended up

living in the Canadian Rockies in my 1980s Winnebago for four years.
helping restore a catamaran in the Caribbean, learning to sail and scuba dive, including an 1867 shipwreck, and calling the boat home for three months.
spending two months working remotely while road-tripping around the American Southwest, climbing, paddling and hiking.
crossing Australia's outback solo in a van after four months of volunteering through Workaway along the East Coast.