Have you ever thought about biking across Europe all the way to South Korea?
If your immediate answer was no, you’re not the only one — but for Jenny and her husband Ahmed, that little seed of an idea grew into a full blown adventure!
Starting in March 2025, Jenny and Ahmed set off on an epic, multi-year bike adventure which they expect to last anywhere between two to five years, depending on the opportunities and experiences they find along the way.
With no strict timeline and nothing but the open road ahead, they’ve quit their jobs to become full-time digital nomads, embracing their new adventure one pedal at a time.
We received the opportunity to interview Jenny and Ahmed about their experience biking across Europe. If you’re on the fence about dipping your toes into a world of adventure, check out what they had to say!
Question 1: Tell us about the inspiration behind your trip! What made you decide to start biking across Europe to begin with?
The idea of changing the way we live has been brewing in our heads since 2017, when we decided to search for a more meaningful path in life.
After several trips to South Korea, the idea took shape: we would leave everything behind and go full throttle into “letting go”, quitting our jobs, stepping away from our routines and our assets, and hitting the road to reconnect with each other, with nature, and with the world.
So in 2022, we made the decision to start our journey in January 2025, and we began building our plan around that date. Of course, we had to decide how to take on such a life-changing journey: on foot? In a campervan? By bicycle?
Ultimately, we chose the bike, a symbol of slowness, effort, and humility. And since making that choice, so many things have confirmed it was the right one for us. We told ourselves: “Our biggest mistake would be not to try.”
Question 2: What are some of the countries you’ve visited or will be visiting throughout your journey biking across Europe? Do you have any favourites so far, or any you are most excited about?
Our journey biking across Europe started in Belgium in January 2025, and since then we’ve travelled through Luxembourg, France, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Liechtenstein, Italy, and we are currently in Slovenia.
To reach South Korea while exploring as many countries as possible, we plan to pass through Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Serbia, Kosovo, Albania, North Macedonia, Greece, and then Turkey, from where we’ll begin our journey beyond Europe.
From there, we hope to travel through countries such as Iraq, Kuwait, Iran, Afghanistan, Syria, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Armenia, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Nepal, Bhutan, Tibet, China, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, North Korea (if possible), and of course, South Korea.
This list could eventually evolve depending on the route, our progress, and the experiences and advice we receive from other travellers along the way.
We’re excited about each country, because every single one brings a new culture to discover, especially through this nomadic, low-budget way of travelling. It naturally pushes us to connect with people along the way, and that’s what makes this journey so unique.
And honestly, we don’t have a favourite country, this trip is unfolding more through the people we meet than through borders. From our very first night in Belgium to where we are today in Slovenia, we’ve met extraordinary people, and you simply can’t rank something like that.
Question 3: How do you typically plan the routes you will take and your accommodations—do you map things out ahead of time, or just see where the wind takes you?
At first, we really wanted to plan our route more precisely for the entire first year, by mapping out the best cycling paths, but also the mountains and exceptional places we didn’t want to miss.
The idea was to have a general itinerary, while still staying flexible for surprises and unexpected changes. But in reality, we weren’t able to prepare as much as we had hoped. We set off with almost nothing planned, except a goal to reach Greece and lists of places to see, country by country.
Since then, we’ve been trying to plan just a few days ahead, whenever we have a chance to stop somewhere and take the time. It’s not ideal, but it works for now. And we definitely hope to be more organised for the second year of our journey.
Question 4: Given how many countries you are trekking thorough, have you encountered any language barriers throughout your trip? How do you deal with that?
We’re lucky to speak a good range of languages between the two of us: French, Dutch, English of course, as well as Arabic and Korean. That already gives us many ways to communicate.
We’re used to travelling and always finding a way to make ourselves understood. But since this trip is quite unique, we decided to prepare a presentation sheet translated into all the languages of the countries we’ll be crossing.
It’s organized into five sections that we can use depending on the situation:
1. A general introduction about who we are and what our journey is about.
2. A section to ask someone to watch over our bikes while we do an activity.
3. A section to ask for a place to pitch our tent.
4. Another to request accommodation in exchange for a service.
5. And finally, a more special part where we offer to organise a small activity for people we meet, for example, showing a cartoon to children or running a sports session in a village.
So far, this sheet has helped us a lot and often leads to meaningful interactions in every country. And our style of travel, on bicycles with panniers, says a lot too. It naturally sparks people’s curiosity, and they often come to talk to us first.
