Jump to content

collecting countries


terratin

Recommended Posts

The island Sint Maarten/Saint-Martin consists of 2 countries: Saint Martin (official language French) en Sint Maarten (official language Dutch). But don't worry they all speak English (they didn't even understand Dutch when we went there earlier this year).

 

Sint Maarten was part of the Netherlands Antilles until 2010. So caches placed before October 10 2010 on coordinates that our located in what now is named Sint Maarten, were actually placed in the country Netherlands Antilles. But caches placed since Oct 10 2010 should get the country name Sint Maarten.

 

But the geocaching website only has the countries to choose from: St. Martin and Netherlands Antilles when you want to place a cache on this island.

 

So for any cacher wanting to place a cache in Sint Maarten, the best thing (or least bad) to choose from the country list, is Netherlands Antilles, since this is the former name of the country. Choosing St Martin would mean choosing a completely different country, although it is very near and you won't need to show your passport when crossing the border.

 

So Sint Maarten is a missing country on the geocaching website. Other countries that were part of the Netherlands Antilles are Aruba and Curaçao, did get their current country name listed on the site. But you can find caches in Curaçao that are listed in Curaçao and others in the Netherlands Antilles (the ones place before 2011). Some CO's changed the country name for their caches, others didn't.

 

I think it is logical to keep the original country name for those older caches, just for historical reasons. But when you make a pocket query for your vacation you'll have to make sure you get all the caches, so better to search on coordinates distance from a certain point on these islands than just country name, otherwise you might miss some.

Link to comment

Do you mean that geocaching on that island means you can "grab" three new countries ? :yikes:

 

:blink: :blink: :blink: SHOCKING! :blink: :blink: :blink:

 

No, only two unfortunately. As soon as GS adds Sint Maarten and new caches are placed you would be able to grab 3 countries [;)].

 

Yep. Considering the small number of caches on the former Antilles it would be easy to kick the wrong country name out of the database and assign the correct one to those few caches by hand.

Link to comment

I've been told that the GS countries and territories list is mostly based on the UN geopolitical ontology. It diverges from that list here. The UN country profiles list has Netherland Antilles but does not list Saint Martin or Sint Martaan.

 

Another common standard for country/territory information is the ISO 3166 standard which lists country names and is the source of two and three letter country codes. It has Saint Martin (French Part) and Sint Martaan (Dutch Part) but not Netherland Antilles.

 

 

Link to comment

I have recently added Korea and Uzbekistan to my "countries cached in" map. It's such a thrill!

I am a bit cross I didn't start GCing until 2010, because I have been to Antarctica, Germany, Argentina, Chile, UK, Outer Hebrides, Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe, South Africa - but all pre caching.

Since caching I have managed to not cache in South Africa and Namibia - just couldn't get close to the caches due to time constraints.

I very nearly didn't find a cache in Korea. I am not used to city caching and the big buildings in Seoul had me running around in circles. But I found one!

My next trip is going to be based on the "Thing" series - Orkney, Shetland and Faroe Islands, UK and Scotland, maybe Denmark and Iceland if I don't run out of time. Can't wait!

 

Great list!

 

It's a bit shorter if you remember that the Outer Hebrides, Orkney and Shetland are all part of Scotland which, for the time being, is still part of the UK...

 

I'm not quite sure what we'll call the UK (not very united, has a queen not a king) if Scotland secedes... no, my American cousins, sh*tty overcrowded island is not an acceptable title!

Link to comment

I have recently added Korea and Uzbekistan to my "countries cached in" map. It's such a thrill!

I am a bit cross I didn't start GCing until 2010, because I have been to Antarctica, Germany, Argentina, Chile, UK, Outer Hebrides, Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe, South Africa - but all pre caching.

Since caching I have managed to not cache in South Africa and Namibia - just couldn't get close to the caches due to time constraints.

I very nearly didn't find a cache in Korea. I am not used to city caching and the big buildings in Seoul had me running around in circles. But I found one!

My next trip is going to be based on the "Thing" series - Orkney, Shetland and Faroe Islands, UK and Scotland, maybe Denmark and Iceland if I don't run out of time. Can't wait!

 

Great list!

 

It's a bit shorter if you remember that the Outer Hebrides, Orkney and Shetland are all part of Scotland which, for the time being, is still part of the UK...

 

I doubt that will change. The UN geopolitical ontology and ISO 3166 standard list the UK and Ireland as separate "countries" but not Scotland, Northern Ireland, or Wales. Since the GS list is based on an existing standard there isn't a unique identifier for those countries. As good as geonames is for place name lookups it's not considered a standard and I've been told that it's essentially a site created and managed by one person.

