315 flights. 378,472 miles. 15.1 x around the world. 1.6 x to the Moon. .002 x to Mars. 16 countries visited (51 all time).
WHAT A YEAR! I kicked off 2023 celebrating the new year at home in Chicago popping champ while watching the fireworks burst into the air above my condo!
I was also able to enjoy a relaxed New Years Day at home before jet setting into 2023 high into the sky on my first work trip on January 2nd from Chicago to NYC to Miami and then a long layover in Baltimore!
Following Baltimore, I had layovers in Tampa, Springfield (MA), Tucson, Des Moines, Austin, and Newark. January wasn’t the most thrilling month in terms of travel, but I kept busy working 32 flights, spent lots of time in the hot tub, and enjoyed getting to hop into the pool in some of my warmer destinations such as Tampa and Austin!
February would prove to be a much more exciting month as my all time favorite music artist, Vance Joy, came to perform at the Chicago Theatre! It was another amazing Vance Joy concert and fun getting to see him perform less than a mile from home!
I had layovers in Springfield (MA) again, Raleigh/Durham (NC), Sacramento, Pittsburgh, Ft. Myers, and Tampa before I set off on a spur of the moment vacation to FINLAND & SWEDEN! I had never been to either, and when I googled, “Best Places to Travel to In February”, I was very intrigued when I found a list that had “Finnish Lapland” in the top 5!
Therefore, I flew into Helsinki, Finland on Finnair and rented a room in someone’s apartment in the center of the city! I had the best time exploring Helsinki and experiencing the beautiful culture of saunas and polar plunges, which is the way of life there! Not to mention, Finns consume more coffee than anywhere else in the world, so I did consume coffee daily, ate lots of salmon, and fully adapted to Finnish life! From the Allas Sea Pool to the Löyly Saunas to the Yrjönkatu Swimming Hall and everything in between… Helsinki was a quiet, charming city.
I also loved visiting the Oodi Central Library, Temppeliaukio Rock Church, Uspenski Cathedral, the Helsinki Cathedral, Kauppatori market, strolling through Esplanadi Park, Senate Square, Katajanokka, Johannes Church, Hietalahti Market Square, and enjoyed all of my meals, except for the most expensive one at a fine dining restaurant where I was encouraged to order the Chef’s Choice Special. Turns out, I’m not a fan of Reindeer TarTar!
After spending a few days in Helsinki, I flew up to Rovaniemi, the capital of Finnish Lapland and the home of Santa Claus in the Arctic Circle! It was like living in a fairy tale and my experience was nothing short of magical! I explored Santa Claus Village and met the real Santa! I went to a husky park where they had husky sledding, however, I avoided attempting to kiss any huskies since last time I went husky sledding in the Pyrenees I got bit in the nose! I did however, go reindeer sledding through the forest surrounding Santa Claus Village, which felt straight out of the chronicles of Narnia! I had lunch at Santa’s Salmon Place which may have been the best salmon I’ve ever had cooked over an open fire in the center of a teepee! I washed it down with traditional hot berry juice, glogi, and a Finnish beer! At night I went ice floating in a lake surrounded by forest to see the Aurora Borealis (northern lights)! It was a unique and spectacular experience I will never forget… however, I did think I was going to lose a few limbs it was so cold when water/ice leaked into my body suit!
I also went snowmobiling both at night and during the day. I rode a snowmobile to the Arctic Snow Hotel which was mind blowing and had more delicious salmon! Lastly, I went snow trekking in Korouoma Canyon to frozen waterfalls! It was so fascinating to see massive waterfalls completely frozen and the hike was a blast as there were several sections I was able to slide down the canyon on the snow. I highly recommend a visit to Lapland!
After experiencing all of the magic of Lapland, I jump seated in the cock pit on Finnair back to Helsinki and then flew over to Stockholm, Sweden which was another winter wonderland! I went to the ABBA museum where I met ABBA’s costume designer and I went to the Avicii Museum which was my favorite. I also visited the Viking Museum, the Fotografiska Museum, the Vasa Museum, the Olympic Stadium, the Nordiska Museum, the Stockholm City Museum, and I ate Swedish meatballs for almost every meal! I don’t normally visit so many museums, but it was freezing cold! I loved Stockholm despite the frigid air and definitely hope to return again someday, but during summer time when it’s warmer!
