November 16, 2015 / Janelle

I FEEL sLOVEnia: Brand New Geocaching Country Souvenir for Slovenia

The official slogan of the Slovenian Tourist Board is “I FEEL SLOVENIA”, and it’s easy to see why:

Two-thirds of Slovenia is covered in forests
Slovenia is the only country in Europe that combines the Alps, the Mediterranean, the Pannonian Plain, and the Karst
One percent of Slovenia is covered by vineyards
Slovenia is the first of FIVE geocaching country souvenirs to be released this year!

That’s correct! If the allure of varied landscapes, rich culture, and countless barrels of wine weren’t enough, you can now earn a geocaching country souvenir for logging a geocache in Slovenia (in addition to four other new countries that will be revealed soon). Souvenirs are virtual pieces of art that are displayed on your geocaching profile page when you find a geocache in certain locations.

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As an aperitif, we’ve put together five must-see geocaches from “the green piece of Europe.” Enjoy!

GC14916 – Vas Kocno

According to the geocache’s listing page, this geocaching is in one of the most idyllic regions of Slovenia:

Kočno is a wonderful small village, surrounded by unspoiled nature. It counts about 20 homes with 85 inhabitants. It’s located on the eastern side of Pohorje mountain at some 500 meters altitude and on the south side of the Polskava river. The villagers are mostly occupied with farming, primarily agriculture, growing cattle, fruits and wine. The village is nicely arranged and is a real open-air ethnological museum. Old farming machines, tools and gadgets that were used in old times on farms in Kočno and surroundings, are put on display all around the village.

While in this lush area, consider a side trip to Maribor, site of the world’s oldest fruit bearing grapevine—over 400 years old!

GC488RH – Ljubljanski nebotičnik / Skyscraper

In the capital city of Ljubljana, one of the most recognizable landmarks is Nebotičnik also known as Ljubljana’s skyscraper. When construction was complete in February of 1933, it was one of the tallest buildings in all of Europe. When you enter the skyscraper, take a moment to admire the gorgeous spiral staircase before heading up to the grand 360° view and tiny geocache on the observation deck.

GC3QWBD – Morigenos

This geocache will take you to a beautiful location overlooking the Adriatic Sea, and was made in partnership with the Morigenos – Slovenian Marine Mammal Society who study a resident population of bottlenose dolphins in the area. For an additional cost of 1 € and some extra time, head up to the top of the church tower for a view of the town and coastline.

GC26YR7 – Blejski otok / Island on Lake Bled

Island on the Lake — GC26YR7 Blejski otok / Island on Lake Bled is a Traditional Cache on Slovenia’s only island

One of the oldest castle in Slovenia is the site of countless picturesque postcards. As tradition goes, if a couple gets married at the church on Bled Island, the groom must carry the bride up all 99 steps to ensure a long and happy marriage. You have three methods for reaching the geocache on Bled Island:

Take a boat
Swim over in the summer months (make sure to bring extra clothes that are appropriate for entering the building on the island), or
Walk across the frozen lake in winter

One would think that the storybook nature of finding this geocache would be impossible to top, but inside the geocache is another set of coordinates for a nearby bonus geocache. Fairy tales do come true!

GC1W8FM – Zelenci Sources

Given the piercing green color of this lake, it’s obvious to see how Zelenci Sources got it’s name: Zelen means “green” in Slovene. You’ll be able to spot mini water “jets” that resemble tiny volcanoes under the surface of the water, and find two types of lizards in this area. If you want to see super cool 360° photos of this natural wonder, click this link.

Inspired yet? Better start packing your bags and exploring the wonders of Slovenia and meeting their lovely citizens!

Slovenian GIFF Weekend 2015 in Ljubljana

We’ll unveil one new souvenir every week until all FIVE are officially released and awarded by mid December. Souvenirs that are currently available can be found here. A list of currently available geocaching souvenirs and even the ones you’ve already earned can be found on Geocaching.com. And, if you’ve already found a geocache in Slovenia, we will retroactively add this souvenir to your profile after all five country souvenirs are announced.

Have you found a geocache in Slovenia? Tell us your experience in the comments below!

November 13, 2015 / Alex

Hier kommt das neueste Ländersouvenir

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Sag “Zdravo” zu Slowenien!

Wir freuen uns sehr, Dir ein neues Länder-Souvenir anzukündigen, das Du bei Deinen Geocaching-Reisen erhalten kannst: Slowenien! Slowenien hat mehr als 7000 Km Wanderwege und ist eines der Länder dieser Welt mit der größten Biodiversität. Außerdem gibt es dort ziemlich coole Geocaches! Wenn Du nach Slowenien kommst, besuche unbedingt die folgenden Orte:

Erhasche ein paar überwältigende Blicke auf den Bleder See.
Erkunde während der Suche nach diesem EarthCache das größte bekannte Höhlensystem in Slovenien.
Suche nach ein paar urbanen Geocaches in der Slowenischen Hauptstadt Ljubljana.