 

The only countries that I've visited where I didn't find a cache are Zambia and Kenya (and I don't really count Kenya as I never got out of the airport). I used to have Ethiopia in that list because the first time I was in Addis I didn't get a find but I went back last year and got one.

 

 

Link to comment

Pre-caching I've been here: http://coord.info/GC42JEF I've even sat in the wood cabin under which the cache is hidden! Unlikely to go back as prices have tripled in the last 10 years.

Just spent a few minutes looking at maps of other obscure places I've been and caches I could have picked up: Ohrid (Macedonia), various corners of Israel (was on a kibbutz on my gap year, 87/8), Teruel (Spanish interior)...

Plus I was a sales rep in France for 3 years, visited 94/95 départements, would have done hundreds of caches if they'd existed at the time!

A GC hotspot I WILL get back to as have a great friend there and have already been 4 times, is Budapest. Might just have to lose the wife for a day and go off caching with OS Junior...

Link to comment

WOW what a holiday we spent in Benidorm Spain for three weeks and yes it added a new country to my list - all three of them

We managed to find just about half the caches there.

The Easy ones were Punta Canafi and Benidorm Highlights a little less easy was the series which required you to visit 12 of the tallest Skyscrapers solve the riddle and then trek off up into the Sierra Cortina to find the FINAL cache of the series

Some of the caches were in overly populated muggle infested areas and were very difficult to get even though we could tell where the hiding places were so we made good use of my mobility scooter and Stephanie's (MRSMadcaravanner) bike as a hide

 

To everyone who hid caches here thank you for the challenges although some of you are just plain EVIL LOL

 

But I would rather add CITIES than countries this vacation we had a choice of over 50 caches in just the one area covering just a few square miles

Next Year we are still going to Spain but a different city for three weeks

and who knows where else

Link to comment

I have recently added Korea and Uzbekistan to my "countries cached in" map. It's such a thrill!

I am a bit cross I didn't start GCing until 2010, because I have been to Antarctica, Germany, Argentina, Chile, UK, Outer Hebrides, Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe, South Africa - but all pre caching.

Since caching I have managed to not cache in South Africa and Namibia - just couldn't get close to the caches due to time constraints.

I very nearly didn't find a cache in Korea. I am not used to city caching and the big buildings in Seoul had me running around in circles. But I found one!

My next trip is going to be based on the "Thing" series - Orkney, Shetland and Faroe Islands, UK and Scotland, maybe Denmark and Iceland if I don't run out of time. Can't wait!

 

Great list!

 

It's a bit shorter if you remember that the Outer Hebrides, Orkney and Shetland are all part of Scotland which, for the time being, is still part of the UK...

 

I doubt that will change. The UN geopolitical ontology and ISO 3166 standard list the UK and Ireland as separate "countries" but not Scotland, Northern Ireland, or Wales. Since the GS list is based on an existing standard there isn't a unique identifier for those countries. As good as geonames is for place name lookups it's not considered a standard and I've been told that it's essentially a site created and managed by one person.

 

The only countries that I've visited where I didn't find a cache are Zambia and Kenya (and I don't really count Kenya as I never got out of the airport). I used to have Ethiopia in that list because the first time I was in Addis I didn't get a find but I went back last year and got one.

What I meant about Scotland is that they are having a referendum on independence next year!

Link to comment

I have recently added Korea and Uzbekistan to my "countries cached in" map. It's such a thrill!

I am a bit cross I didn't start GCing until 2010, because I have been to Antarctica, Germany, Argentina, Chile, UK, Outer Hebrides, Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe, South Africa - but all pre caching.

Since caching I have managed to not cache in South Africa and Namibia - just couldn't get close to the caches due to time constraints.

I very nearly didn't find a cache in Korea. I am not used to city caching and the big buildings in Seoul had me running around in circles. But I found one!

My next trip is going to be based on the "Thing" series - Orkney, Shetland and Faroe Islands, UK and Scotland, maybe Denmark and Iceland if I don't run out of time. Can't wait!

I'm not quite sure what we'll call the UK (not very united, has a queen not a king) if Scotland secedes... no, my American cousins, sh*tty overcrowded island is not an acceptable title!

 

If it's not Scottish, it's crap. So there you go.

Link to comment

Do you mean that geocaching on that island means you can "grab" three new countries ? :yikes:

 

:blink: :blink: :blink: SHOCKING! :blink: :blink: :blink:

 

No, only two unfortunately. As soon as GS adds Sint Maarten and new caches are placed you would be able to grab 3 countries [;)].

 

Looking at the map, Anguilla and St. Bart's are both their own countries. We went to St Martin when I was a kid on vacation, and I remember the ferry to Anguilla is like 20 minutes, and St Bart's is under an hour, so you could really get four countries on a trip with truly minimal effort in that part of the world.

