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A Walk to the Past

A somewhat challenging combined puzzle-multi cache in Graz which deals with the past

por cezanne     Austria > Steiermark > Graz

N 47° 03.900' E 015° 27.100' (WGS84)

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 Tamaño: pequeño
Estado: disponible
 Ocultos en: 04. septiembre 2003
 Publicado desde: 23. agosto 2005
 Última actualización: 22. agosto 2023
 Listado: https://opencaching.de/OC006D
También en la categoría de: geocaching.com 

21 encuentran
1 no encontrado
4 Notas
9 Maintenance logs
2 Observado
0 Ignorado
2020 Visitas
2 Los de imagenes
Historia Geokrety
5 Recomendaciones

Large map

   


Descripción    Deutsch  ·  English (Inglés)

English description


This multi-cache consists of four stages, all of which lie inside the city of Graz. It furthermore requires a preparatory phase to determine the coordinates of the first stage. The first three stages are intermediate stages, only at the fourth stage a cache container is to be found.

This cache bears some similarities with my cache Artistical Variations. It is again a cache where the main idea is to lead you to places in Graz which are not that well-known, but which I regard as interesting, both from the architectural point of view and from the historical point of view. The cache will probably challenge you more on the intellectual side than on the physical side.


Important information: (Please read this part before you start your hunt!)
  • The starting coordinates given for this cache are fictive ones and are of no significance.
  • This cache is not suited if you are eager for a quick and cheap find. It is also not well-suited for short-term visitors of Graz due to the time it takes.
  • Since this cache requires quite some effort, I have set up a virtual cache, the A Walk to the Past - Virtual Bonus Cache. This virtual cache is closely connected to this cache and should serve both as a reward and as a source of motivation for doing this cache. The virtual cache can only be done after having successfully completed this cache. If you are interested into doing the virtual cache, do not forget to read the information sheet in the cache, and to write down the two numbers which are given there.
  • Those cachers who complete this cache in one go (i.e., without returning home between the stages) deserve special credit.
  • The cache hunt will lead you to some buildings with restricted opening times. It is, however, not necessary to enter any of these buildings for the sake of the cache hunt. Visits of the buildings are strongly recommended, but separate visits not connected to geocaching activities seem to be more meaningful and appropriate.
  • Some of the historical background associated with the places to which this cache will lead you is serious and sad. For that reason, I underwent a special effort to set up this cache in a manner which avoids any disrespectful treatment of the matter.
  • Since the stages of this multi-cache are not always close to each other, but finding a suitable place to leave a car might be quite hard, it is very recommendable to do this cache by bicycle.
  • It is recommendable to take a map of Graz with you. Good shoes might be an asset at the final stage.
  • Note that upper and lower case variables, like a and A, have to be distinguished! Upper-case variables are only used temporarily and are not needed again at later stages.
  • To help you not to get lost in some sort of chaos, I am providing two tables (see Table for the variables and Table for the coordinates of the stages).
  • The set of trading items for this cache is (strictly) restricted to coins which are not any longer valid means of payment.


Stage 0: At a place of your choice

Stage 1 will lead you to a church (let us call it C for notational convenience) which is located in one of the inner districts of Graz (i.e., in the first six). Below some information on the church C is given, but not its name. You need to deal with the following questions and tasks.

Question 1: In the church C an interesting sacral work of art can be found which depicts two cruel dictators amidst a religious scenery. Find out which church is meant. (You will need to visit it at Stage 1.)

Question 2: Find out the name of the artist who created the work of art referred to above. Let us call him Mr U.
  • A: The number which is obtained by applying the following procedure to the artist's first name: Replace each letter by the digit which is associated with this letter on the key-pad of portable phones.
  • B: The number which is obtained from the last name of Mr U by proceeding in the same way as for his first name.
  • a: The absolute value of the difference of the numbers A and B.
  • b: The iterated cross-foot of the year in which the work of art has been finished. (I.e., sum up all digits of the year, and repeat this procedure with the obtained result iteratively until you end up with a result with a single digit. For example, the iterated cross-foot of 987654 is 3 with 39 and 12 being the results of the intermediate calculations.)
  • c: The number of letters of the name of the city in which Mr U died. (Note: If you come across contradictory information, take the city which lies in the country of which Mr U was a citizen at the time of his death.)
Question 3: Mr U has been invited to become a member of a famous organization of German artists at quite a young age.
  • d: The number of letters of the full name of this organization (two words).
Question 4: Find out the name of the artist who acted as president of the organization referred to above at the time when Mr U became its member. Let us call this artist Mr V.
  • e: The number of letters of the first name of Mr V.
Question 5: The last name of Mr V is also the name of a city. There exist parts of the Bible in the names of which this city plays a role.
  • f: The number of parts of the Bible which fit the above description. (Note that only those parts whose existence is known for sure and which are part of today's editions of the Bible are to be counted.)


