Category: Contest

You have until noon on Tuesday to guess it. Country first, then city and/or state. If no one guesses the exact location, proximity counts.  Be sure to email entries to VFYWcontest@theatlantic.com. Winner gets a free The View From Your Window book, courtesy of Blurb. Have at it.

by Chris Bodenner

A reader writes:

I dated a German girl for a few years, and so spent plenty of time in various parts of Germany and Austria. The architecture from this photo is very familiar. It’s clearly Bavarian. So I’m going to go with the longtime capital of the former kingdom and now Bundesland: Munich.

Another writes:

This one could be anywhere in southern Germany, eastern Switzerland, or Austria, from my eye.  The church tower is very typical of that region and I think I’ve seen them in towns along the Donau.  The square tower nearby also generally fits my hazy memory of an architectural style from that region.  The buildings in the back argue for a large-ish city, and the spike tower in the far background could possibly be the needle from the 72 Olympics in Munich (or just a crane, hard to tell).  How about somewhere south of Marienplatz?  My wife promises me a dinner if I ever get one even close enough …

Another:

It looks like the city where they shot the last scenes of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory – Nordlingen, Germany?

Another reader thought the same thing. Another:

This one was deceptively difficult.  It feels like this should be in Germany, but for the life of me, I can’t figure it out.  I’ve spent more time than I’d like to admit pouring over databases of high-rise buildings trying to place that angular glass building in the background.  I thought the small flag in the foreground could point towards a location, and now I know more about Germanic heraldry than one person should ever have to learn (I’m now convinced the flag just decor).  And with all that, I have naught but a guess: Bremen.  (I know, I know, not even close…)

Another:

The picture looks very much like Sweden, although it could conceivably also be in Russia or Georgia. If I had to guess, I would say Visby, Sweden. A quick Google image search reveals quite a number of churches and other building remarkably similar to those picture.

Another

I am going to guess Cordoba, Spain, near the river there is a fort like building in the old section of the city. The buildings in the foreground remind me of the architecture there, while the modern buildings in the far background look like they would have been built in the construction boom in recent years.

Or too much mosque on the brain. Another:

Wow, this one is obviously from Catholic East-Central Europe, but where?  A million cities flew through my mind, and my gut says “Prague”, but I think this is too obvious.  Still, it’s somewhere that has seen some strong recent economic development – those are obviously capitalist and not communist high-rise buildings in the background. I’m going to go with a dark horse and guess Vilnius, Lithuania (homeland of the ancestors on my mother’s side of the family).

Another:

I believe the picture is from Riga, Latvia. My first guess was Brugges. But my husband, who has been to Brugges, shot down that idea.  He insisted it was Germanic-style architecture. I noted the flat landscape, the lack of skyscrapers and the Russian-y look to the steeple.   Latvia popped into my head, and I googled church steeples in Riga (the only city I know in Latvia) and found an image that looked very close.

Another:

Prague, Czech Republic? I’m pretty sure that red-and-white stripey thing off in the distance is the Žižkov TV tower. And the mix of old-timey and modern architecture more or less comports with the city as I remember it. Even if I’m right, I know someone else is going to be able to identify the location down to the exact GPS coordinates. Or else it’s some tiny suburb on the outskirts of the city, where one of your readers lived for a year. I tell you, I continue to find this contest both exhilarating and despair-inducing.

Another:

Lisbon, Portugal.  I have my reasons.

Another:

I checked the Dish from my office one afternoon not long ago and the VFYW photo showed the very building I was sitting in at the time, taken from someone’s apartment window across the street. How cool is that? Why couldn’t that have been the first contest photo?

Another:

Finally got one.

Although I suspect this one will be very easy and lots of people will get it and someone will get the angle/location of the shot much more precisely. At first I thought Bavaria and searched Bavaria and steeple in Google images.  This yielded some similar things, but no hits.  Then I tried Czech, the Slovakia … closer.  Then I gave up.  But after a walk and brunch, suddenly the thought Estonia popped into my head.  And there it was!  St. Nicholas Church in Tallinn, Estonia.

I figured this week’s contest would be relatively easy, but not this easy: the vast majority of entrants guessed Tallinn (out of about 300 total).  For that reason, a map of the plotted guesses wouldn’t be that interesting this week. (Plus, I’m still sorting through all the great suggestions for dynamic maps sent in by readers – thank you!).  Below are some of the best entries for Tallinn. One reader writes:

At last, I’ve finally been to one of the featured window views!  So we have St Nicholas’ Church, Old City, Tallinn, Estonia. To quote the tourist blurb: “Founded by German merchant/settlers from the island of Gotland sometime around 1230, the sturdy church was designed to double as a fortress in the days before the town wall was built.” The church is well known for its organ recitals – they were pumping out the tunes during my visit in ’08. I could put GPS coordinates up and post pictures but hey, I’m just happy to be in the right country for a change!

Another:

The window the photograph was taken from is somewhere around 59°26’10.90″N, 24°44’26.45″E.  Here is the result once I determined this location:

Thank you very much for this opportunity to dedicate a whole day of sleuthing.  It was great fun!  Hopefully I’ve come fairly close.  Maybe one day I’ll actually get to visit the area.  It looks really interesting.