 

... You know, writing that out, maybe I should plan my scuba diving holiday to St Martin?! :blink:

Link to comment

 

Looking at the map, Anguilla and St. Bart's are both their own countries. We went to St Martin when I was a kid on vacation, and I remember the ferry to Anguilla is like 20 minutes, and St Bart's is under an hour, so you could really get four countries on a trip with truly minimal effort in that part of the world.

 

... You know, writing that out, maybe I should plan my scuba diving holiday to St Martin?! :blink:

 

You definitely should! :laughing:

Link to comment

Do you mean that geocaching on that island means you can "grab" three new countries ? :yikes:

 

:blink: :blink: :blink: SHOCKING! :blink: :blink: :blink:

 

No, only two unfortunately. As soon as GS adds Sint Maarten and new caches are placed you would be able to grab 3 countries [;)].

 

Looking at the map, Anguilla and St. Bart's are both their own countries. We went to St Martin when I was a kid on vacation, and I remember the ferry to Anguilla is like 20 minutes, and St Bart's is under an hour, so you could really get four countries on a trip with truly minimal effort in that part of the world.

 

... You know, writing that out, maybe I should plan my scuba diving holiday to St Martin?! :blink:

 

I had a meeting today about a project that I may work on that would require a 3-5 day visit to Costa Rica. I've already found caches in Costa Rica but I've already looking at possible side trips or alternative cities I could fly into and take a short flight to/from San Jose. Awhile back I was looking at the logistics of going for Conch Shell Horn (I think it's the second oldest cache that has not yet been found). Flights to Aruba are about $150 less than to San Jose. If I took a side trip from Aruba to Trinidad and Tobago that would get me fairly close to the island where Conch Shell Horn is located. It would also add three countries to my list. Hmmm.

 

 

Link to comment

 

Looking at the map, Anguilla and St. Bart's are both their own countries. We went to St Martin when I was a kid on vacation, and I remember the ferry to Anguilla is like 20 minutes, and St Bart's is under an hour, so you could really get four countries on a trip with truly minimal effort in that part of the world.

 

... You know, writing that out, maybe I should plan my scuba diving holiday to St Martin?! :blink:

 

You definitely should! :laughing:

 

Problem is I'm a solo traveler usually, so don't fancy going to places where you don't meet many others. That and I'm in Europe... but unfortunately the flights to where one typically goes diving here (Egypt) are suspended through January at least, and I don't think I'm so crazy to go a month or two after they start up again (even if I doubt anything revolutionary has been happening in Dahab).

 

Looks like it's only 200 Euro more to fly to St Martin though thanks to the "it's still kinda Dutch" connection. This is getting more and more tempting...

Link to comment

 

but unfortunately the flights to where one typically goes diving here (Egypt) are suspended through January at least, and I don't think I'm so crazy to go a month or two after they start up again (even if I doubt anything revolutionary has been happening in Dahab).

 

 

I flew to Cairo last September. The Airport is blocked by tanks and a curfew is in place. I really advise NOT to go there now or in the near future... It's a real mess. We slept within the airport area and were told to leave our phones on in case we had to leave quick with the shuttle. Plan B (meaning no shuttle to the airport) was to run to the terminal (in high heels), take shelter in the plane and fly the hell out. Just another day at the office... :yikes:

Link to comment

Do you mean that geocaching on that island means you can "grab" three new countries ? :yikes:

 

:blink: :blink: :blink: SHOCKING! :blink: :blink: :blink:

 

No, only two unfortunately. As soon as GS adds Sint Maarten and new caches are placed you would be able to grab 3 countries [;)].

 

Looking at the map, Anguilla and St. Bart's are both their own countries. We went to St Martin when I was a kid on vacation, and I remember the ferry to Anguilla is like 20 minutes, and St Bart's is under an hour, so you could really get four countries on a trip with truly minimal effort in that part of the world.

 

... You know, writing that out, maybe I should plan my scuba diving holiday to St Martin?! :blink:

 

I had a meeting today about a project that I may work on that would require a 3-5 day visit to Costa Rica. I've already found caches in Costa Rica but I've already looking at possible side trips or alternative cities I could fly into and take a short flight to/from San Jose. Awhile back I was looking at the logistics of going for Conch Shell Horn (I think it's the second oldest cache that has not yet been found). Flights to Aruba are about $150 less than to San Jose. If I took a side trip from Aruba to Trinidad and Tobago that would get me fairly close to the island where Conch Shell Horn is located. It would also add three countries to my list. Hmmm.

 

Sorry but my first reaction there is wow, that sounds EXHAUSTING! :P

 

Though if you missed it, after I wrote that last bit I checked and Aruba, Bonaire, and Curacao all count as individual countries. So once one gets to Aruba you could hop around there pretty easily (doesn't seem like Venezuela is easy though).

