The beer miracle of St. Arnulf
Saint Arnulf of Metz is one of the patron saints of beer and brewery. Many beer miracles are associated with him, one of them is described in the following story:
After Arnulf's death, Goericus, his successor in the office as bishop, wanted to recover his remains from the abbey Remiremont and bring them back to Metz. The ceremonial procession had to stop in the small village of Champignuelles due to the strong heat of summer on this 18th of July and due to the weight of the bones. When the pilgrims reached the only inn in this village, it turned out that nothing but a single tankard of beer was left for them there. But the procession consisted of 5000 men together with their wives and children. So each of them drank and they hoped for the intercession of Saint Arnulf, already worshipped as a saint at that time. The miracle happened: Everyone drank, but never did the tankard become empty.
This is the kind of miracle everyone can enjoy, even sceptics like myself.
So this geocache lets you experience the same: A beer miracle at the end of a very long pilgrimage to the
abbey of Andechs, very famous in Bavaria for its beer and a favourite tourist destination. And of course you will find a geocache as a reward for your piety.
This cache is for people...
... who enjoy oldschool caches.
... who like long hikes.
... who like beer.
... who don't mind getting only one "Found" for 33 km of hiking.
I want you to enjoy the hike as much as possible without having to worry about the geocache too much. That is why I have made it quite simple for you: During the walk you only need to find several numbers. They are all very easy to find. No calculation is necessary during the hike, all waypoints are listed below. Only for the final will you have to make one calculation. In addition there are reference points added to the waypoint list to help you navigate.
You need:
- Print-out of the waypoints below! The instructions are in the waypoints!
- GPSr
- Topographic map (either on the GPSr or on paper)
- Pen & paper
- A calculator makes the final calculation easier.
- There are a few other quick caches along the way, you may want to transmit them to your GPSr.
Plan:
- Arrive by S6 at the Gauting train station (waypoint 1).
- Follow the waypoints till waypoint 19. While doing so, collect all the numbers as described below.
- At waypoint 20 you can — if you want — experience your personal beer miracle.
- Then proceed to waypoints 21 and 22. Now calculate the location of the final.
- Find your reward.
- Leave by S8 from the Herrsching train station (waypoint 25).
Note on the variables to determine:
In the waypoints below you will find notations like "a?? ##A#5". Let me explain the notation to you:
- Capital letters are the variables you need to recover, e.g., A. They all represent one digit numbers.
- Lower-case letters are letters you will actually find on the signs. So if it says "a" as in the example you will either find "a" or "A" written on the sign.
- Digits actually appear on the sign as given in the notation, so to match the above example the last symbol actually has to be "5".
- "#" represents arbitrary digits.
- "?" represents arbitrary letters.
So the example above matches for example the writing "ABC 12345" and the variable A will have value 3. On the other hand, the example does not match "BBB 12345", "ABC DDDDD", or "ABC 33333". Clear?
Calculating the final:
Calculate Y = (D+E+F)*(G+H+J)*(K+L+M+8). This is a four digit number. Write Y₁Y₂Y₃Y₄ for the four digits from left to right.
Calculate Z = (A+B+C)*(N+P+Q)*(R+10)*(U+V)*(W+X). This is a six digit number. Write Z₁Z₂Z₃Z₄Z₅Z₆ for the six digits from left to right.
The final is located at N47 5Y₄.Y₃Z₃Z₅ E11 10.Y₂Z₁Z₅.
The birdhouse about 30 meters from the coordinates is not the final!
May Saint Arnulf guide you!
Honest & critical logs welcome!
Honest, and if necessary critical, logs are welcome here. That helps me as the cache owner to know if there ever is a problem with the cache, and it helps other cachers to determine whether this cache will be to their liking. Flattering the owner is neither necessary nor welcome. Favorite points are not expected and I am, in fact, completely indifferent to them; if you award them you do so purely as an orientation to other cachers. Thank you!