Google Navigation Challenge Edinburgh to Beijing

HawkAussie · Post by **HawkAussie** » 04 Aug 2014, 00:31

Day 2
http://goo.gl/maps/Rz0yB
Ostend, Belgium > Illertissen, Germany
Time Taken - 9 hours and 50 minutes
Distance - 965 kilometres
Countries visted - UK (Scotland, England), France, Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg, Germany
Notes - After a brief stop at Antwerp I keep travelling down south to Luxembourg before heading to my stop for the night at Illerissen, Germany

Nessafox · Post by **Nessafox** » 04 Aug 2014, 00:50

Edited after small calculation mistake. (thinking 12 hours instead of 10, for some reason)

The day will start in Wroclaw. Then we head towards Brno, then Bratislava, see a little bit Australia, and then into the country of HWNSNBM, to ask his guidance and protection for the rest of the journey. Next up is Slovenia and then we will rest in Zagreb. So no Dalmatian coast it is. Still things are going to plan, as the idea was to get into Croatia.

Start: Wroclaw, Poland
Finish: Zagreb, Croatia
Countries passed (12): UK, France, Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Austria, Hungary, Slovenia, Croatia.
Total distance covered: 3,023KM

TomWazzleshaw · Post by **TomWazzleshaw** » 04 Aug 2014, 01:41

After leaving our stopover in Southern Italy, we headed back into Austria before making our way through the Balkans before our overnight stopover in South Belgrade

Start: Falkensteiner Hotel & Spa Lamm Kastelruth, Italy
Finish: Kaludercia, Belgrade, Serbia
Countries: 10 (UK, France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Austria, Italy), Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia

Post by **Nuppiz** » 04 Aug 2014, 01:48

Start: Best Western Central Hotel Leonhard, Feldkirch, Austria
Finish: Motel Dragana, Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Countries: 13 - (UK, France, Belgium, The Netherlands, Luxembourg, Germany, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Austria), Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Total distance covered so far: 2 743 kilometres

Taking a deliberate kink through North Italy allows my team to pick one extra country without a fuss.

AustralianStig · Post by **AustralianStig** » 04 Aug 2014, 06:54

Start: Dietrich Comfort Apartments, Telfs, Austria
End: Hotel Katarina, Dugopolje, Croatia
Countries: 11 - (UK, France, Belgium, Luxemburg, Germany, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Austria) Italy, Slovenia, Croatia

Me wrote:We still have 15 minutes to spare.

The wife wrote:I can't find a hotel, these maps are so confusing! You're the one that insisted we go south, so don't blame me that there isn't a hotel every 10km!

Post by **tommykl** » 04 Aug 2014, 07:18

Thomas De Bock wrote:Edinburgh-Beijing Challenge - day 3: Trebon to Dej

Waking up early on the third day, we learn that we're not alone in the Czech Republic. A few teams were in Poland, a large majority in Austria and two of us in the Czech Republic. And we were behind. We'd have to catch up somehow. We were confident that our strategy would help us close the gap, and hopefully pass them by the fifth leg. In the meantime though, we had a third leg to complete. With traffic becoming less of a problem as we moved East, our shortlist of stopping locations was getting shorter.

We left at 9am for an arrival time of 8pm in Romania. Leaving Penzion Maxim, we returned to the two-lane E49 and headed towards Austria. The road was quiet, and we could relax and enjoy the road towards Vienna. A few minutes ahead of time, we moved onto the E59, then the E58 just outside Vienna. Then, a few minutes from the Hungarian border, we turned off the motorway and headed towards Slovakia, then turning South immediately after the border onto the E75 and quickly entering Hungary. Already three new countries.

We headed towards the Hungarian capital of Budapest via the city of Gyor. We reached Budapest, went around it through the South and headed East towards Romania. It was 3:53pm. The E71 turned into the E79 then the E573, and soon we were in Romania, where the roads would start to become difficult. We wouldn't be able to go around cities or use a conveniently placed motorway system. We crossed Satu Mare then turned back onto the E58, but the road, by then, was a small country road, and progress was slow. The road was full of kinks and hairpins, but we soon arrived close to large towns with hotels. A quick calculation ruled out Bistrita, so we settled for the outskirts of Dej at the Black Tulip Hotel, close to the motorway to lose as little time as possible. We had 13 minutes to spare, and we hoped to be closer to the other team that was in the Czech Republic.

