Dear ones, Franzi and Fabian have done what many people dream of: leaving everything behind and travelling the world. Three months ago, their son Pablo was born, who has turned their lives upside down for the time being. But it’s already clear: Franzi and Fabian want to set off again soon, despite or rather because of Pablo. Thank you for this exciting interview and all the best for your little family!
You spent three years travelling all over the world. Why don’t you tell us a bit about it.
The idea of travelling the world came to us at the end of 2019 when, after a few house viewings and discussions with banks, we suddenly realised that we were only taking this step because it was now socially appropriate to start looking for a home of our own.
When Fabian’s catastrophic spermiogram was added to the mix and we knew that we wouldn’t be able to have children, we thought: „Let’s do something really crazy.“ I watched the documentary „Pedal the world“ on Netlix, which is about a normal guy from the Palatinate who cycles around the world for a year. I was immediately hooked and with a bit of persuasion, Fabian eventually agreed too.
We started selling everything, really everything! The flat became emptier and emptier, we only kept selected items with sentimental value for ourselves and only as much as our old children’s rooms could hold. The sales marathon was followed by the cancellation of both permanent jobs (that would be during the pandemic, people thought we were completely bonkers by then at the latest) and the cancellation of the flat.
In April 2021, the time had finally come, after over a year of preparation (the first and second lockdowns got in the way), we set off with our bikes and fully packed bags. In fact, bets were secretly being placed behind our backs as to when we would be back at the door – we were generously given three weeks.
You’ve definitely won the bet!
Absolutely! Three weeks turned into three years. We explored over 20 countries by bike and cycled over 30,000 kilometres. The first year westwards to Portugal and over to Morocco, then deep north across the Arctic Circle up to the North Cape and back to Germany via Finland and the Baltic States.
From there, we will fly to the end of the world – to New Zealand – in December 2023. There we cycled both islands and continued our journey in Australia. On the red continent, we cycled right through the outback, our biggest adventure yet and we loved it. We would both do it again any time without hesitation. In Indonesia, we took our first break from cycling, Bali was supposed to be a holiday, relaxation and unwinding.
That sounds like a big BUT!
True. We found almost dead puppies, took them in, worked with the local vet, collected donations, sterilised several strays and finally brought the three puppies to Germany after collecting over €4,000 in donations via GoFundMe.
Three years on the bike – where did you sleep? It’s easier when you’re travelling with a camper…
During these three years, we mostly slept in our own tent, cooked our food on the petrol cooker and had everything we needed with us in our bike bags. We financed the whole thing with our savings, our YouTube channel and at some point with what we learnt on the road: to be happy with little. Why did we do it? Because we wanted to get out of the hamster wheel. We were looking for freedom and successfully found it – and didn’t really want to give it up any time soon.
And then Franzi got pregnant. That must have been a huge surprise.
We were already back in Germany after rescuing the puppies from Indonesia. Unfortunately, Franzi’s family suffered a serious stroke of fate and travelling was out of the question for the time being. Franzi had an appointment with the gynaecologist because she thought that she might have gone through the menopause due to all the stress and grief. But the doctor then said: „No, you’re pregnant!
That was really a huge surprise, because after seven years of „infertility“ and zero contraception, nobody expects anything like that. But we realised relatively quickly that we didn’t want to give up travelling.
How did you decide where and how your baby should be born?
We briefly considered whether we should give birth to our son in Germany. But after some research, we decided otherwise. Our child is now called Pablo and his second name is Antonio, so if we get „stuck“ in our favourite country Portugal later on, Pablo won’t even stand out there in terms of names 🙂
Now you live on 28 square metres in the attic – you made a reel, which I found really exciting. The most frequently asked question under the reel was: Why do you do this to yourselves, living in such a small space?
Yes, we hear that question all the time! But to be honest, it doesn’t feel like sacrifice to us at all. We used to live in a tent for months on trips – 28 square metres is pure luxury. Hot running water, heating that comes on immediately, a door you can close. We haven’t had this much comfort and privacy in recent years.
