“Mission Accomplished”

"Travel Bug Returns After Visiting Happykraut's Birthplace in Germany"

By Laurie (Denmother) Elfrank

(Published June, 2009)

There were many reunions at this year's GeoWoodstock VII between geocachers who hadn't seen each other since the last mega event, but one of the most unusual was a reunion of a cacher and his travel bug. This reunion was unusual because the travel bug had managed to travel 33,000 miles without disappearing and, in the process, accomplished multiple missions, finding its way back to its owner 6 years after its release.

In 2003, SLAGA member Happykraut released several travel bugs in the St. Louis area, each with the goal of visiting Germany. Two of the travel bugs, HERR HAPPYKRAUT and HAPPYKRAUT'S SON, eventually made it there. Along the way, Happykraut refined their missions, first to visit his hometown of Bad Aibling in Germany, then directing cachers to take pictures of the travel bugs in front of the Ratskeller (a hotel, restaurant and tavern with apartments on the second floor, where Happykraut was born). At one point, both travel bugs came within 15 minutes of ending up in the same cache together in Germany (Gaaanz Einfach).

In 2005, both travel bugs managed to arrive at Happykraut's birthplace. A German cacher named geo-traveler posted photos of HAPPYKRAUT'S SON completing its mission. A few months later, another German cacher named dvjojo posted his photos of the other travel bug, HERR HAPPYKRAUT, and wrote in his travel bug log that "It is so far. Herr Happykraut visited his home country and remembered old times in front of the Ratskeller. Now he will probably travel back to America. I was glad to have been able to support your virtual excursion to Germany and Bad Aibling. I wish you all the best in the future. Thanks."

Upon completion of their missions, Happykraut gave the travel bugs new goals of returning back to St. Louis, Missouri. Unfortunately, HERR HAPPYKRAUT disappeared a few years later somewhere in Belgium. The other travel bug, HAPPYKRAUT'S SON, had better luck. It spent two years in the Netherlands, then more than a year in England, before finally arriving in the U.S. in late 2008. It visited Nevada, Florida, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts, where cachers by the name of FaithfulFinders picked it up in April 2009 and brought it to GeoWoodstock VII in Bell Buckle, Tennessee, to reunite it with its owner.

After bringing HAPPYKRAUT'S SON back home to St. Louis, Happykraut says that the travel bug "has now retired from a 33,000 plus mile trip. Poor fellow is tired. Thanks to all the people that helped move him along." And who knows, maybe the other missing travel bug will resurface again after a temporary hiatus in someone's backpack. As we all know, wherever they are, our travel bugs have always depended on the kindness of strangers.