Question 5: What has been the most challenging part of your journey biking across Europe, both physically and mentally?
Physically, biking across Europe is a real challenge. Even though we used to do sports before, our bodies weren’t prepared for this kind of effort. It’s not so much the cycling itself, but the weight we carry that makes it truly hard.
Each of our bikes, with the luggage, weighs about 72 kilograms, and that makes every uphill climb extremely demanding. When it’s too steep, we sometimes have to push the bikes, which is just as exhausting.
As the journey goes on, we’re learning how to better anticipate the difficulty of each day, looking at elevation, wind, road conditions… and sometimes we leave the bikes behind to go hiking in the mountains.
It’s not exactly restful either, but it’s part of the experience. We’ve also learned to take real rest days, which are absolutely vital if we want to keep going in the long run.
Mentally, we don’t always experience things the same way. For me (Jenny), spending so much time in nature and having all these amazing encounters really keeps me going. But what we miss the most, of course, is our loved ones.
We try not to let the homesickness take over, and we do our best to stay in touch as often as possible, hrough calls, messages, or video chats.
Question 6: Are you both working remotely? If so, how do you balance work with your trip?
No, we’re not working remotely. We actually both quit our jobs to do this. We don’t have an income or a remote business in the background.
We’re living on a very small budget of €22.82 per day for both of us (all inclusive). We’ve chosen to leave behind the idea of working for money.
The only kind of work we still want to do is helping others, people we meet along the way. Whether it’s fixing something, using our hands, sharing a skill, or just being there when needed, we give what we can, without expecting anything in return. That’s what drives us now. Human exchange. Real encounters. Kindness with no price tag.
At the same time, documenting such a journey and writing blog episodes in three languages, sorting photos, filming, editing, updating social media to share meaningful updates, all while cycling across countries with 72 kg bikes and setting up camp before dark.
It’s not a job, but it’s clearly a lot of work! And it’s surely not about becoming influencers. It’s about sharing something real with our loved ones, our friends, and anyone who feels like following this crazy, beautiful ride.
Question 7: So far, has this trip been what you expected? What is one experience you’ve had that will stay with you forever?
So far, this trip has been everything we expected… and nothing like we expected, in the best possible way.
We imagined tough climbs, beautiful landscapes, and the occasional challenge. What we didn’t expect was the overwhelming kindness of strangers, again and again. People who welcomed us, helped us, trusted us, and reminded us of the beauty in human connection.
We couldn’t possibly name just one person or one experience, because so many have touched us deeply. Every single one gave us something real, something powerful. That is the most magnificent gift of our journey so far. One we already carry in our hearts, and always will.
Question 8: What made you decide to choose aloSIM as your partner/data provider for this trip?
We chose aloSIM because right from the beginning, Heather (our point of contact) genuinely took the time to understand who we are and what we’re about.
We’re not professional influencers, we’re two people on a long-term, purpose-driven journey, trying to live completly differently and tell real stories along the way. While at least seven other major players in the eSIM world showed interest, with aloSIM, it always felt like a genuine conversation.
Heather worked with us, listened, showed true patience and helped shape a partnership that made sense, one rooted in trust, flexibility, and authenticity. In the end, that’s what really made all the difference.
Question 9: What would it be like biking across Europe if you didn’t have steady reliable internet access?
It would be an extremely harder experience, maybe even an impossible one. A steady, reliable internet connection (aloSIM in our case) keeps us truly connected to the world in every shape and form.
It lets us stay in touch with loved ones, helps us navigate from big cities to unknown villages and remote valleys, and allows us to find key solutions on the spot, from sudden weather changes to emergency situations.
Finally, it also lets us share our journey in real time. Without it, we’d be lost, not just on the map, but emotionally too. It’s more than just internet access, it’s our digital lifeline, plain and simple.
Question 10: What advice would you give to someone dreaming of taking time off work for a life-changing trip such as yours?
Don’t wait for the “perfect” moment, it doesn’t exist.
You need to be cautious, but don’t be scared. Pack less than you think you need, and jump into a well-thought-out, life-changing journey that will be right for you, whether it’s for a couple of months, a sabbatical year, or full-throttle madness like 5 to 10 years.
You have to listen to your heart, trust humankind, take your time, enjoy, stay curious, and be willing to let go of lots, or even all of it, for a better, richer, and more fulfilling life… or at least a better way of living it.
“The most beautiful gift one can do to a puppet is not a smile, but a pair of scissors…”