Sieh Dir die Geocaches mit den meisten Favoritenpunkten in Slowenien an und erfahre mehr darüber in diesem Führer für Geocaching in Slowenien.

Pssst … Ländersouvenirs sind virtuelle Kunstwerke, die nach dem Fund eines Geocaches in bestimmten Ländern in Deinem Profil angezeigt werden. In den nächsten vier Wochen werden wir wöchentlich ein neues Ländersouvenir vorstellen. Lies die Geocaching-Rundschreiben, um zu erfahren, welches das nächste Ländersouvenir ist.

November 13, 2015 / GeoTours

KohlsFit GeoTour

GeoTour:

KohlsFit GeoTour

Location:

Valley of the Sun – Phoenix, Arizona area

Total Favorite Points:

A beautiful view from a path in the city when you are finding one of the geocaches on the tour. — A beautiful view from a path in the city near one of the geocaches

Why this GeoTour is unique:

The name says it all: Valley of the Sun. If you need a little vitamin D and dry desert air in your life, you’ll love this GeoTour location.

All the geocaches on the tour are translated into both English and Spanish, making it the only bilingual GeoTour in the nation.

In the last year, families walked a combined 3,500 miles together while participating in the KohlsFit GeoTour.

Best time of year to visit:

Visit October through April to beat the heat. The area is beautiful in the winter, especially if you want to escape the cold.

Must-see attractions:

All the geocaches on the GeoTour are placed in unique locations around the Phoenix area including art installations, parks, an amazing library, and beautiful hiking & urban trails.

Hidden gems only locals know about:

Our focus is to help families be active. Many of the caches are tucked away on urban trails and in Maricopa County Parks, all of which bring you to breathtaking desert views.

Prizes:

This fall, the first 150 geocachers to complete their passports will earn a special trackable. See more details on the October passport.

375bc93c-f66c-4a8f-a503-0cfdc35218aa — Geocachers pedaling away at Pedal Power, one of the geocache locations.

What Geocachers are saying about KohlsFit GeoTour:

“Very cool! I was taking a stroll around this neat park. What better way to see it than to cache. Thanks for the stash. Thanks for the cache. SL. Nice Hide!”

“A beautiful spring day to go and look and find… great flowers, nice breeze, no snakes, great hides,… what more could a gal want???”

“This was our first day of vacation. We always enjoy our visits to Arizona to see roadrunners. Thanks Kohlsfitgeo for placing these caches for us to find and contributing to our fun. from South Dakota.”

Additional Information:

Make memories, have fun, and be active along the way! For more information and to print a passport, visit www.kohlsfit.com/geocaching.

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Note: All the above information was provided by the GeoTour host. Copy has been edited by Geocaching HQ.

November 13, 2015 / GeoTours

Helena Montana GeoTour

GeoTour:

Helena Montana

Location:

Helena, Montana

Favorite Points:

285

Geocaches are placed throughout the beautiful town of Helena and its surroundings.

Why Helena is a great place to visit:

Helena is halfway between Glacier and Yellowstone National Park — the perfect midway point for your Montana tour. While you’re in town, the GeoTour will take you to some of the most beautiful Helena vantage points. Be sure to catch a ride on the Last Chance Tour Train or the Gates of the Mountain Boat Tour for a guided Helena experience.

Helena was in the 2015 Rand McNally Road Atlas for “Best of the Road – Best for Geocaching.”

Best time of year to visit:

Most geocaches are accessible March through October.

Must-see attractions:

In addition to the Last Chance Tour Train and Gates of the Mountains Boat Tour, check out the Montana State Capitol Building (GC4AJVG), Montana History Museum (GC4AG5E), The Parrot Confectionery — an old-fashioned soda fountain (near GCJZ9C) — and 75 miles of hiking & biking trails directly accessible from Downtown Helena.

Hidden gems only locals know about:

Don’t miss Two Camps Vista (GCM27T), the perfect combination of Montana history and spectacular views. This off the beaten path destination is also a monument to the Lewis & Clark Expedition.

Prizes:

A locally made trackable Geocoin!

cathedral — Geocache GC2CXWT is located near the spectacular Cathedral in town.