Staying in Black Tulip Hotel, outskirts of Dej, Romania.
Route details: Palackeho namesti, Trebon, Czech Republic - Strada Libertatii, Dej, Romania.
Countries visited: 10 (United Kingdom, France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Czech Republic, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania)
Total distance covered: 2 926 km

Post by **Londoner** » 04 Aug 2014, 08:52

Start: Hotel Hirsch, Immenstadt, Germany
Finish: Cehici, Bosnia
Countries visited: (UK, France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Austria, Germany) Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia
Route: http://i.imgur.com/IEPIWjX.jpg

Having stopped for the night in Germany, we decide to return south through Austria via Innsbruck, then crossing through a portion of north-east Italy. We briefly cross through Slovenia, before making our way through Croatia before just crossing into Bosnia as the 10 hour deadline is reached. Unfortunately, we were unable to find a hotel, and therefore the prospect of sleeping in the van is a reality. What's worse, the roads south from our latest checkpoint don't seem that good, meaning our next leg will be arduous and time consuming as we try to cross the Balkans.

Post by **Miguel98** » 04 Aug 2014, 08:53

Start: Engelberg
Finish: Petrinja

Countries visited (so far): (United Kingdom, France, Belgium, Germany, Switzerland), Italy, Slovenia, Croatia

pi314159 · Post by **pi314159** » 04 Aug 2014, 09:46

https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Bischof ... !3e0?hl=en

Bischofshofen to Jagodina (Serbia) in 9h 58min

Distance: 964km

Countries visited: UK, France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Austria, Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia

RedEyes504 · Post by **RedEyes504** » 04 Aug 2014, 09:58

Leg 3

Start: Brixen, Italy
End: Vrcin, Serbia
Countries: 7 (UK, France, Belgium, Luxemburg, Germany, Austria, Italy) Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia, Serbia

After starting the day in Italy, we headed straight back into Austria and headed for Slovenia. After heading through the middle of Slovenia and Croatia, we cut into Bosnia for about 5 miles before heading back to Croatia and aiming for Serbia. Making good time we managed to get to Vrcin (just south of Belgrade)

pasta_maldonado · Post by **pasta_maldonado** » 04 Aug 2014, 12:40

First Pasta The Winning Post - Leg 3

Start: Gniezno, Poland
Finish: Rivne, Ukraine
Countries: 8 - (UK, France, Belgium, The Netherlands, Germany, Poland) Belarus, Ukraine

After a surprisingly decent night's sleep, one look at the breakfast options has the team heading to the car for an early start. Well, it was either the thought of another continental breakfast or the fact that we discovered that we were behind in the race.

Leaving Gneizno, it's a short trip south to pick up the E30 motorway to the border. Roadworks south of Konin provided a minor delay, prompting the retrieval of the Oasis CD from the glove compartment, but aside from that it was plain sailing all the way to the Polish-Belarusian border where we join the E85. Apparently, one of our objectives is to visit as many countries as possible, which has led to some deliberation as to the route to take to Beijing. I did wonder why most of the other teams turned up in Austria for some yodelling, ahem, rest.

The E85 takes us into Ukraine. To our relief, no one holding an AK47 stops us at the border! Ukraine proves to be pretty...boring, actually. The E85 turns into the M19 somewhere, passing through Kovel. In the town of Lutsk we abandon the M19 and head onto the H22 to our stop for the night, the Ukraine Hotel in Rivne.

Peteroli34 · Post by **Peteroli34** » 04 Aug 2014, 15:14

LEG 3

Start: Innsbruck Austria
Finish: Krajiska, Belgrade, Serbia
Countries Visited: 12 (UK, France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Austria ) Slovenia, Croatia Bosnia & Herzergovina, Serbia

Salamander · Post by **Salamander** » 04 Aug 2014, 15:40

Currently on my phone and won't be back on a computer until tomorrow so I'll just say that my leg 3 involves me traveling from Mesero Italy, through Slovenia and Bosnia and finishing up in Zenica, near Sarajevo.

andrew · Post by **andrew** » 04 Aug 2014, 15:44

http://postimg.org/image/bn8qnnnjp/

Start point: somewhere in poland.
End point: the Ukraine

andrew · Post by **andrew** » 04 Aug 2014, 18:10

Right, I'm going on holiday so Shadaza should have reviewed an email with my route, for those interested I went into Russia and headed diagonally into Kazakhstan along the Kyrgistan border, I headed into china at Zharkent, and started in china at huocheng after getting arrested at the border, I arrived in Beijing after 17 days

dr-baker · Post by **dr-baker** » 04 Aug 2014, 18:27

So after a 15-hour ferry crossing, now onto leg 3!