Link to comment

Do you mean that geocaching on that island means you can "grab" three new countries ? :yikes:

 

:blink: :blink: :blink: SHOCKING! :blink: :blink: :blink:

 

No, only two unfortunately. As soon as GS adds Sint Maarten and new caches are placed you would be able to grab 3 countries [;)].

 

Looking at the map, Anguilla and St. Bart's are both their own countries. We went to St Martin when I was a kid on vacation, and I remember the ferry to Anguilla is like 20 minutes, and St Bart's is under an hour, so you could really get four countries on a trip with truly minimal effort in that part of the world.

 

... You know, writing that out, maybe I should plan my scuba diving holiday to St Martin?! :blink:

 

I had a meeting today about a project that I may work on that would require a 3-5 day visit to Costa Rica. I've already found caches in Costa Rica but I've already looking at possible side trips or alternative cities I could fly into and take a short flight to/from San Jose. Awhile back I was looking at the logistics of going for Conch Shell Horn (I think it's the second oldest cache that has not yet been found). Flights to Aruba are about $150 less than to San Jose. If I took a side trip from Aruba to Trinidad and Tobago that would get me fairly close to the island where Conch Shell Horn is located. It would also add three countries to my list. Hmmm.

 

Sorry but my first reaction there is wow, that sounds EXHAUSTING! :P

 

Though if you missed it, after I wrote that last bit I checked and Aruba, Bonaire, and Curacao all count as individual countries. So once one gets to Aruba you could hop around there pretty easily (doesn't seem like Venezuela is easy though).

 

The island where Conch Shell Horn is located is actually part of Venezuela. For some reason it seems that flying into some of the small airports on the islands is much less expensive than flying to the Venezuelan mainland. BTW, I love the new google.com/flights and kayak.com explorer pages for comparing flight prices to different cities.

 

Flying from home to Costa Rica is pretty easy. It's just a 2 hour flight or so to Atlanta then a four hour flight to San Jose. It doesn't look like a side trip to Aruba or Curaco would be economically feasible though as flights to/from San Jose from the islands are pretty expensive. A side trip to Panama might be doable though. In any case, a four our flight is pretty easy for me compared to the a 2 hour, then 14 hour flight to South Africa or China.

 

 

Link to comment

I love collecting new countries and US states. So far, I've gotten 13 countries and 18 US states (19 if you count DC...).

 

For several years, I've been a leader with People to People Student Ambassador programs and have taken high school students overseas. I'd always manage to find some time to run out and find a cache...free time before dinner, time in a park, during a walking tour, etc. This past year, geocaching was actually a planned activity on our tour and I got to pick up a cache in Austria without having to sneak off for it. I also picked up Switzerland, Germany, the Netherlands, and Belgium on that trip.

 

A week after I returned from this past summer's P2P trip, I turned around and went back to Europe for a personal trip that took me back to Austria (picked up more caches in Vienna), the Czech Republic, and a long layover in Turkey. I loved caching in Prague...some really aweseme Wherigo caches there that take you all over the city. Also, Istanbul was incredible...I found a cache on both the European side and Asian side, but depending on which tool you're looking at both caches are either listed in Europe or in Asia, as opposed to one each.

 

In the US, I picked up Florida, Georgia, and Alabama this year thanks to a couple of mega events (GeoWoodstock in Florida and Going Caching in Georgia).

 

For 2014, I'm planning on picking up Illinois, Missouri, and Washington states...with possible side trips up to Canada and Alaska!

Link to comment

I love collecting new countries and US states. So far, I've gotten 13 countries and 18 US states (19 if you count DC...).

 

For several years, I've been a leader with People to People Student Ambassador programs and have taken high school students overseas. I'd always manage to find some time to run out and find a cache...free time before dinner, time in a park, during a walking tour, etc. This past year, geocaching was actually a planned activity on our tour and I got to pick up a cache in Austria without having to sneak off for it. I also picked up Switzerland, Germany, the Netherlands, and Belgium on that trip.

 

A week after I returned from this past summer's P2P trip, I turned around and went back to Europe for a personal trip that took me back to Austria (picked up more caches in Vienna), the Czech Republic, and a long layover in Turkey. I loved caching in Prague...some really aweseme Wherigo caches there that take you all over the city. Also, Istanbul was incredible...I found a cache on both the European side and Asian side, but depending on which tool you're looking at both caches are either listed in Europe or in Asia, as opposed to one each.

 

In the US, I picked up Florida, Georgia, and Alabama this year thanks to a couple of mega events (GeoWoodstock in Florida and Going Caching in Georgia).

