John and Beth Muenzenberger have visited all seven continents.

 

By Susan Thompson | Lake Panorama Times

Wanderlust is a German word that means a strong or irresistible desire to travel. Based on their travel history, it is clear John and Beth Muenzenberger have embraced their wanderlust, and they don’t plan to stop anytime soon. 

The Muenzenbergers recently returned from Antarctica, which means they now have visited all seven continents. They had already been to Asia, Africa, Australia, Europe, South America, and, of course, North America, on trips that took them to more than 40 countries. 

“Our first trip together was a skiing trip to Wisconsin in early 1974,” John says. “It was my first time skiing, and Beth was an excellent teacher.” 

Beth was born in Massachusetts. When she was in eighth grade, her family moved to Carmel, Indiana. John grew up in a suburb of Milwaukee. Just before his senior year in high school, his family also moved to Carmel. 

Beth and John met in study hall and dated through their senior year of high school. They both attended Purdue University and married the summer before their senior year.  

John earned a degree in agricultural sciences, and Beth majored in speech and hearing. After they graduated from Purdue, they moved to Dallas, where Beth attended the University of Texas at Dallas, earning a master’s degree in audiology.  

Beth was an audiologist for 35 years, taking care of patients in Des Moines. John was at Pioneer the last 28 years of his career, working domestically and internationally on the company’s oilseed portfolio, which involved canola, sunflower and soybean.

The couple moved to West Des Moines in 1991 and has been married 47 years. They have two married daughters and four grandchildren. 

Early in their marriage, favorite travel destinations were Hilton Head Island in South Carolina and road trips around the United States. 

“We’ve been going to Hilton Head nearly every summer since the late 1970s,” Beth says. “It started when my parents purchased a timeshare in Sea Pines Plantation. Years later, when they moved to Hilton Head, they gave us their timeshare, and we continued to go there as our daughters were growing up. Now we go each year with our daughters, their husbands and our grandchildren. We’ve made many special memories there.” 

After that first ski trip in 1974, John and Beth started another family tradition. 

“We took spring break skiing trips,” John says. “We went almost every year when the girls were growing up. It was wonderful family time. We don’t ski anymore, but our daughters and their families do.” 

One family ski trip was especially memorable. In 2009, the couple, their two daughters and their future sons-in-law were on the slopes in Keystone, Colorado. Christie’s boyfriend had earlier asked John’s permission to marry her. Both men kept the proposal a secret until Christie walked into the ski chalet to show off her engagement ring. 

“As we were approaching retirement, we decided to stay near Des Moines because one of our daughters lives there,” Beth says. “When John asked me where I would like to retire, my answer was always somewhere looking at water. We drove to Lake Panorama one weekend and loved what we saw. We bought an undeveloped lot on Burchfield Cove and owned it for three years before purchasing the house we now live in near Shady Beach. We love it here.”

The Muenzenbergers became full-time Lake Panorama residents in 2017, shortly after Beth retired. John retired a year later.

“We retired early so we could travel,” Beth says. “We were getting older and knew there were lots of trips we wanted to take. Then COVID hit, which slowed us down for a while.” 

Their first major trip after John’s retirement was to Italy, where they spent three weeks. For the first week, they immersed themselves in the culture of Florence. Next, they stayed in an Agri-Turismo, which is a bed-and-breakfast on a working farm in Tuscany, then finished in Lugano Switzerland.  

“We love learning about history and experiencing the culture and cuisine of different parts of the world,” John says. “It’s quality time to check out and relax. Vacations have always a priority for us. We feel it’s important to spend quality family time away from day-to-day distractions. Our girls have the travel bug, too.”

The couple has been to Europe several times and Australia twice. They also visited China and Turkey. While in France, time at Normandy and Omaha Beach was emotional. 

“It’s so beautiful and peaceful now, but to think and reflect on the sacrifices American, Canadian and British troops made to preserve freedom is quite moving,” John says. “Walking on the beach and looking up at the cliffs, you wonder how they made it. As you enter the American Cemetery at Omaha Beach, there is a sign stating you are leaving France and entering U.S. territory.”

