Geocaching

I was happy to run into Gerald on the train in Austria. Yes, I know, this post is about a month late - I don't know, what happened, I was sucked into this black hole without computers over the last few weeks...

We made plans to meet to pursue Gerald's "bizarre hobby" - as he described it himself: Geocaching. Gerald aka Fetzo is a master geocacher, with over 200 geocaches discovered.

We met in Fetzo's home, where he gave us the intro to his hobby on http://www.geocaching.com/.

In a nutshell: some other geocacher hides a little tupperware container somewhere, preferably at a somewhat exciting location. Then registers it on the Geocaching website, including coordinates and some hints, so that people can go on a "scavenger hunt" with a GPS. Sometimes there could be little presents in the tupperware container, as a "souvenir" from the trip. In return, you leave another little present - pour les prochaines - they want to find something too.

We decided to go to Wilhelmsburg, about 20min south of STP. A cache was hidden on a hill by "gallows" from 1800 - you know, where they hung people.

The GPS is our friend. And off we go. I love walking - once I am out there. But without a reason, I find it hard to get myself motivated to go for a walk. I need a friend, a dog, or a destination to get me going. Geocaching is good this way. It speaks to the ancient hunter/explorer/discoverer in us :)


It turned out to be a rather short walk. To spice the walk up we added some excitement - well, we jumped over the ditch.

We are getting closer. On the way, we pass this old, beautiful oak tree. This mighty oak is definitely at an age to have witnessed the hanging of the crooks, murderers, and hopefully not too many innocent people, that have occurred some 200 years ago.

Group Photo: Judith, Matthias, Gerald, Anna and the Oak

And here is our destination: the gallows. Built in 1800, the emperor gave the jurisdiction to some monks that lived close by. So, the monks made the decision whether a person was to get hung or not. What can I say. I am happy to live in the 21st century.

Judith is our star. She discovers the treasure. And it was not easy: the hint that was given said: it's under some shrubs close to the gallows. Well the shrubs were gone, but nevertheless: Judith found the treasure under a rock.

Unfortunately not a chest of gold, but tupperware in a plastic bag, which took away some of the excitement. We forgot to bring little presents for the cache, so we decided just to sign the log book, and not to take any of the presents in the cache. But I must say none of the presents rocked my world anyways - neither the scruffy stuffed animal nor the hair elastic.

Thanks Gerald for the photos!