 

For 2014, I'm planning on picking up Illinois, Missouri, and Washington states...with possible side trips up to Canada and Alaska!

 

Austria has been on my bucket list of countries I'd like to visit. I also did some caching in Istanbul last year. I had a 9 hour layover and would have spent more time there but I was a bit under the weather after spending several day in Ethiopia. I was afraid I might have picked up a case of malaria but I was feeling a lot better by the time I got back to the U.S. I'm hoping to add Norway, Denmark and possibly Sweden to my list next month. I think I'll have a fair amount of travel next year but I'm not sure how many new countries I'll add. I'll have at least one trip back to Africa and might be going to Costa Rica early in the year but, unless I do some creative trip planning, I probably won't be visiting any countries in which I have not yet found a cache. I'll probably get Washington State and Texas as new States next year though.

 

Has anyone done any caching during a layover in Oslo? It looks like there a few sort of close to the airport but it almost looks easier to get on the train to central Oslo or to one of the stations in between. A web site indicated it's about 22 minutes from the airport to central Oslo and depending how often it runs that might be pushing it to get there and back during a 3 hour, 50 min layover.

 

 

Link to comment

A web site indicated it's about 22 minutes from the airport to central Oslo and depending how often it runs that might be pushing it to get there and back during a 3 hour, 50 min layover.

 

The one thing I remember about that ride is that it was very expensive. About 170 Krone or about $29 US one way !

 

Try not to do this cache Oslo Spektrum right in front of the station.

Edited by FunnyNose
Link to comment

A web site indicated it's about 22 minutes from the airport to central Oslo and depending how often it runs that might be pushing it to get there and back during a 3 hour, 50 min layover.

 

The one thing I remember about that ride is that it was very expensive. About 170 Krone or about $29 US one way !

 

Try not to do this cache Oslo Spektrum right in front of the station.

 

It's currently disabled as are several other caches close to the station. It's good to know about the cost but I worked out the numbers using the train schedule and it just looks too tight to try and go to the central station and get back in plenty of time for my connecting flight. It would probably work but I don't really want to risk it without knowing how long it will take to get through passport control.

 

 

Link to comment

It's currently disabled as are several other caches close to the station. It's good to know about the cost but I worked out the numbers using the train schedule and it just looks too tight to try and go to the central station and get back in plenty of time for my connecting flight. It would probably work but I don't really want to risk it without knowing how long it will take to get through passport control.

 

You could get off at the first stop after the airport Lillestrøm. Looks like an easy puzzle at the station. And a tradition not to far away.

 

Only 130 Krone to get there.

Link to comment

Warning: don't take a taxi from the airport in Oslo. The train might be expensive, but it's nothing compared to a taxi :anicute: Oh well, it was our honeymoon, so we decided not to think too much about it :P

 

As suspected, one more flight coming up this year, but to a place we've already been to and with no useful stopover option. Oh well...

 

Mrs. terratin

Link to comment
I'

It's currently disabled as are several other caches close to the station. It's good to know about the cost but I worked out the numbers using the train schedule and it just looks too tight to try and go to the central station and get back in plenty of time for my connecting flight. It would probably work but I don't really want to risk it without knowing how long it will take to get through passport control.

 

You could get off at the first stop after the airport Lillestrøm. Looks like an easy puzzle at the station. And a tradition not to far away.

 

Only 130 Krone to get there.

 

As far as I can tell, it's 130 Krone, one way and there is a 30 Krone service fee per ticket. That's about $55 US for a 12 minute ride each way!

 

Link to comment

Here's a question...I may have a 3.5 hour layover in Copenhagen on my way from Berlin to Reykjavik next summer. Is that more than enough time to make it through customs and grab the cache at the airport train station? Not sure if the missus will let me do it, but I figured I'd check just in case.

 

On the same trip, I plan on picking up Belgium, The Netherlands, Iceland, and possibly Luxemburg!

Link to comment

Should be more than sufficient time, BBW. You probably arrive at Terminal 2 and leave there again, unless you fly with SAS (Terminal 3). It should take about 10 minutes to walk from the gate to the exit, and a similar time back, plus another 10-15 minutes for customs control.

 

Thanks. I would be flying Icelandair. Now I just have to convince my wife to let me do it.

Link to comment

We did something similar in Lisbon. Worked out marvelously. The only annoying bit was that we had to take everything electronic out of our bags at the security check, not just a notebook.:huh: It looks like they started doing that in Copenhagen as well now :(

Edited by terratin
Link to comment

Here's a question...I may have a 3.5 hour layover in Copenhagen on my way from Berlin to Reykjavik next summer. Is that more than enough time to make it through customs and grab the cache at the airport train station? Not sure if the missus will let me do it, but I figured I'd check just in case.

