Unlike the formidable Friday foxers, the Monday kind are designed with lone truth sleuths in mind. While Roman, my Chief Foxer Setter, would be very interested to know how long it takes you to defox the following brainteaser, he requests that the comments section isn’t used to share solutions or drop hints.
“Where am I?”
Using the following clues (the map above is purely decorative) in combination with Street View, Wikipedia, MAPfrappe and other tools, work out my location. The answer will appear under next Monday’s solo foxer.
You’ll find me close to sixty large hexagons in a country that has a female Vice President, one living Nobel laureate, and a noisy national sport. There are German-made submarines in the inventory of this country’s navy and tailless delta-wing aircraft in service with its air force. I’m closer to the sea than any capital city. Roughly 70 miles to the east lives a colony of controversial quadrupeds. I share longitude with an island where lepers once dwelt, and latitude with three landlocked countries, all of which are smaller in area than the country I’m in. I’m 220 metres from a Spinosaurus and 300 from a rugby venue. A few minutes’ walk away is a tourist attraction guaranteed to interest members of the IPS.
You’re probably in the right place if you can see…
- Three blue bins
- Three blue parasols
- A maze
- A woman photographing a railway carriage
I’m not in Pont-à-Mousson.
(Last week I was here)
After 84 minutes I gave up. 90% sure I have the right country but I’m flailing hopelessly around within it.
Aha! There you are, Mr. railway carriage. I almost gave up – like cederic above after about an hour I was fairly sure of the country but couldn’t quite narrow it down further, with the wrong leper island leading me astray. Then a series of misclicks and I accidentally wandered into a pay-by-the-hour motel. But I cracked this tough nut in the end. Probably about an hour and a half all up, longish compared to last week but I’m not complaining. Extremely satisfying to solve.
I’d also like to say something else, about somewhere I’ve been to fairly close to Roman’s location, but it could be vaguely spoilery so I’ll save it for next week.
I found it eventually, but not before realising that I had entirely misunderstood “I’m closer to the sea than any capital city” as “I’m closer to the sea than any capital city [is to the sea]” rather than “I’m closer to the sea than [I am to] any capital city”. Then I suddenly remembered what one particular clue was referring to, which enabled me to identify the municipality and very quickly it was a case of “hunt the exact spot”.
Finally! I was away last week, managed to get as far as the hexagons using my phone but finding the exact location was a bit too much. Found the photographer lady now!