It rarely happens that I talk about my job and the travel that goes with it without the question coming up at some point: “And where did you like it best?” Or another variant of it: “Where is the most beautiful place in the world?”
Even though this question no longer surprises me, it always stops me for a moment. Because honestly, I find it incredibly difficult to answer that.
Wouldn’t it be unfair to Australia if I named Hawaii? And even there I could hardly decide on a single place – this continent is so diverse and the nature is so breathtaking that every part is special in its own way.
But it doesn’t have to be far away – close destinations also come to mind straight away. Aren’t our hearts, South Tyrol and Mallorca, far too different to say that one place is “more beautiful than the other”? And there’s also South Africa, Portugal and the Maldives… and so many other places that we’ve gotten to know and love over the past few years.
As you can see, my answer to this question is usually quite long. Often the person I’m talking to starts to rave about one of these places – and suddenly we’re in the middle of a conversation full of longing for travel, memories and plans of where we absolutely have to go again.
But what does “beautiful” actually mean in this context? A perfect palm-fringed beach? The most impressive nature? Or maybe that very special feeling that you associate with certain places? Maybe it’s also the moments and experiences that you were able to share with loved ones there.
For a blog post (if you haven’t read it yet: Best-of Josie loves on a world trip) a few years ago (back then, Bali still played a very big role for us; maybe it’s time for an update) I summarized very subjectively where we experienced the best price-performance ratio on our trips, where animal lovers particularly got their money’s worth or where we saw the most impressive sunset. But answer the question about the “most beautiful place in the world” in the big picture? This is still difficult for me to this day.
And maybe you don’t even have to. Because in the end the most beautiful place in the world is always something very subjective. Everyone associates “paradise” with something different, and that’s exactly what makes traveling so special.
When I ride my bike across the island in Mallorca with Chris, the evening sun bathes the fields in golden light and I just feel carefree at that moment, then for me that is the most beautiful place in the world. Or when I watch one of those spectacular sunsets in South Africa. When we hike with Fiete in the Dolomites and are surrounded by this incredible mountain panorama… then I can’t imagine there being a more beautiful place on earth. When I walk along a Maldives beach. When it takes my breath away for a moment on Machu Picchu. Or just an hour and a half away from Munich, at the Eibsee.
So perhaps there is no single “most beautiful place in the world”. Maybe there are just a lot of beautiful places… and those special moments when they feel exactly that way.
What is your answer when I ask you about the most beautiful place in the world? Have you found him yet?