Just short of 10 hours, the journey goes through France, Belgium, Luxembourg and into Germany.

Countries visited: UK (Scotland, Northern Ireland, but not England!), Eire, France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany (six).
Distance covered = 433 miles + 602 km + 980 km = 1416 miles/2279 km

Shadaza · Post by **Shadaza** » 04 Aug 2014, 20:20

andrew wrote:Right, I'm going on holiday so Shadaza should have reviewed an email with my route, for those interested I went into Russia and headed diagonally into Kazakhstan along the Kyrgistan border, I headed into china at Zharkent, and started in china at huocheng after getting arrested at the border, I arrived in Beijing after 17 days

I have overlooked the route briefly, but everything seems to be in order. Though I have not checked for hotels and the such, so you may fall foul of that, but even so, with a 20 hour leg possible after a rest, if one part of it is dodgy, it is unlikely you will have 2 fails in row.

Samster · Post by **Samster** » 04 Aug 2014, 20:27

I wont have access to anything that can handle google's navigation system till tomorrow evening at the earliest so I cant determine my exact route or how far I can get yet but my rough prediction is that I ended up in either Croatia or Bosnia via Italy, Austria, Slovenia and Hungary.

andrew · Post by **andrew** » 04 Aug 2014, 20:48

Shadaza wrote:
andrew wrote:Right, I'm going on holiday so Shadaza should have reviewed an email with my route, for those interested I went into Russia and headed diagonally into Kazakhstan along the Kyrgistan border, I headed into china at Zharkent, and started in china at huocheng after getting arrested at the border, I arrived in Beijing after 17 days

I have overlooked the route briefly, but everything seems to be in order. Though I have not checked for hotels and the such, so you may fall foul of that, but even so, with a 20 hour leg possible after a rest, if one part of it is dodgy, it is unlikely you will have 2 fails in row.

Just checked, everywhere seems fine not sure about Emba though, so I may do a 20 hour stint after Uralsk if you don't find a hotel in Emba

V8fan12 · Post by **V8fan12** » 04 Aug 2014, 21:02

Leg 3
Start: Salzburg, Austria
End: Hotel Jet Set, Pale, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Countries visited: UK, France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Austria, Italy, Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Distance travelled: 848km (Total 2722km)
Time taken: 9h 56min (Total 29h 52min)

Nessafox · Post by **Nessafox** » 04 Aug 2014, 21:16

Miguel98 wrote:

Start: Engelberg
Finish: Petrinja

Countries visited (so far): (United Kingdom, France, Belgium, Germany, Switzerland), Italy, Slovenia, Croatia

You realise that on your map,you are traviling in opposite direction?

Shadaza · Post by **Shadaza** » 04 Aug 2014, 21:53

https://mapsengine.google.com/map/edit? ... RHfXkwF8uc

It still isn't too late to put in your leg 3 ( you have just over an hour) but I won't be around to post at closing time. If anyone wishes to help edit the map I can give out edit privileges.

It seems Super Aguri has decided to go north Into Belarus. Andrew and Pasta Maldonado are going through north Ukraine, currently in Romania but heading for south Ukraine are Klon with tommykl in close pursuit. It seems most the others are heading towards Istanbul through the balkans, the routes are fairly varied but most are going through Belgrade, with 4 people ending their leg there. Though some are going through Bosnia, a slower route on paper but with many more countries to visit.

Nessafox · Post by **Nessafox** » 04 Aug 2014, 22:07

I'm slightly suprised that nobody took the Gibraltar-route.

Post by **DemocalypseNow** » 04 Aug 2014, 22:22

Start: Roppen, Austria
Finish: Sremska Mitrovica, Serbia
Countries visited: (UK, France, Belgium, Luxembourg Germany, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Austria), Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia

http://puu.sh/aETk0/8e23f970ac.jpg

AndreaModa · Post by **AndreaModa** » 05 Aug 2014, 00:03

Right so we're good to go for stage 4 now then?

Been planning out the whole of my route for the last hour or so - should be interesting! :lol:

Anyway, stage 4:

https://goo.gl/maps/oYQ5A

From Belgrade it was the simple case of taking the E75, and then E80 through the rest of Serbia, then Bulgaria, including a brief jaunt into Greece, and over into Turkey, stopping at the Simsek Hotel on the edge of Edirne.

