Beattys Overseas

A bunch of people have asked us, "What was your favorite country?"  To which I end up answering my top THREE favorite countries.  I won't speak for John (if he wants to, he'll make his own blog entry on this matter), but I loved the countries that surprised me. I'll explain... listed below with the main reasons why I found my Top 3 so interesting:

#1  Austria: I didn't expect Austria to be so awesome.  I thought it would be a little German wanna-be country with lots of Eastern European presence.  Instead, I found it to be the hub of Bavaria, with just the right amount of tourism to prevent it from being as tour-overloaded as Germany, France or Italy.  
Salzburg along the riverOur stay in Salzburg - including picturesque day in the Alps (see our Obertaurn entry) - provided a glimpse into the mountainous scenery of Austria with one historic little village after another.  Our short stay in the capital city of Vienna was awesome... I felt that Vienna was what Paris might have been like 50 years ago: Gorgeous architecture, amazing museums, great city restaurants & cafes, but none of them overrun with tourists or angry locals.  Vienna was the most welcoming big city of all the European cities we toured on this trip.  Bravo, Austria, for surpassing my expectations. 

#2  South Africa: I was a little nervous about going to South Africa.  Afraid of what I'd heard on TV or movies, I braced myself for an aggressive, crime-ridden experience.  Instead, we found South Africa to be delightfully hospitable. 
Senzo and Xolani The history of this nation is deep and storied, but the future is bright, and we saw this almost everywhere we went.  South Africans laugh at visitors' fears, pointing out that many people are terrified to visit New York City (Touché!).  We learned not to judge a place on decades-old injustices; otherwise we'd have missed out on the vibrant South African experience.  South Africa's scenery is breathtaking.  Between our beachside jaunts in Cape Town, the wine valleys in Franschhoek, and our wild game viewing in Zululand, we absolutely loved this dynamic country.  I said it once, and I'll say it again: Go To South Africa!

#3  New Zealand: It's not a place full of sheep.  In fact, New Zealand is anything but sheepish.  It's the adventure capital of the world, and we tried a bunch of death-defying/underworld/peculiar endeavors while touring New Zealand.  Our screwy activities were not overshadowed by the amazing sights in New Zealand; it seemed that every single one of the world's terrains exist on the two islands of New Zealand.  Volcanoes, glaciers, green pastures, rain forests, fiords, white beaches and rocky mountaintops can all be seen in a six hour drive along any of of the country's major highways (which are almost always dinky little two-lane roads).  New Zealand's juxtaposition between quaint undiscovered country and wild adventure confluence was a dazzling surprise for me, and I loved every day of it.   

- Whitney