Guardian travel writers 

The bumper Boxing Day travel quiz

Panto trip this year? Oh, no there isn’t. Instead, charge everyone’s glass and take a whirl around the world with our fiendish quiz?
  
  

The Brandenburg Gate in Berlin this week.
The Brandenburg Gate in Berlin this week. Photograph: Markus Schreiber/AP

  1. How many countries border Germany?

    1. Six

    2. Seven

    3. Eight

    4. Nine

  2. Coconut palms at the beach, Christmas Island, Kiribati<br>G3N7E8 Coconut palms at the beach, Christmas Island, Kiribati

    Which country is Christmas Island an external territory of?

    1. Australia

    2. Canada

    3. New Zealand

    4. United Kingdom

  3. In which modern-day country was St Nicholas born?

    1. Israel

    2. Lapland

    3. Syria

    4. Turkey

  4. A General view of Rio de Janeiro During the Municipal Elections Runoff Amidst the Coronavirus (COVID - 19) Pandemic<br>RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL - NOVEMBER 29: : An aerial view of residents enjoying the weather in Ipanema beach during municipal elections day while the number of coronavirus (COVID-19) cases continues to increase in the state on November 29, 2020 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. According to the State Secretary of Health, the state of Rio de Janeiro reached this Saturday (28) over 22,500 deaths and more than 350,000 confirmed cases of Covid-19. (Photo by Sergio Alves/Getty Images)

    How many countries border Brazil?

    1. 6

    2. 8

    3. 10

    4. 12

  5. Lilongwe, Malawi - March 28, 2015: Welcome sign on the road to Lilongwe in Malawi.<br>MX43N4 Lilongwe, Malawi - March 28, 2015: Welcome sign on the road to Lilongwe in Malawi.

    Lilongwe is the capital of which African country?

    1. Eswatini

    2. Malawi

    3. Mozambique

    4. Zambia

  6. Armstrong And Holiday<br>Louis Armstrong and Billie Holiday pose together for a studio portrait c 1939. (Photo by JP Jazz Archive/Redferns)

    Which city would you be in if you’d landed at Louis Armstrong airport?

    1. Chicago

    2. Kansas City

    3. Nashville

    4. New Orleans

  7. King Of Bohemia<br>Circa 1400, Wenceslas IV (1361 - 1419), King of Bohemia and Emperor of Germany. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

    Good King Wenceslas was a 10th-century ruler of Bohemia, which is in which modern-day country?

    1. Poland

    2. Slovakia

    3. Czech Republic

    4. Hungary

  8. VARIOUS<br>Mandatory Credit: Photo by Ingo Schulz/imageBROKER/REX/Shutterstock (9748845a)Fried caterpillars

    In which country do they tuck into deep-fried Emperor moth caterpillars on Christmas Day?

    1. Colombia

    2. Australia

    3. Thailand

    4. South Africa

  9. People wearing facemasks in a Kentucky Fried Chicken

    In which country is eating KFC a Christmas tradition?

    1. Egypt

    2. Japan

    3. Mexico

    4. Taiwan

  10. Christmas and New Year lights in Lisbon, Portugal - 17 Dec 2020<br>Mandatory Credit: Photo by Pedro Fiuza/ZUMA Wire/REX/Shutterstock (11582229a)
People take pictures near Christmas and New Year lights during the Covid-19 Coronavirus pandemic, in downtown Lisbon, Portugal, on December 17, 2020.
Christmas and New Year lights in Lisbon, Portugal - 17 Dec 2020

    What traditional food do the Portuguese eat with boiled vegetables on Christmas Eve?

    1. Alheira sausage

    2. Bacalão, or salt cod

    3. Clams

    4. Tripe

  11. Which country gobbles up the most turkey per head in a year?

    1. Israel

    2. Mexico

    3. United Kingdom

    4. United States

  12.  the Canadian flag flies over snowy hills

    Which is Canada’s largest province by area – and second by population?

    1. British Columbia

    2. Ontario

    3. Northwest territories

    4. Quebec

  13. The world’s oldest national park opened in 1872. Where is it?

    1. The Lake District, Cumbria

    2. Royal National Park, New South Wales

    3. Yosemite, California

    4. Yellowstone, mostly in Wyoming

  14. Ecuador, Salinas, ´paramo´ upland, Chimborazo volcano.<br>EBD19J Ecuador, Salinas, ´paramo´ upland, Chimborazo volcano.

    Mount Chimborazo in Ecuador is known for being?

    1. The furthest point from the centre of the planet

    2. The highest mountain in the Americas north of Peru

    3. A double volcano, one on top of the other

    4. All of the above

  15. An undated handout picture provided by the British Ministry of Defence

    The world’s largest iceberg (known as A68a) is currently on a collision course with which island?

    1. Newfoundland

    2. South Georgia

    3. Tasmania

    4. Tierra del Fuego

  16. On which actual island is Love Island filmed?

    1. Corfu

    2. Ibiza

    3. Lanzarote

    4. Mallorca

  17. Which country has been the largest in Africa by territory since 2011?

    1. Algeria

    2. Chad

    3. Libya

    4. Sudan

  18. Altitude sickness-inducing La Paz (pictured) is well known as the world's highest-altitude capital. But which is the lowest?

    1. Amsterdam

    2. Baku, Azerbaijan

    3. Tunis

    4. Victoria, Seychelles

  19.  A view of Lake

    The Caspian Sea is officially the world's largest lake, but its waters are slightly salty. Which is the largest freshwater lake by volume?

    1. Lake Baikal

    2. Lake Michigan

    3. Lake Superior

    4. Lake Victoria

  20. Kazakhstan (pictured) is the largest of the Central Asia ’stans – and eighth largest country in the world. But which is the smallest ’stan?

    1. Turkmenistan

    2. Uzbekistan

    3. Tajikistan

    4. Kyrgyzstan

Solutions

1:D - Denmark, Poland, Czech Republic, Switzerland, Austria, France, Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands, 2:A, 3:D - in Patara, Lycia, 4:C - Brazil has borders with Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, French Guiana, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay and Venezuela, 5:B, 6:D - He was born in Nola in 1901, 7:C, 8:D, 9:B - An estimated 3.6 million Japanese families treat themselves to KFC every Christmas, a tradition that began with a "Kentucky for Christmas" marketing campaign in 1974, 10:B, 11:A - The average Israeli eats about 13kg of turkey annually. Israel is an innovator in the use of turkey in processed foods such as “turkey pastrami”, 12:D, 13:D - Thanks to controversy over the creation of Yosemite in the 1860s, Yellowstone beat it to be the first park under national control., 14:D, 15:B - Scientists worry that the iceberg, which broke up into three large chunks this week, could grind into the seabed of the wildlife-rich island, disrupt underwater ecosystems and block penguins making their way into the sea for food, 16:D, 17:A - Sudan was the largest until the spilt with South Sudan in 2011, 18:B - Baku, on the Caspian Sea, is 28 metres below the Earth's normal sea level, 19:A - With 23,615.39 cubic kilometres, Lake Baikal contains almost 23% of the world's fresh surface water., 20:C - The smallest of the 'stans, it is also the most mountainous: most of the country is over 3,000 metres above sea level

Scores

  1. 17 and above.

    Behold globetrotter, you have reached the top of travel mountain!

  2. 13 and above.

    Impressive … but a little shy of jet-setter status

  3. 7 and above.

    Hmm, not terrible, but more wanderlust needed

  4. 0 and above.

    Well now, this is awkward. Better luck next time.

 

Leave a Comment

Required fields are marked *

*

*