Belgrade (Serbia) - Simsek Hotel, Edirne (Turkey) in 9 hours 27 mins, a distance of 459 miles. (Total: 2135 miles)
Countries visited so far: 15 - UK, France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Switzerland, Lichtenstein, Austria, Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, Bulgaria, Greece, Turkey

HawkAussie · Post by **HawkAussie** » 05 Aug 2014, 00:10

Day 3
http://goo.gl/maps/9YXGJ
Illertissen, Germany > Koprivnica, Croatia
Time Taken - 9 hours and 50 minutes
Distance - 993 kilometres
Countries visted (10) - UK (Scotland, England), France, Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg, Germany, Italy, Austria, Slovenia, Croatia
Notes - Another leg down and feel like I am catching up on the rest of the field.

Nessafox · Post by **Nessafox** » 05 Aug 2014, 00:48

Leg 4
Yesterday, i went 10 minutes over time,so i had to settle for a shorter day. Starting in Zagreb, i immediatly took a dive into Bosnia-Herzegovina, and continued, trough Serbia, Vidin (Bulgaria) and eventually found a hotel just over the border in Calafat, Romania. Sadly, i came 2 minutes short of reaching my originally planned destination.

Start: Zagreb, Croatia
Finish: Calafat, Romania
Countries passed (16): UK, France, Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Austria, Hungary, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Serbia, Bulgaria, Romania.
Total distance covered: 3.767KM

TomWazzleshaw · Post by **TomWazzleshaw** » 05 Aug 2014, 01:10

Leg 4

Start: Kaluderica, Serbia
Finish: Luleburgaz, Turkey
Countries: 12 (UK, France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Austria, Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia), Bulgaria, Turkey

SuperAguri · Post by **SuperAguri** » 05 Aug 2014, 02:15

Day 4
http://goo.gl/maps/X1VpD

Hotel Orsha, Orsha, Belarus > Hotel Club Veles, Leont'yevo, Russia
Countries Travelled - (UK, France, Belgium, Germany, Poland) Belarus, Russia
Time Taken 9h 34 Minutes (39h 24 minutes to date)
Distance - 744km (3,778 km to date)

Leave hotel and zig zag down the P15 to join the P22, it turns sharply left when we pass Dubrouna, but soon we rejoin the E30 (M1), a mere 54 minutes later we are in Russia. Still on the E30 (M1). Long boring drive to Moscow, lots of tree and non descript towns. It's quicker to driver around Moscow then through it. So 5hrs54 minutes after we left we join a slip toll road to join the Moscow ring road (MKAD), the E105 is part of it but we continue around it as the E115 become part of the ring road, but we turn off on the E22 (M7) and drive straight, the only intersting intersection being with the A107. We pass Vladimir and I know that there is only 15 minutes to go before we get to our fun filled holiday spa resort.

V8fan12 · Post by **V8fan12** » 05 Aug 2014, 04:01

Leg 4
Start: Hotel Jet Set, Pale, Bosnia and Herzegovina
End: Kyustendil, Bulgaria
Countries visited: UK, France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Austria, Italy, Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, Kosovo, Macedonia, Bulgaria
Distance travelled: 598km (Total 3320km)
Time taken: 9h 56min (Total 39h 48min)

Post by **tommykl** » 05 Aug 2014, 06:07

Thomas De Bock wrote:Edinburgh-Beijing Challenge - day 4: Dej to Odessa

According to the GPS, news was fairly good. We were catching up to the team slightly ahead of us, only around half an hour behind them. We had a clear path in mind for the day, and with no other suitable destination any further, we hoped that they would go the same way and allow us to catch up. Certainly, our course would take us straight through Bistrita, where they were staying. With no other time zones to cross, we left the Black Tulip Hotel at 10 am, with Yaël driving.

We headed East on the E58 motorway, which by now had turned into a surprisingly pleasant and well-maintained Romanian mountain road. About four hours later, we reached Gura Humorului and promtply turned South East on the E85, which we followed uneventfully towards the Moldovan border, where the highway became the E581, going North East on the confusing Moldovan motorways. We turned East onto the R33 for a few minutes, then back onto the E584, North East again towards the capital, Chisinau.

We once again turned off the European motorway system and onto a national road, the R2. This took us South East towards Bender, where the road became the R26, heading for Tiraspol. This was a crucial moment, as there was no possible stopping point between Tiraspol and our planned destination. Mercifully, once we crossed the Ukrainian border, the roads were straight and empty, and we could concentrate on getting our entry absolutely right. We reached the outskirts of Odessa about ten minutes before time ran out.

Knowing full well that going for a hotel towards the center would take us slightly over the limit and that we did not have enough time to spare on leg five of our journey, we stopped at a motel just outside Odessa, the Avtoturist. With five minutes to spare, we locked our location and headed inside, confident that we would be much closer to the Germans ahead.

