Christmas puzzle answers

Many thanks to everyone who participated in solving the tasks and honed their search skills using public sources.

Answer 1: Jõulumäe Health Sports Center
The road numbers and landmarks on the Google map indicate the solution.

The E67 road runs from Helsinki to Warsaw. In the case of this road, a large body of water to the west of the road runs along the coast between Pärnu and Riga. By navigating this section of the road using the Google Maps application, you can identify a more accurate location based on similar terrain elements.

The task is easy; all respondents solved it correctly.

Answer 2: June 1991, in front of the house at 1 Nunne in Tallinn.
Internet image search engines do not give a match to the photo. This is not surprising: much of the information on the Internet, stored in various registers or databases, is public and unrestricted for people to use, but is forbidden to search engines.

The solution can be achieved by combining different internet search methods.

The image needs to be examined in more detail to identify the location. The Blue-black-white Estonian flag hangs on the window; barricades made of stone blocks also suggest the Defence of Toompea in the early 1990s. The hypothesis that it is Tallinn is confirmed by a search using the Google Street View application. A building with similar architectural elements can be found at the beginning of Nunne Street, Pikk Street and Pikk jala. Details from archive photos on the ajapaik.ee page offer additional confirmation.

Internet search also helps in chronical or time determination. For example, the defenders of Toompea write that the barricades were erected in January 1991 and removed in September of the same year. Assuming that the picture was taken in the summer of 1991, June was the month when the Old Town Days took place (a window decoration in the background of the flag could be a good hint). However, this assessment should not taken into account as direct evidence.

A search in the National Archives’ image bank Fotis, gives an exact match confirming the hypothesis of the Old Town Days. The search is complicated by the description of the picture “Young musicians performing at the Tallinn Old Town Days, with granite slabs blocking the streets in the background”. It does not contain logical keywords like “street musician,” “old town days,” “Nunne,” or “barricades,” so it is not easy to find this picture.

This was the most difficult task. As a rule, when the place was found, only two respondents suggested the exact month. The disadvantage of many answers is that the task was solved based on personal memories and not based on evidence from search results.

Answer 3: Maarjamäe castle’s pedestrian gate, Pirita tee 56 in Tallinn
The problem can be solved in two ways.

Most of the respondents who described their solution used the image search method.

You can also get the answer from photo metadata. By entering the image link on the Metadata2go website, you can see the time, place and, if desired, the altitude when the image was taken.

– GPS Date Time 2020: 12: 23 11: 58: 12Z

– GPS Latitude 59 degrees 27 ′ 9.76 ″ N

– GPS Longitude 24 degrees 48 ′ 32.51 ”E

When converting coordinates to the Google Maps application 59 ° 27’9.76 ″ N 24 ° 48’32.51 ”E, Maarjamäe Castle is displayed as the location.

The task was fairly easy in that all the senders of the answer found the right place.