Stage 1: At Church C

Go to church C and find a plaque at the outside of the building.

Question 6:
  • g: The earliest year mentioned on the plaque.
Question 7: The text on the plaque contains the names of two artists who created works that can be found inside the church. Here we are interested into the one who lived earlier. Let us call him Mr W.
  • h: The cross-foot (=sum of digits) of the number corresponding to the first letter of the first name of Mr W via the code A=1, B=2, ..., Z=26.
  • H: The number of letters of the first name of Mr W.
Question 8:
  • i: Number of horizontal bars of the cross at the top of the tower. (Do not take into account the different manners that exist to create such a cross, just the appearance the cross creates when viewed from far away.)

Question 9:
  • j: The first digit after the comma of the decimal number which represents the minutes of the longitude of the location of Stage 1.

Some calculations:
  • P = (b*c-30)*(d-e-h)
  • Q = a-g+P
  • R = e^3*f^3
  • p = Q/R
  • q = (b+d)
  • D = (g-q/2+H-e)
  • F=d*i
  • r=D/F


Stage 2: N 47° p', E 015° q.0r'.

You will find yourself close to a building which is an interesting mixture of old and new. Nearby you will find an information plaque providing some facts about a person who spent some years in Graz. Let us call him Mr Z.

Question 10: Determine the (d-b)-th word of the text on the plaque. This word arises in the title of several works of art. Here we are interested into the most famous among those. Who created it and in which city can it be found today?
  • m: The number of letters in the artist's name (the commonly used name, not the full one) until the first A occurs (the A is not to be included into the counting).
  • n: Find the name of the river flowing through the city you have just obtained above. Associate each of the letters arising in the river's name with the digit which corresponds to it on the key-map of a portable phone. Let n be the largest digit obtained in this manner.
Question 11: The plaque tells you the cities where Mr Z was born and died, respectively. You need to find out the countries in which these cities lie today (as of 2003). Determine the country codes which identify motorized vehicles from these countries.
  • s: Translate the country codes into numbers via the key-pad of a portable phone and subtract the smaller number from the larger one. Call the result s.
Question 12: The plaque tells you the cities in which Mr Z has studied until earning his Ph.D. degree. Among these cities, there is one where Olympic Summer Games have taken place.
  • t: The cross-foot (=sum of digits) of the year in which the Olympic Games referred to above took place.
Question 13: Now walk around the building (if this is not possible, use Question 13b instead). Interesting, isn't it? At the outside of the building you can somewhere find two numbers separated by a slash.
  • k: The number before the slash.
  • l: The number after the slash.
Question 13b: (New workaround for Question 13, August 2023) Have a look at the entrance gate which keeps you from entering the area.
  • l: Subtract one from the number of round steel bars on top of the frame of the gate.
  • k: k=l*(n+1)
Question 14: Determine the bridge over the river Mur which is closest to Stage 2.
  • o: Number which is associated with the first letter of the name of the bridge via the code (A=1, B=2, ...).

Some more calculations:
  • u = s-t-k/l-n+o
  • v = (d+s)/2


Stage 3: N 47° 0e.cmu', E 015° v.nuj'.

You find yourself close to a crossing. Starting from here you need in any case to continue on foot. Take the path leading to the south-east and follow it until you arrive at a large building. Watch out for a plaque at the outside of the building. The plaque honors two men.

Comment June 2020: Currently the building is under renovation and the plage is covered. However it should be possible to decipher two numbers at the bottom of the plaque which will allow you to answer the first question below. For the second question, mobile internet access should do the job if you are not familiar with the area.