In March, I flew 33 flights with layovers in New Orleans, Las Vegas, San Antonio, Salt Lake City, Burbank, LA, Newark and Reno! I also escaped the Chicago cold by going on vacation to St Maarten and St. Martin! I rented an apartment with beautiful views of the ocean! I went on a private sunset boat cruise around the island and got severely sunburned, most likely sun poisoned!
In April, there was no slowing down! I flew 26 flights and visited home in SoCal for a few days! I had work trip layovers in Dallas, St. Louis (where I got to reunite with my college roommate and football teammate, Everett and his son, Coop!), Charlotte, Philadelphia, and Memphis!
Come May, I was ready for another vacay, so after working 15 flights with layovers in London, Paris, Orange County, Phoenix, and visited home for a couple days, I was craving authentic Italian food, so I went to ROME for a weekend!
In Rome, I stayed at a quaint boutique hotel across from the Coliseum and explored all of the city along with Vatican City! I did the Hop On Hop Off bus tour on the first day which was fantastic! I had the best meals at Pommidoro and Armando Al Pantheon, stopped by several little cafes and bars, and fully enjoyed conquering the city!
Upon returning home from Rome, I had to work another 14 flights for the month which included layovers in Reno, Austin, Detroit, and Phoenix!
Summer flying really ramped up in June where 16 out of my 25 flights were delayed due to thunderstorms around the country! I had layovers in Nashville where I went wake surfing with my former college roommate/teammate Brandon, as well as layovers in LA, Las Vegas, Dallas, Omaha, San Antonio, and Phoenix. However, I did manage to go on a mini getaway to MILWAUKEE to see Vance Joy perform at Summerfest where he handed me his set list!
Come July, I was ready for another vacay, so I met up with my parents in BERGEN, NORWAY where we then traveled to the town of Odda, the base to hike up to TROLLTUNGA! We smashed 17 miles to the “troll’s tongue” and back! It was a breathtaking hike in more ways than one and we got incredibly lucky with a full day of sun and warmth! I loved getting to spend quality time with my parents, and although we encountered some mishaps here and there, we overcame any obstacle we faced!
I flew a total of 32 flights in July and ended the month with a work trip to Anchorage, Alaska! It wasn’t my first time to Anchorage, but I did experience a new and incredible adventure! I kicked off my day eating at the mouth watering Snow Cify Cafe before I went on a Wildlife, Glaciers, and Rainforest Tour which was spectacular! I got up close and personal to brown bears, wolves, bison, and more at the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center and Chugach National Forest! I experienced hiking in rugged mountains, marveled at the panoramic ocean views, visited jaw dropping glaciers, and loved just being out in nature!
To kick off August, I worked a trip to London, which was my first of three trips to London for the month! I decided to continue my thrilling adventures as I did the Thames RIB experience which included going on a powerful high speed boat with twin turbo 740 horse power Yanmar engines designed to blast you along the River Thames! It was exhilarating as they blasted music from British greats!
I also abseiled down the UK’s highest free fall abseil from the UK’s highest sculpture, ArcelorMittal Orbit in Olympic Park! I experienced an exhilarating descent to the ground, taking in breathtaking 20-mile vistas across London, including iconic buildings such as The Gherkin, St. Pauls, Canary Wharf and Wembley Stadium, as well as the world-famous sporting venues of Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park!
Come September, I bid onto “reserve” to be on call for the month to avoid the possibility of being on call over the holidays. I only worked 17 flights in September, however, my first flight was to PARIS! Out of all my previous trips to Paris, I had never actually gone inside the Louvre museum, so this time around I made sure not to miss seeing the Mona Lisa! Since this year I have committed to experience everything I possibly can, I figured I had to visit the world’s largest museum… and well, it was large and very overwhelming! I did enjoy seeing so many masterpieces, including the Mona Lisa of course, but just marveled at the beauty of the museum itself and enjoyed my visit very much despite the massive crowds!
Come October, I was in need of another vacay, and luckily I had 27 days off work scheduled due to a combination of vacation time and regular days off! So, while I only flew 12 flights in October, they included long haul flights across the world!