 

On the same trip, I plan on picking up Belgium, The Netherlands, Iceland, and possibly Luxemburg!

 

I've got a 4h50m layover in Copenhagen from Hamburg to NYC next month and was planning on trying to get a few caches near the airport so I'll be able to give you some actual times. Of all the layover airports I've gone through it looks like Copenhagen has the most caches near the airport than any I've seen. Someone else suggested that you can take a train from the airport to Malmo, Sweden (about a half hour each way) and could grab a quick find in Sweden as well. That might be pushing it with a 3.5 hour layover though.

 

I've already found caches in Belgium, the Netherlands, and Germany (but planning on adding more while in Hamburg) but I'm hoping that I'll have enough time to grab one or two in Oslo on the way there. I've found caches while on a layover in Paris, Brussels, Istanbul, Tokyo, Zurich, and Singapore but I've had 6 hours or more of a layover in each case. In several of those cases I specifically chose an itinerary which gave me a longer layover and in three of those cities included an overnight stay at a nearby hotel.

 

 

Link to comment

Here's a question...I may have a 3.5 hour layover in Copenhagen on my way from Berlin to Reykjavik next summer. Is that more than enough time to make it through customs and grab the cache at the airport train station? Not sure if the missus will let me do it, but I figured I'd check just in case.

 

On the same trip, I plan on picking up Belgium, The Netherlands, Iceland, and possibly Luxemburg!

 

I agree that is plenty of time.

 

My only visit to Denmark was a connection in Copenhagen on a flight from London to Dusseldorf! Not the most direct route; and there are many direct flights from London to Dusseldorf. But it just so happened that the cheapest flight on this date was this one via Copenhagen. And I found some caches. I had time not only for the closest ones but spent an hour or so walking (in the rain) to some others. I had a 3.5 hour layover.

 

Getting through customs with a non-EU passport might take a little longer, but still you should be fine.

Link to comment

Here's a question...I may have a 3.5 hour layover in Copenhagen on my way from Berlin to Reykjavik next summer. Is that more than enough time to make it through customs and grab the cache at the airport train station? Not sure if the missus will let me do it, but I figured I'd check just in case.

 

On the same trip, I plan on picking up Belgium, The Netherlands, Iceland, and possibly Luxemburg!

 

I agree that is plenty of time.

 

My only visit to Denmark was a connection in Copenhagen on a flight from London to Dusseldorf! Not the most direct route; and there are many direct flights from London to Dusseldorf. But it just so happened that the cheapest flight on this date was this one via Copenhagen. And I found some caches. I had time not only for the closest ones but spent an hour or so walking (in the rain) to some others. I had a 3.5 hour layover.

 

Getting through customs with a non-EU passport might take a little longer, but still you should be fine.

 

Actually, you won't need to clear customs at all from Berlin to Reykjavik via Copenhagen. They're all in the Schengen zone. So hey, more time for caching! B)

 

I think you definitely should be able to grab one of the airport caches in under an hour btw.

Link to comment

Actually, you won't need to clear customs at all from Berlin to Reykjavik via Copenhagen. They're all in the Schengen zone. So hey, more time for caching! B)

 

I love the Schengen Treaty! It allowed me to walk into the Czech Republic last year to a quick grab!

 

Since I will have my passport stamped when I enter the Schengen Zone trhough FRA, is there is a separate line/exit for people who don't need the passport to be looked at? Do I need to pass through any sort of checkpoint (besides security) out or back in?

 

What are security lines like?

Link to comment

Actually, you won't need to clear customs at all from Berlin to Reykjavik via Copenhagen. They're all in the Schengen zone. So hey, more time for caching! B)

 

I love the Schengen Treaty! It allowed me to walk into the Czech Republic last year to a quick grab!

 

Since I will have my passport stamped when I enter the Schengen Zone trhough FRA, is there is a separate line/exit for people who don't need the passport to be looked at? Do I need to pass through any sort of checkpoint (besides security) out or back in?

 

What are security lines like?

 

Good catch; I forgot about Schengen.

 

When you arrive in a Schengen country from another Schengen country you come into a different section of the airport where there is no passport control at all.

Link to comment

Actually, you won't need to clear customs at all from Berlin to Reykjavik via Copenhagen. They're all in the Schengen zone. So hey, more time for caching! B)

 

I love the Schengen Treaty! It allowed me to walk into the Czech Republic last year to a quick grab!

 

Since I will have my passport stamped when I enter the Schengen Zone trhough FRA, is there is a separate line/exit for people who don't need the passport to be looked at? Do I need to pass through any sort of checkpoint (besides security) out or back in?

 

What are security lines like?

 

Good catch; I forgot about Schengen.