Question 15:
  • w: The number of years one of the two men died later than the other one (Disregard the months in which they died - take into account only the years of their death.)
  • x: The overall number of letters of the name of the place (two words) which has been founded (begründet in German) by one of the two men.

Some final calculations:
  • y = (w+7)/(x^2)
  • Z = k-6*l+j*o/2
  • z = Z/(x^3)

Calculation of the coordinates of Stage 4:

The coordinates of Stage 4 are obtained from Stage 3 by the following procedure:
  • Subtract y from the minutes of the latitude corresponding to Stage 3.
  • Add z to the minutes of the longitude corresponding to Stage 3.
  • The remaining parts of the coordinates are the same as for Stage 3.



Stage 4: Coordinates as computed above.

Since September 2014 you can choose between the following two options to reach the final.

Option 1: (Letterbox like clues, following the original idea of the cache dating back to 2003)
You will find yourself close to an object to which a sign with w+3 letters is attached. Follow the path which passes by the object downhill until you arrive at a crossing with another trail. At this crossing turn left and follow the path downhill. Soon a small path leads into a ditch to your right. Turn right into this path and after a few steps start to climb up the slope to your left. Watch out for an eye-catching stump of a former large tree with multiple stems. There you will find the cache container. Rehide it well.

Option 2 (the more boring one):
If you fail to find the cache with the above clues or absolutely want to use coordinates (be warned the reception is not very good), you can calculate coordinates for the final by the following offset from the coordinates of Stage 3:
  • N: -(w+7)*x/1000'
  • E: +(w+5)*x/1000'

The cache container is a small lock and lock container and contains no trading items. Good luck!

Please note the following:
  • For approaching the hiding location you can stay on paths, except for the very last part for which good shoes are recommend (the T=2.5* rating applies to the final).
  • You are asked to be very careful not to disclose the hiding place and to leave the hiding place as you found it. Special care is neeeded on sunny days when many walkers are around.
  • When logging the cache, please avoid to add any form of spoilers to your log entry, regardless of whether encrypted or not. (It took me quite some effort to formulate the questions in a way that they are concise, but do not give away any information unintentionally.)



Ayuda adicional   Descripción

[Stage 0:] Fgnvarq-tynff jvaqbjf.
[Cache:] va gur zvqqyr

A|B|C|D|E|F|G|H|I|J|K|L|M
N|O|P|Q|R|S|T|U|V|W|X|Y|Z

Imagenes

Table for entering the variables / Tabelle zum Eintragen der Variablen
Table for entering the variables / Tabelle zum Eintragen der Variablen
Table for entering the coordinates of the stages/ Tabelle zum Eintragen der Koordinaten der Stationen
Table for entering the coordinates of the stages/ Tabelle zum Eintragen der Koordinaten der Stationen

Utilidades

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Log de entrada por A Walk to the Past    encuentran 21x no encontrado 1x Nota 4x Maintenance 9x

disponible 20. agosto 2023 cezanne has maintained the cache

[EN:] I added a new workaround for Question 13 as the old workaround did not work any longer.

[DE:] Ich habe eine neue alternative Variante für Frage 13 dazugefügt weil die alte nicht mehr funktionierte.

 

encuentran Recomendación 19. agosto 2023 chris2286266 ha encontrado el geocache

Was für ein klassischer Cache!

Gestern am Nachmittag bemerkte ich ihn (bewusst, gesehen habe ich ihn sicher schon mal) und kippte gleich hinein. Die Einstiegsfragen waren flott zu beantworten und danach ging es schon zur Stage 1 die Infos dokumentieren.

Danach in einem zeit[los]en Café gleich die Stage 2 ermittelt und diese nach dem Abendessen besucht. Aufgrund der Uhrzeit musste ich auf Frage 13b ausweichen, was aber nicht ganz gelang, sondern erst mittels eingehender Internet Recherche. Die Ownerin bestätigte netterweise meine Vermutung.

Heute zeitig in der Früh dann noch die Berechnungen ergänzt und es war auch die Stage 3 klar. Vorab-Recherchen führten zwar zu den korrekten Namen, aber ein Fehler schlich sich trotzdem ein und die Rechnung war "unrund".