Staying in the Avtoturist Hotel, outskirts of Odessa, Ukraine.
Route details: Strada Libertatii, Dej, Romania - Chapaeva St., Odessa, Ukraine.
Countries visited: 12 (United Kingdom, France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Czech Republic, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Moldova, Ukraine)
Total distance covered: 3 614 km

Post by **Miguel98** » 05 Aug 2014, 07:57

Start: Petrinja
Finish: Skopje

Countries Visited: (United Kingdom, France, Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Slovenia, Croatia), Serbia, Macedonia

Aerond · Post by **Aerond** » 05 Aug 2014, 08:30

Leg 4:

Brezice (Slovenia) - Hotel Perjanik -near Danilovgrad- (Montenegro)
Time used: 10h 10min
https://goo.gl/maps/SGUqN

Countries visited so far: 15 (UK, France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Austria, Italy, San Marino, Slovenia, Croatia, Hungary, Bosnia, Montenegro)

Peteroli34 · Post by **Peteroli34** » 05 Aug 2014, 08:52

LEG 4

Start: Krajiska, Belgrade, Serbia
Finish: HAVSA MESLEK YÜKSEK
Countries Visited: 15 (UK, France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Austria Slovenia, Croatia Bosnia & Herzergovina, Serbia) Bulgaria, Greece, Turkey

http://i1381.photobucket.com/albums/ah218/peterdoliver/leg4_zpscf1c5a57.png

Shadaza · Post by **Shadaza** » 05 Aug 2014, 09:32

No cheap tricks this time, feeling a little under time pressure, I head straight through Serbia and into Bulgaria, I had hoped to make Edirne, Turkey, but had to settle for Haskovo, Bulgaria.

Countries Visited: UK, France, Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg, Germany, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Austria, Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia Herzegovina, Serbia, Bulgaria.

the Masked Lapwing · Post by **the Masked Lapwing** » 05 Aug 2014, 10:02

Leg 4
Start: Bludenz, Austria
Finish: Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Countries visitied: 14 - GBR, IRL, FRA, BEL, NED, GER, LUX, SUI, LIE, AUT, ITA, SLO, CRO, BIH

AustralianStig · Post by **AustralianStig** » 05 Aug 2014, 11:02

Leg 4:
Start: Hotel Katarina, Dugopolje, Croatia
End: Hotel Jehona, Luiq Gurakuqi, Kosovo
Countries: 15 - (UK, France, Belgium, Luxemburg, Germany, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Austria, Italy, Slovenia, Croatia) Bosnia & Herzegovina, Montenegro, Albania, Kosovo

Post by **Londoner** » 05 Aug 2014, 11:30

Start: Cehici, Bosnia
Finish: Petrovets, FYROM (Macedonia)
Countries visited: (UK, France, Belgium, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Austria, Germany, Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia), Serbia, Macedonia)
Route

Having decided that trying to cross the entirety of Bosnia would put us on the back foot, we decided to skirt the Bosnia/Croatia border in the north of the country, eventually crossing into Southern Croatia. From there, we followed the E70 road into Serbia, onwards to Belgrade, and made our way south. We had hoped to drive into Kosovo, but that was not to be, and we settled on continuing south into Macedonia, with the time limit for the day falling just south of the capital Skopje.

RedEyes504 · Post by **RedEyes504** » 05 Aug 2014, 12:15

Leg 4

Start: Vrcin, Serbia
Finish: Babaeski, Turkey
Countries: 14 (UK, France, Belgium, Luxemburg, Germany, Austria, Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia, Serbia) Bulgaria, Greece, Turkey

A pretty straight forward day today, heading south east through Serbia & Bulgaria, before a very brief visit to the corner of Greece. Then we headed as far into Turkey as possible, making it as far as Babaeski

pasta_maldonado · Post by **pasta_maldonado** » 05 Aug 2014, 13:44

First Pasta The Winning Post - Leg 4

Start: Rivne, Ukraine
Finish: Hotel Ryleev, Kharkiv, Ukraine
Countries: 8 - (UK, France, Belgium, The Netherlands, Germany, Poland, Belarus, Ukraine)

Being in Ukraine is just a little nerve wracking, we mostly kept our heads down and drove. No new countries visited today, but our estimates say we will be in Beijing in a competitive time. Things were looking good as we pulled into the Hotel Ryleev, from which tomorrow after some much needed sleep, we will head into Mother Russia.