 

When you arrive in a Schengen country from another Schengen country you come into a different section of the airport where there is no passport control at all.

 

Yep. That's been my experience. The last time I was in Europe I flew from New York to Brussels, Belgium, then on to Rome. I went through passport control in Brussels and upon arrival in Rome I didn't go through passport control at all.

 

 

Link to comment

Sounds like I will be picking up another country! Thanks everyone.

 

I think my wife has resigned herself to the fact that I will be darting out of the terminal for the cache. I also think she has accepted the fact that we will make a 1 hour detour to pick up Luxemburg! I think adding a visit to a chocolate factory in Belgium helped! :lol:

Link to comment

I added Denmark to my countries list on Friday, bringing my total to 20 countries. I really could have picked up on in Norway on the way to Germany but it took a bit longer than expected to get out of Oslo airport, and after 5 hours of driving and 9 hours on a red eye (I don't sleep well on planes, especially with three crying babies a couple of rows in front of me) I was thinking more about finishing my trip and getting some sleep. When I got out of the airport I was thinking I had an hour less of layover time than I actually did (plus, it was really cold at 8:00AM). I really liked Copenhagen and hope that I can have a future trip with the city as a layover and can schedule an overnight stay. I also was able to find 2-3 caches every day while I was in Hamburg including one in a tunnel under the Elba river. I had previously only found a virtual at Frankfurt airport and now Germany tops the list in number of caches found for countries outside the U.S.

 

My next trip will most likely be domestic (to Seattle) but I'll almost certainly be going back to Africa in March with a possibility of visit Uganda or Ghana (which would be new countries). Both trips would be related to a project for which I am the technical lead and is funded by a grant from a well known foundation in Washington. I also had discussions with my colleague and friend from FAO in Rome about the next phase of a project that we've worked on and that would most likely entail another trip to Rome (that's where I look for itineraries with interesting layover cities). There's also a conference that is related to the first project that I'd like to go to next June. It's in Helsinki.

 

Anyone else have travel plans for next year?

 

 

Link to comment

I've been colecting countries a lot longer than I've been Caching as I served in the Royal Navy.

Currently been to 65 contries and 21 US states.

 

The country count is according to the 'Travellers Century Club' website which list some places seperately is they are removed from the parent country either Geographically, Politically or Ethnologically. E.g. Madeira counts as a seperate place even though it's technically part of Portugal.

 

Now I go away every year with some friends, we try to go to somewhere unusual and off-the-beaten-trak each year for less than £500 ($800) for a 5-day trip.

Next year we're flying to Vilnius in Lithuania and then getting the train down to Minsk in Belarus for a couple of days and then to Kiev in Ukraine. While there we're going to visit the site of the Chernobyl power station.

 

In the past we've driven across Albania, climbed the highest Mountain in the Atlas Mountains (Morocco) and cruised along the Turkish coast.

 

Travelling with friends is the best fun!

Edited by DipPeanut
Link to comment

Sounds like I will be picking up another country! Thanks everyone.

 

I think my wife has resigned herself to the fact that I will be darting out of the terminal for the cache. I also think she has accepted the fact that we will make a 1 hour detour to pick up Luxemburg! I think adding a visit to a chocolate factory in Belgium helped! :lol:

 

Bad news for me...we won't be flying through Denmark en route to Iceland. Darn.

Link to comment

Sounds like I will be picking up another country! Thanks everyone.

 

I think my wife has resigned herself to the fact that I will be darting out of the terminal for the cache. I also think she has accepted the fact that we will make a 1 hour detour to pick up Luxemburg! I think adding a visit to a chocolate factory in Belgium helped! :lol:

 

Bad news for me...we won't be flying through Denmark en route to Iceland. Darn.

 

I assume the bad news means you won't be going through a "new" country? I'm hoping that a future trip to Europe will give me the option of having a layover in Reykjavik.

Link to comment

I added Denmark to my countries list on Friday, bringing my total to 20 countries. I really could have picked up on in Norway on the way to Germany but it took a bit longer than expected to get out of Oslo airport, and after 5 hours of driving and 9 hours on a red eye (I don't sleep well on planes, especially with three crying babies a couple of rows in front of me) I was thinking more about finishing my trip and getting some sleep. When I got out of the airport I was thinking I had an hour less of layover time than I actually did (plus, it was really cold at 8:00AM). I really liked Copenhagen and hope that I can have a future trip with the city as a layover and can schedule an overnight stay. I also was able to find 2-3 caches every day while I was in Hamburg including one in a tunnel under the Elba river. I had previously only found a virtual at Frankfurt airport and now Germany tops the list in number of caches found for countries outside the U.S.

 

Anyone else have travel plans for next year?