The couple’s first trip to Munich, Germany, was memorable for a different reason. 

“We visited the English Gardens, a large city park. It was a hot day, and many locals were enjoying the park,” John says. “The river running through has rapids where people surf. We noticed that many people were naked, which is common in Europe and doesn’t raise eyebrows.”

Rather than use a travel agency, the couple plans most of their trips on their own. 

“Beth loves to research destinations, and then we make final decisions together,” John says. “We love to explore. Often, we rent a car and just go. If we take a wrong turn, we say it’s an opportunity to visit a new spot. It’s much easier now that we have GPS. We used to drive in Europe with a map.” 

The past few years, the couple has taken more cruises. 

“We have loved every minute,” John says. “We’ve been on cruises to the Caribbean and Alaska. We have been on some Viking Ocean cruises around Europe and from New Zealand to Australia. We were in South America a year ago and cruised on the Amazon River for 1,000 miles.” 

Their recent trip to Antarctica also was a Viking Cruise, which left from Ushuaia, Argentina.

“To get to Antarctica, the ship has to cross the Drake Passage,” John says. “The Drake Passage can be calm, which is called Drake Lake, or very rough, called Drake Shake. For us, it was in between, with 12- to 15-foot waves and 70 mile per hour winds.” 

The Viking ship carried 380 passengers and 250 crew members. It was built with powerful engines that can move the ship through ice floes and rough water and a ballast system to help stabilize it while stopped. 

Daily educational sessions were offered on the ship, with scientists and naturalists talking about the ecology and exploration of Antarctica. Passengers could sign up for various excursions on Zodiac boats that held 10 people. Sometimes the boats simply cruised along the shoreline; other times they were able to land and get off to explore.

“Things changed every day,” Beth says. “Because of the icebergs and constant movement, sometimes planned landing sites didn’t work out. Once we got into a narrow passage that earlier boats were able to go through, and an iceberg moved in so we had to turn around and go back.”

Waterproof coats were included in the cost of the cruise, and pants and boots were provided. 

“We were able to keep the coats,” John says. “The cruise line and workers are very careful about minimizing any potential impact on the continent and the wildlife. Whenever we returned to the ship, our gear and boots were power washed.” 

The couple kayaked twice. 

“It’s impossible to describe how beautiful it is there,” John says. “The field view is a glacier with icebergs breaking off and floating in the water. We saw penguins, several types of seals and lots of humpback whales.”

The Muenzenbergers often are asked to name their favorite destination. 

“It is so hard to narrow it down to one place,” John says. “Our answer usually is our favorite is the last place we visited.” 

That means Antarctica is currently their favorite place. 

“It was right up our alley,” Beth says. “We loved all of it.”  

Before sailing to Antarctica, the couple spent a few days visiting Buenos Aires and Iguazu Falls.  

“These are beautiful waterfalls on the border of Argentina and Brazil, the second largest waterfall system in the world,” John says. “We hiked both the upper and lower falls and took a boat into the waterfalls. It was nice to spend time in hot weather before going somewhere cold.” 

Within the United States, both John and Beth have been to 48 states. John hasn’t been to Oregon and Vermont, while Beth is missing Oregon and Washington. 

“We are considering following the Lewis and Clark trail and knocking those last few states off our bucket list,” John says.

What international travel destinations remain on their bucket list?

“We plan to visit the Galapagos Islands and Machu Pichu in the future,” John says. “We hope to take a European river cruise soon. We also would like to go on an African Safari and visit Japan.” 

John offers suggestions for people who say they’d like to travel more but don’t get it done. 

“Develop a bucket list, keep it updated, add to it, pack your bags and go,” he says. “Traveling with a tour group is a great way to visit another country, if you are uncomfortable going out on your own. I would think about choosing a tour that spends a few days at each stop, rather than moving to a different city each night. As for the jet lag, just grind through it.”