A flowzoom World Trip - Part 2

If you have not yet read Part 1 of the story, you can access it here → Part 1 of a flowzoom world trip

In Part 1 we told the story of how Florian and Ildikó set off from Munich on loaded bikes in April 2017 - and what you need to know before taking on a trip like that. Here it is about what they actually experienced: the countries, the encounters, the unforgettable moments. And at the end, the question of what an uncomfortable train ride has to do with a travel pillow.

Overland to China

The Balkans: History You Can Still Feel

Florian and Ildikó both grew up with the Balkan War as children. They followed it on television - as news from a world that felt both distant and close. Experiencing it in person was one of the strongest impressions of the entire trip for both of them.

In every country they joined a Free Walking Tour - led by young people, often students, who had not lived through the war themselves. "It was fascinating to see how that generation reflects on the history of their own country," says Ildikó. "From a completely different perspective to what we knew from the news."

Georgia: The Country That Has Everything

If Florian and Ildikó would recommend one destination without reservation, it is Georgia. A country that truly has it all: mountains, sea, extraordinary food and warm-hearted people. They hiked, spent time on the beach, and felt at home immediately. "We would both go back without hesitation," says Ildikó.

Central Asia: Kyrgyzstan as a Hidden Gem

The Central Asian countries were not easy to travel through - visa hurdles, late season, cold. But Kyrgyzstan remains a tip they never fully got to use: a hiking region that is still largely off the tourist trail and that they would have loved to explore for longer.

For the long distances in China, they recommend the night bus or night trains where available: transport and accommodation in one, covering vast distances overnight. "You arrive and you've slept at the same time - in theory at least," says Florian drily. "If flowzoom had existed back then, we'd definitely have arrived more rested."

Cambodia: A History That Gets Under Your Skin

Cambodia moved Ildikó more deeply than almost anywhere else. The history of the Khmer Rouge, of Pol Pot - how he managed to eliminate the entire educated class of the country - was very present and very affecting on the ground. "The average age is around 25," she says. "The healthcare system, education - everything is still very difficult. It is a very beautiful country, and at the same time a very sad history."

Ildikó and Florian are glad they had the chance to get to know the country when they did. The situation today is unfortunately different: since mid-2025, there have been military clashes along the border between Cambodia and Thailand. Different foreign offices currently issue a partial travel warning for the border region of both countries, and all crossings between Thailand and Cambodia are closed. Anyone planning to travel to Cambodia or Thailand should check the current situation in advance with the foreign office of their country.

Thailand: Arriving

Thailand was the place where Ildikó and Florian felt most at home during their trip - a blend of Asia and Western comfort, with a lively community of travellers and people working remotely. Florian and Ildikó ended up living in Chiang Mai for a full year before returning to Germany via Bali.

The Encounters: What Really Stays With You

An Englishman, a Bicycle and the Road to Beijing

Somewhere in Uzbekistan, in a simple guesthouse: Florian and Ildikó meet a young Englishman. He is travelling by bike - from London to Beijing. Alone. "I found it spectacular and fascinating," says Florian. "We followed his journey on Instagram for a long time afterwards." A brief moment that stuck - because it shows what is possible when you simply set off.

Ildikó as the Face of an Uzbek Visa Campaign

At the Uzbek embassy in Kazakhstan, Ildikó is asked if she would like to appear in a promotional film. She says yes. They never saw the film afterwards - to this day they have no idea whether it actually aired. "It was just funny," says Ildikó, laughing.

The Biggest Surprise

"That the vast majority of people everywhere are so welcoming, kind and open." That is Florian's answer to the question of what surprised him most on the trip. No elaborate travel philosophy - just a simple, honest observation that still holds after nearly two years on the road.

What Remains: World Trip - and What That Really Means

"World trip" - the phrase sounds like everywhere and everything. Florian and Ildikó are honest about what it was in their case, and what it was not: "We never even made it all the way around the world." The original plan had gone further: Indonesia, Australia, Oceania, South America, North America. But with the style of travel they had chosen - really arriving somewhere, experiencing cultures, meeting people - that would have been nearly impossible without sacrificing the essence of it, or extending the trip considerably.

"Other people prefer to fly to ten places and call it a world trip. Everyone can do it however they like," says Florian. "We wanted to get to know countries and cultures - and that mattered more to us."

What they took home: they became more open to the world, very good at finding their feet in new places, and much closer as a couple. "We learned that we can spend 24 hours a day together - and that it is equally important to have space for yourself." They would do everything exactly the same again. Almost everything: the brief pause in Bulgaria, during which Ildikó tried to learn video editing, they would skip. But if after two years on the road that is the only regret - they got it right.

And Then: How Sleepless Night Trains Became an Idea

Florian and Ildikó returned to Germany in summer 2019. No flat, no job – but an experience that would transform itself into something over the months that followed.

Along the way, they had tried countless travel pillows. None of them had really worked. And Florian could not let go of the question: why has nobody solved this properly yet? Back in Germany, he began looking for an answer systematically – not through conventional market research, but by listening. He read thousands of customer reviews, including those of competitors, and found the same complaints everywhere: too bulky, too stiff, the head gets pushed forward. "Innovation doesn't mean reinventing the wheel for me," he says. "It means caring more about the details than others do."

What followed was not one big aha moment, but a very concrete one: he made the back of the pillows flatter, added more support for the chin and sides, and developed different models – because comfort is not the same for everyone. Some people need more height and structure; others want an inflatable pillow that takes up almost no space in their bag.

flowzoom was founded in 2019 – as a family business, with Ildikó on board from the very beginning. And then came COVID. Travel stopped overnight. "Suddenly nobody needed travel pillows anymore," Florian recalls. He adapted the way he had learned to on the world trip: pragmatically, without hesitation. flowzoom survived the crisis – and Florian took away a lesson that mattered just as much as product development: that you need a good team you can trust. "An idea alone is not enough. It takes a strong team to make a company truly grow."

What flowzoom means to him, he puts in a single sentence: "When the journey gets better, everything gets better." Not just in the literal sense – but as a philosophy, toward travel, toward building a business, and toward life in between. "We live in a world obsessed with outcomes. But life is not just about arrivals. It is about how you experience the journey." 

What has grown from that: a range as varied as the people who use it. For every body type, every travel style - whether a 28-hour train or a short-haul flight.