Geocaching HQ Lackeys attend dozens of Mega and Giga-Events around the world, shaking hands, sharing stories of adventure, and of course, geocaching! Annie Love, Senior Business Development Manager at HQ, recently traveled to Hungary to attend GeoEsztergom 2025 (GCAY7QQ).

In my 18 years working at Geocaching HQ, I’ve met so many great communities of geocachers by attending Megas, Gigas, Block Parties and other local Events. This year, my goal was to experience an Event in a new location. I was delighted to attend GeoEsztergom (GCAY7QQ) in Esztergom, Hungary!

On a previous trip, I found caches in Budapest and fell in love with the city, so I was excited to explore a new area. After arriving in Esztergom, I walked around downtown, found several geocaches, and discovered the city’s charm. I quickly realized that it would provide us the perfect setting for a weekend of events and fun.

I walked across the Mária Valéria Bridge, finding geocaches on the way to Štúrovo, Slovakia. There, a fun Welcome Event (GCATNZF) introduced me to the Event organization team and other fellow cachers. We enjoyed great food, tasty beers, and good conversations with geocachers from Hungary, Austria, Germany, and beyond. At sunset, I visited the river’s edge to photograph the famous Esztergom Basilica, just across the Danube River.

Saturday started out with a nice morning event before the big festivities of the Block Party settled in. The main Event location was at the base of the Basilica, which provided an incredible view at the Event. The organization team put together a fun day of geocaching activities including a kids table, interactive Adventure Lab® experiences, prize opportunities, and geocaching supplies for purchase.

Signal the Frog® was the highlight for many cachers throughout the day. I even got to introduce a new 5-year-old caching friend to Signal and they became instant friends.

A highlight for me was doing the Basilica Museum tour organized by the Event team. Luckily they offered one of the tours in English so I could learn about some of their impressive art collection. Opportunities like this are what make attending Events in unique locations so special. The chance to learn a bit about the local culture and history helps me fully appreciate the area I’m exploring as a geocacher.

On Sunday morning, many of us gathered again to give back to the area by doing a Cache In Trash Out® (CITO) Event (GCB8092). This provided me a last chance to meet geocachers from Hungary and a cacher who had traveled all the way from Israel.

I can’t thank the organizers enough for being so welcoming and working hard to put together a special weekend of geocaching fun for everyone!