Heute Vormittag absolvierten wir eine kleine Radtour, die dann auch zur Stage 3 führte. Ein wahrlich magischer Ort!

Die korrekten Infos konnten gut gefunden werden und das Google-Sheet rechnete brav die Finals aus, ja ich habe die (langweilige) Option 2 gewählt.

Der Weg zum Cache war dann etwas abenteuerlich (Rad-Schuhe ohne vernünftiges Profil und kurze Hose), aber wenn man nur mehr 30 Meter entfernt ist, müssen Brennnesseln etc. ignoriert werden.

Danke für die spannenden Herausforderungen und natürlich die Dose!

TFTC,
Chris

encuentran The geocache is in good or acceptable condition. Recomendación 18. septiembre 2022 Zoidberg73 ha encontrado el geocache

Dieser Cache befand sich bereits längere Zeit auf meiner "2Do" Liste; dieser Log ist parallel zum entsprechenden GC Cache zu sehen.

Schon das Listing zeigte die Komplexität dieses Multi-Mysties; auf die Schnelle wird da nix gehn! Aber das entmutigte mich nicht (eher im Gegenteil...) und so nahm ich gemeinsam mit Pimi1 die Witterung der einzelnen Stationen auf...

Die interessanten Fragen bei Station 0 als Vorbereitung konnten zügig gelöst werden.
Bei Station 1 konnten wir diese Informationstafel nicht finden (Die Ownerin war inzwischen vorort; diese Tafel gibt es weiterhin :-), da waren wir anscheinend völlig betriebsblind...), aber durch den Hinweis eines TJ ließen sich dann die gesuchten Werte doch noch ermitteln.
Um welchen Ort es sich bei Station 2 handeln sollte, konnte ich bereits aus den einzelnen Fragen richtig herleiten; vorort konnten die Werte (u.a. via Frage 13b) problemlos gefunden werden.
Bei der Berechnung der Station 3 kamen dann einige "Aha" Erlebnisse... mir war dieser Ort und seine Bedeutung bislang völlig unbekannt - sehr überrascht, dass es auch sowas in Graz gibt!

Heute fuhren wir mit unseren neuen CBs dorthin und ließen den gesamten Ort auf uns einwirken... einfach genial! Wir waren dort auch nahezu alleine und konnten uns völlig auf die Fragen konzentrieren, die zügig erledigt werden konnten.
Den Weg zu Station 4 nahmen wir anhand Option 1 in Angriff; die Wegbeschreibung war eindeutig und führte uns rasch zum GZ, wo Pimi1 das Zielobjekt mitsamt Dose schnell gefunden hatte. Dose und Inhalt sind in Ordnung!

Dafür gebe ich gerne eine Empfehlung her! Schon der große Listingaufwand zeigt, wieviel Herzblut die Ownerin in dieses Projekt gesteckt hat... Chapeau!
Quasi als Fortsetzung nehmen wir uns nun auch noch den Virtuellen Bonus Cache vor...

TFTC an cezanne für Idee, Realisierung und Wartung dieses außergewöhnlichen und langlebigen Caches!

disponible 26. mayo 2022 cezanne has maintained the cache

[EN:] Today I managed to visit the final location and bring along a new container and a new log book. The zip lock bag that was intended as protection for the log book apparently went missing. Please handle the bag with care and close it properly.

I feel deeply honored by the fact that a native Italian from Florence, one of the most beautiful cities ever, has voiced interest into my cache.

[DE:] Heute habe ich es geschafft die Finalgegend zu besuchen und die Dose gegen eine neue mit einem neuen Logbuch zu tauschen. Das Zip Lock Sackerl das das Logbuch schüzen sollte, ist offenbar irgendwann abhanden gekommen. Bitte das Sackerl sorgfältig behandeln und es ordentlich verschliessen.

Ich fühle mich sehr geehrt, dass eine gebürtige Italienerin aus Florenz, einer der schönsten Städte, Interesse an meinem Cache bekundet hat.

disponible 07. febrero 2021 cezanne has maintained the cache

[EN:] Things are back to normal at Stage 2.

[DE:] Alles Benötigte an Station 2 ist wieder vor Ort verfügbar.