I took my mom to THAILAND, but in order to get there, we ended up having to fly to Australia first since our flight to Qatar canceled last second and we had to make an on the spot pivot! After sitting in LAX for 8 hours, flying 15+ hours to Sydney, sitting another 8 hours in Sydney, and another 9 hours to Phuket, we finally made it! We stayed at a beautiful resort in the Rawai region of Phuket with a pool overlooking Rawai Bay and the Phi Phi Islands! While in Thailand, we took a yoga class, got Thai body massages, went to the Big Buddha in Phuket, explored the Phuket Weekend Night Market, went on multiple boat excursions to both the Phi Phi Islands where I got to live my dream of visiting Maya Bay (the beach from the movie “The Beach” with Leonardo DiCaprio) and explored bat caves in Phang Nga Bay, went to an elephant sanctuary where we got to bathe elephants in a river, hiked to waterfalls, and went zip lining! Thailand is extraordinarily beautiful with unlimited adventures to be had, the nicest people and tastiest food! I definitely plan to return hopefully sooner than later!
On the way home from Thailand, my mom and I stopped in Hong Kong, my 50th country visited, where we went to the tallest observation deck in Hong Kong with the most magnificent 360 degree views of the city!
November quickly arrived after all of the time off I enjoyed in October, so I had to get back to work and flew 32 flights! However, November is my birthday month and I had to celebrate in a new country! So I was able to escape to the UNITED ARAB EMIRATES for my first trip to the Middle East and was fortunate enough to get to stay with my friend Jade, in his luxury condo in a 5 star hotel overlooking all of DUBAI! His building had a rooftop infinity pool on the 64th floor which was absolutely heavenly!
On my first day, I went up to the world’s tallest observation deck on the 148th floor of the Burj Khalifa and visited the Museum of the Future where I had dinner at a pop up restaurant in front of the museum! That night after the clock striked midnight and it was officially my birthday in Dubai, I received a text from my mom that my grandpa Pap-Pap who was my last living grandparent, had passed away. It was hard hearing that news from the other side of the world, but it just motivated me even more to live life to its fullest and to make the most of my time in Dubai!
So on the morning of my birthday, I went on a yacht cruise around Dubai Harbor, visited the View at the Palm, and went to an extremely fun concert at Bla Bla Dubai on the beach where I got to meet several of Jade’s expat friends! The next day, Jade and I went on a Desert Safari in the Lehbab Desert where we went quad biking, hung out with camels, went red dune bashing, sand boarding down the dunes, watched the sunset from the sand dunes which was spectacular, and went to a buffet BBQ dinner out in the middle of the desert where there was lots of great cultural entertainment! We had the best time and made some new, awesome friends!
The next day, I set out on a day trip to Abu Dhabi, the capital of the UAE, and visited the Presidential Palace, went to the top of the Ethiad Towers overlooking the city, and explored the Grand Mosque which was extraordinarily beautiful and fascinating! The next day, I visited the Dubai Frame, the Dubai Aquarium in the Dubai Mall, watched multiple fountain shows at the Dubai Mall/Burj Khalifa, and obviously signed up spur of the moment for Dubai’s most thrilling attraction, the Sky Views Observatory Edge Walk! It is the city’s highest full circle hands-free walk on a ledge which encircles the top of the Tower’s main pod, over 219.5 meters above the ground, taking me to the tippy-top of the skyscraper in Downtown Dubai. This trek took me along the outside of the building — with no windows or other protective barriers standing between me and sky-high views! It was absolutely hair raising and an experience I’ll cherish forever!
I would have loved to spend more time in Dubai, however, my mom signed me up for the Long Beach Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving morning… so the day before Thanksgiving, I hopped on a 2 am flight from Dubai to Zurich, then sat in the airport for a handful of hours before flying from Zurich to Philadelphia, ran through customs and just missed a flight to LA, so I sat in Philadelphia for a few hours before finally making it to LA and home to Long Beach on the eve of Thanksgiving, just in time to lay down for a few hours before running the Turkey Trot with the family!
I had the best time getting to spend quality time with the family and got to play lots of tag with my niece and nephew!
In my final month of the year, December, I had a busy flying schedule, did not go on any vacays this month, but enjoyed all of the holiday festivities in Chicago and was able to make it home for the holidays, my grandpa Pap-Pap’s memorial service, and our annual family progressive dinner party!
Cheers to a phenomenal 2023 and I look forward to what’s to come in 2024! Catch me if you can! 😉
TROY MUENZER 