What geocachers are saying about the Helena Montana GeoTour:

“I am visiting Montana from Lubbock, Texas, and wanted to see your capital building. It is very pretty and I’m glad Montana was able to restore it to its original grandeur. I took the guided tour — very informative and interesting. Helena seems to be such a nice little city. Thanks for the cache.” –P. M. McNabb

“We were on holidays to Yellowstone Park from Canada and when we heard about your GeoTour, we simply could not resist doing it. We changed our route and came to Helena and we are so glad we did. This was a spectacular adventure and the highlight of our trip, well done!” – Kelly S., Alberta, Canada

Additional Information:

Plan on spending two to three days in Helena in order to complete the GeoTour. Check the website for local hotel discounts.

Note: All the above information was provided by the GeoTour host. Copy has been edited by Geocaching HQ.

November 12, 2015 / Alex /

A race against time in Göttingen — BORN (GC5EG96) — Geocache of the Week

d71e0121-913c-42b2-9f90-c477626045f0 — Snacks for the inside team. The outside teams will just have to wait.

Geocache Name:

Born (GC5EG96) — by team SOKO Gänseliesel (Hatti1971 & TobiO79)

Location:

Göttingen, Germany
N 51° 34.319 E 009° 56.308

Difficulty/Terrain Rating:

D5 / T4

Why this is Geocache of the Week:

“Born” is a real-time adventure geocache, one of several such caches in Germany. The cache page (which is in German) sets the scene for this adventure (all a hypothetical scenario): The Federal Criminal Police Office has learned that a bombing is imminent in the city of Göttingen. Special Unit “Gänseliesel” has been summoned to begin the investigation. Chief Commissioner Schönbeck has been appointed to lead the unit. So far, the investigation has revealed that the bombs have been placed in Göttingen and are already on a countdown. The clock is ticking.

This D5/T4 geocache cannot be found alone. In fact, you’ll need 10-20 geocachers split into three teams in order to have a chance of finding it. One team stays at “Headquarters”: a location of their choosing, preferably filled with snacks. The other two teams are sent to 45 different locations around the city. At every location there’s a countdown, and all three teams are given a question/puzzle to solve.

According to the cache owners, “The teams in the city have to use the public transport to get to the locations in time and answer questions about historical or famous places in Göttingen. The team in the headquarter must deal with encryption, picture analysis, internet-research, maps and bus-timetables.”

If all three teams solve their puzzles and submit their answers before the clock runs out, they continue on to the next task. This continues until the investigation is concluded and Göttingen is saved when the bomb is diffused. In total, each team is working non-stop for five hours. The moving teams will cover about 45 km throughout the evening, and eventually reach the center of the city. The CO says, “At the end, all three teams get to know where the geocache is hidden and move together to sign the logbook. Some teams even bring a bottle of sparkling wine to celebrate the successful search.”

The T4 rating is well-earned. That’s all we’ll say here, but check out the photos below for more about this amazing cache.

What the Cache Owner has to say:

How often are the teams unable to “defuse the bomb” in time?
“If your team starts the hunt for the geocache BORN, you never know if you are succsessfull. If one team is not able to reach the destination in the timelimit, the team in the headquarter cannot give the right answer. The investigation stops and the team must start another time. There ist always a tense between physical effort and moments of happiness on the one side and disappointment if you fail a task. Even though the geocache is difficult D5, some teams get it on the first attempt. Every second teams has to start a second time from a backup-point and only a few teams fail more often.”

How long did it take you to develop this cache?
“The idea was created in Summer ’14. First we both made a list of locations in Göttingen that are interesting, then Hatti and I spend two days on bikes in Göttingen to visit all this places and take photos of the question-to-answer-stations. Then i took a bus map and planned two routes with basecamp that touch a lot of the interesting places. Meanwhile I develloped the homepage with all the functions you need to play this timed cache and manage teams and so on…

The biggest part of work was to invent a story to connect the 26 chapters of the cache and find 3 x 26 tasks to occupy the three groups. When all was done we two played both outside-routes in realtime to check if the calculated times are ok to get to know what the cache will look like for the teams. The last step was a beta-test with a little group of geocachers to test the complete cache. On January the first, the cache was published. I think the cache was surely over 50 hours of planning, phoning, riding in Göttingen…”

Is there anything you would like to say to the Geocaching community?
“We love to invite you to come to Göttingen to find BORN or our brand-new spin-off ALERT (GC5RRQF). We want you to have a gread time and wish you that you are doing the great experience what it’s like when teamwork succeeds. We have read all the amazing logs on our geocaches and thank for every feedback. Göttingen is an interesting city and you can discover it from a completely different side, if you hurry through the streets with the ticking clock in your neck. It was a hard job to concept our two geocaches, but the feedback from the community is great.”