The end of each year is the time for all sorts of top-ten or top-”something” lists. My personal interest is to find out, what your opinion is, who are the most annoying travelers? A highly controversial, highly subjective and highly non-PC question.
But WTF? I am not US American and not obliged to submit to the constraints of political correctness. I am European, where in most places we can still speak our mind… So, hit it, let me know!
I have a personal favorite by the way! 
I had long conversations about it with some Israelis who I have been traveling with, who were sad that they may take the title of being the least welcomed travelers in South-America and large parts of Asia.
I had a great time with the ones I traveled with. But can see what some are trying to say… Oh and by the way, no, no, no, it is not because of the religion. People can be annoyed without being racist, antisemitic or otherwise mentally challenged.
However, it is all a matter of perspective, and if you like people being noisy, obnoxious and/or smelly you will not be easily put off by any nationality traveling.
Oh yes, and by the way, of course that requires that you believe that different nationalities may posses something like a national-personality. If you do not believe that you must reject the idea of different cultures in general of course. In which case you must believe language has no influence on ones personality either. Or that people are generally uninfluenced by their peers around them and the information you get. What you then believe is that we all live in independent bubbles. Sociology, in accordance to you should not exist in the first place (I am tempted to subscribe to that, but cannot for the sake of my argument 
).
In that case sod off and read something else…
After a couple of days in Buenos Aires, where I had the pleasure of meeting Pablo, a friend from Barcelona, I went on to Mendoza. Christmas in this lovely town does not really feel all that christmassy though. In 35 degrees warm weather the right mood does not want to set in. Not even a nice wine-tasting (Mendoza is the cradle of Argentinian wine) seemed to help.
Following the aforementioned beach hang-out I went to Montevideo, the capitol of Uruguay. In the night of my arrival there was a celebration of their independence (or something, I never actually figured it out with terminal certainty). Loads of dancing latina-women in flimsy dresses, dancing to the beats drummed by loads of men not so flimsily dressed, with various percussion instruments. Absolutely carnival atmosphere! Very enjoyable! Very funny how the spectators participated and danced along like there were no tomorrow…
I had barbecue sausage as a starter and sirloin steak as a main course. The steak had a wonderful and lovely mild flavor that was completely unknown to me. I suspect it was a slight wood flavor from the fresh wood they use rather than charcoal grill. However, it might have been the beef itself or some mild marinate. However, I do not believe that the beef was marinated and so I suspect a more subtle and more “natural” origin. Just wonderful! 
Right now I am sitting in Uruguay and wait for the BBQ to start feeding me and the other hungry hostel inmates. We hang in a lovely place just minutes (and visible from here) from the beach. Colonia de Sacramento was absolutely lovely and even though my impression is that Uruguay is not spectacular it is relaxing and lovely and well worth a visit. The atmosphere is so dramatically more laid back than in buzzing Buenos Aires that it is hard to believe these places are just a couple of dozen kilometers apart.
I was however absolutely taken by Buenos Aires. And even though it is impossible to compare it to Rio I would say that when attempting to do so anyway, Buenos Aires is all together more grown up and definitely more sophisticated. On the other hand it lacks the playfulness of Rio and the nihilistic approach to everything there is in life. I loved the seriousness though because it appears to be married to a healthy understanding of how to enjoy the sweeter sides of life. All in all Buenos Aires made me feel like home for the first time since I started traveling. It sure is on the European side of things when it comes to looks.
Uruguay´s south looks a little bit as if one had transferred the Eifel (the region where I come from in Germany) to the sea. The rural and agricultural hinterland runs all the way to wonderful beaches with cute little restaurants and a relaxed beach life. I am surprised that I never heard much of Uruguay as a holiday destination. But sure, there may be a lack of culture when compared to Argentina. But who needs culture, when you can instead just take it easy, kick off your shoes and indulge in…well, basically doing nothing than breathing in life… hanging loose… 
L.A. Was a milder shock than I expected. However, what signifies that part of the US mostly in my mind is the artificiality with which people deal with each other. Genuine is not a term that would come to mind…
It was a success going there in a way though, since I to my relief found evidence that David Hasselhoff is a star. I have often been harassed by people for him having been big in the 80s in Germany (awkwardly, it seems to disturb some people more than let´s say the Germans having followed Hitler). But, now it is official that he is a star and hence it is perfectly OK for Germans to treat him like one. Then again, even dogs seem to get honored in Hollywood, which unsettles me a bit. But I guess we just don´t tell anybody, and let the Germans indulge in their notoriously bad taste undisturbed…
Anywho, with some cash in your pockets this can be an entertaining place. Prices for food, accommodation and sightseeing reach European levels easily. But if you can afford it, you can for instance dine absolutely wonderfully and go clubbing and dancing until you fall into a dehydration induced coma. 