We like the minimalist approach. It forces us to live consciously, not to hoard anything and to keep an eye on the essentials. It also saves us money, time and energy – and gives us freedom. We like the saying: „What you own, owns you.“ And it’s simply true.
And of course it’s not really a problem at the moment, because a baby likes to be close and cosy, we don’t even need a baby monitor here. But of course this one-bedroom flat is just a transition, because we definitely want to move on soon.
How else do you try to live sustainably and cost-effectively in everyday life?
Many things have simply become ingrained through travelling: We buy very little new, in fact almost everything second-hand and think twice about whether we really need something. If I think we need something or I want something, the first thing I do is open the Ebay classifieds app.
I take a photo and put it online for sale if I no longer need something myself and it’s lying around and getting in the way. We spend less on many things that other people spend most of their money on. We could afford a bigger flat, but we don’t want to. We could buy a new car, but we don’t see the point. We also want to show Pablo that happiness doesn’t depend on how big the flat is or how new the car is.
For us, sustainability also means wasting less – time, energy, money, attention – and *experiencing* more. What’s really important to us is time. And you can’t buy time for any money in the world. But everyone can decide for themselves what they use their time for or, conversely, what they fill it with. We definitely want to work less, so we have less money, but we also need less than others because we have opted for a different lifestyle. In the end, everyone lives the life they choose to prioritise. Our number one priority was travelling, free time that we can spend as we please, now it’s Pablo and as much time together as possible.
Now you’ve been parents for three months – what has surprised you most about parenthood?
How much love you can feel. We thought we knew love, but love for your own child – oh, that really hits a different level. Of course, with so much love comes a whole new set of worries that you might not have had otherwise. Worries about health, an enormous urge to protect the little being that you have created yourself and that starts with the „out of nowhere grabbing grandma“ at the bakery and ends with the world-weariness.
We knew it would be intense – but the fact that you can be dead tired, overwhelmed and infinitely happy and grateful at the same time is something you have to experience to understand.
What do you feel has been the biggest challenge so far?
Definitely the balance between closeness and freedom, between being parents and remaining a couple, between the chaos of everyday life and the plans and dreams we’re striving for.
But we try to remind each other that this is just a phase – and that we’ll get through it together and things will change again very soon. We currently have an enormous workload with Fabian’s full-time job, social media, a building site that we are looking after ourselves, the search for a suitable new motorhome and, of course, the requirement that Pablo comes first in everything.
Are there any plans for when we’ll be travelling again?
Oh yes – if it were up to Franzi, we’d love to be back on tour yesterday. But we’re working flat out to start travelling again next year – hence the enormous double burden. Because we’ll soon be turning our lives around 180 degrees again.
We’ve already given notice on our one-bedroom flat and we’re looking hard for a motorhome for the three of us. Finally enjoying sunrises again, surrounded by nature, smelling the dew, a cup of fresh coffee in our hands and looking forward to a new day in freedom – the three of us at last. But we’re not rushing, of course everything has to be right, the right motorhome at the right price and everything has to be organised here in Germany. We want to start with smaller tours and therefore set up a small „base“ here for the first time while travelling. However, it is still under construction and is therefore still a complete building site.
What do you really want to show your child in the world?
That freedom and home are not places, but feelings and people. We want to show him that you can find a home anywhere and be happy – in a tent, on a bus, in a smile.
And that wealth has nothing to do with money, but with experiences, encounters and moments. We want Pablo not only to see the world while travelling, but also to feel how beautiful a simple life can be. As a family, we also want to focus on what is really important and essential in life, and that is people and nature, learning and feeling.
What is the best thing about travelling in general for you?
This feeling of being alive. This certainty deep inside us that everything makes sense. Not knowing in the morning where we’ll sleep at night. Starting the day completely free and curious, not knowing exactly what it will bring, what landscapes we will marvel at, what people we will get to know. That life is determined only by the essentials and there are no distractions, nothing useless. That the time you live feels fulfilling and is never wasted. Travelling has changed us. When we’re not travelling, everything feels like a compromise.
More information can be found on her homepage: https://quitandgo.de