 

Hello there! Three hours was indeed a very short stopover, but at least you did manage to log a few caches in Copenhagen :) Let me know when you get here next time, and we'll go caching together.

 

Travel plans: well.. just some vague ideas, but nothing specific yet. Montenegro is quite high on my wish list for a summer vacation, and there are many other countries nearby for which I don't need a visum. Just need to find a rental company that lets me take the car over the border.

Link to comment

Sounds like I will be picking up another country! Thanks everyone.

 

I think my wife has resigned herself to the fact that I will be darting out of the terminal for the cache. I also think she has accepted the fact that we will make a 1 hour detour to pick up Luxemburg! I think adding a visit to a chocolate factory in Belgium helped! :lol:

 

Bad news for me...we won't be flying through Denmark en route to Iceland. Darn.

 

I assume the bad news means you won't be going through a "new" country? I'm hoping that a future trip to Europe will give me the option of having a layover in Reykjavik.

 

Correct. Berlin to Reykjavik was $500 more per ticket than FRA to Reykjavik! So I will just have to settle for Belgium, Netherlands, Luxemberg and Iceland. I guess 4 new countries isn't too bad.

Link to comment

Sounds like I will be picking up another country! Thanks everyone.

 

I think my wife has resigned herself to the fact that I will be darting out of the terminal for the cache. I also think she has accepted the fact that we will make a 1 hour detour to pick up Luxemburg! I think adding a visit to a chocolate factory in Belgium helped! :lol:

 

Bad news for me...we won't be flying through Denmark en route to Iceland. Darn.

 

I assume the bad news means you won't be going through a "new" country? I'm hoping that a future trip to Europe will give me the option of having a layover in Reykjavik.

 

Correct. Berlin to Reykjavik was $500 more per ticket than FRA to Reykjavik! So I will just have to settle for Belgium, Netherlands, Luxemberg and Iceland. I guess 4 new countries isn't too bad.

 

Not at all. BTW, I have been using www.google.com/flights and www.kayak.com/explore to view airfare prices. It has a nice map mode that shows the price from a specific airport to airports all over the world. For example, I can enter "New York (all airports)" and select travel dates then look at map of Europe and see the prices to various cities. Then I could use local airlines (i.e. EasyJet) to get from that city to where I actually need to go.

 

 

Link to comment

I added Denmark to my countries list on Friday, bringing my total to 20 countries. I really could have picked up on in Norway on the way to Germany but it took a bit longer than expected to get out of Oslo airport, and after 5 hours of driving and 9 hours on a red eye (I don't sleep well on planes, especially with three crying babies a couple of rows in front of me) I was thinking more about finishing my trip and getting some sleep. When I got out of the airport I was thinking I had an hour less of layover time than I actually did (plus, it was really cold at 8:00AM). I really liked Copenhagen and hope that I can have a future trip with the city as a layover and can schedule an overnight stay. I also was able to find 2-3 caches every day while I was in Hamburg including one in a tunnel under the Elba river. I had previously only found a virtual at Frankfurt airport and now Germany tops the list in number of caches found for countries outside the U.S.

 

Anyone else have travel plans for next year?

 

Hello there! Three hours was indeed a very short stopover, but at least you did manage to log a few caches in Copenhagen :) Let me know when you get here next time, and we'll go caching together.

 

Travel plans: well.. just some vague ideas, but nothing specific yet. Montenegro is quite high on my wish list for a summer vacation, and there are many other countries nearby for which I don't need a visum. Just need to find a rental company that lets me take the car over the border.

 

I actually had just less than a five hour layover but getting to Noorport and back with time to spare before my next flight didn't only gave me about two hours in the city. I'll let you know if I get back through Copenhagen. Since my wife is Croatian I'm hoping that we'll visit there some day. I haven't been to any of the eastern european countries yet.

 

 

Link to comment

For the person who said Montenegro, was there last summer for a day and it's rather nice. :)

 

For me, I'm traveling to the US for Christmas but nothing new/exotic visiting my family, then I have some ideas but haven't planned anything out in detail yet. I am rather excited that my freelance writing for science magazines mean that I made enough for a really sweet spring break though so I'm hoping to go scuba diving somewhere- Egypt might not be the best idea though, so I'm thinking of heading to Bonaire perhaps. Gotta figure out the details!

 

For whatever reason next summer I'm dreaming about going to Alaska/Yukon for a few weeks- I figure I get one great adventure in before the thesis work really settles in. Not exotic for the country count, but certainly would be exotic. B)

 

Also hoping next year to see if I can squeeze in Poland, Prague, and Norway for sure; there are a few other places I hope to visit but that map of Europe is already pretty well populated so they're usually in countries I've already cached in.

Link to comment

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...