Another:

The street address is Niguliste 3, 10146 Tallinn, Eesti. The Wikipedia page is here. My wife and I took a roundabout path to the answer.  We instantly, though mistakenly, placed this scene in Central Europe, where we have traveled a bit.  The ornate Baroque tower reminded us of that area.  In the background is a bit of wall, and that inspired my wife to search Google for images of German walled cities.  The first picture in her list showed the church from nearly the same angle, although much further away.  (The linked site was this one.)  We were shocked to find out it was in Tallinn.

Another:

I was terribly excited when I saw this photo, because my wife and I spent the last four days of our honeymoon in Tallinn, two winters ago. I’m browsing our photos, because we have a few that are nearly identical to this shot. We were there in January, when every storm creates the closest approximation you will ever see to a life-sized snow globe. Thank you for posting this!

Another:

I’m the commissioner of the “superfan” league you wrote about here. I’m sure there will be quite a few guesses of the correct answer (Tallinn, Estonia), but my girlfriend and I are confident we’ve nailed the exact coordinates:  56° 26′ 10.77″ N  and 24° 44′ 25.97″ E.  Here’s the Google Earth view of the spot!

Since I last wrote, we’ve turned our league into a “head to head” style VFYW league, similar to fantasy football, where we have matchups each week and standings based on wins and losses.  At the end of the two month season, we’re doing a seeded playoffs where the top seeds have a mileage spread!

By the way, as a Latvian, it’s good to see you represent the Baltics. (Side note: the most attractive people in the world come from the Baltics – true statement!)

Another:

This one is too easy for us readers of Estonian descent, of which I suspect there are many.  By the way, Estonia and Estonians tend to favour your brand of principled conservatism – the government is small, sensible and low-cost.  It is often recommended as a model, but only really works when the governed are also pragmatic and stoic, as Estonians tend to be.

Another:

I still have a bottle of Vana Tallinn not 5′ away from me that I brought back after my 1995 visit to Estonia while on study abroad. Such a magical place with the old historic city walls still well preserved. It was like stepping back in time – I seem to remember the old historic pubs the best, don’t remember much about the churches. Perhaps it was the drinks we had of Vana Tallinn with 45% alcohol that made the place seem so magical.

Another:

This took no time at all.  The tower was distinct, so I knew I had a good chance. First, I latched onto the tiny flags topping the church steeple and the medieval tower.  But a Google image search of church and city flags got nowhere.  Then I decided (maybe foolishly) that the number of towns with a church right next to a medieval wall must be relatively finite.  I googled “Churches near medieval walls.” That worked.  Incredible.

Jackpot on page 3 of the results, courtesy of this website. Specifically, the black and white church tower is located at 59.435922, 24.742756.  It is called Tallinna Nigulste Kirik.

So!  I’d found Tallinn in 15 minutes.  The rest was an hour (or, uh, twice that) trying to pin down the angle to find the right window.  For this, the Google Earth feature is awesome.  It let me zoom through a 3D virtual Tallinn and line up the triangular building and red-and-white smokestack in the background. In my exploring I also found that under the red-topped tower is a cafe that sells pottery, called Bogapott.  Bogapott has an encouraging website.

In the end, I decided the VFYW photographer (assuming he or she followed the rules and took the photo from a window) was on the second floor right here: 59.436348, 24.740658

I’ll let those coordinates be my official official guess coordinates.  Google doesn’t really give an address for the building.  The corner building (corner of Pikk Jalg and Piiskopi) may be Pikk Jalg 16. Attached is a photo looking East along the front yard of 16.  To the left, you can see what is likely the VFYW foreground tree, the photographer’s window out of frame.

Two final notes.  First, given this technology, in 5 years we won’t be able to play this game at all; it will be too easy.  We’ll be able to pinpoint any spot on the planet in 10 minutes.  And secondly, I did all this on Saturday morning, when there were 3 or 4 decent photos of that area of Tallinn pinned to Google Maps. When I went back to Google Maps on Monday afternoon, I discovered what seemed to be dozens more photos pinned there. Meaning, I take it, that plenty of your readers uploaded their photos over the weekend.

Another:

Thanks for helping a couple of 911 dispatchers keep alert on a slow Saturday.

Another:

I usually give up on this contest after about ten minutes, but today I have a new puppy and too much time on my hands.  Using Flickr and Google maps, I was able to narrow down a city with red roofs and black steeples.  After a few more minutes,  and after considering both St. Nicholas church and St. Olaf’s as the steeple, I discovered it was actually the medieval town hall, or ratusz, in Tallinn Estonia: 10146 Tallinn, Estonia 645 7900. Apparently people used to be executed in the town square directly in front of the building.

Another:

Wow, check out this cool website:

You can see the view almost like your photo. And it’s a 360 shot, one can play with it. Wonderful.

Another:

This isn’t an actual entry into the contest, as I found the answer by cheating and wanted to let you know how.  Using the Google Goggles app on my phone, I took a picture of the tower in this week’s photo.  Goggles was able to match that to another photo from Tallinn that happened to have the same tower.  I went through a few other VFYW entries and wasn’t able to cheat on those, but I just wanted to let you know that this sort of thing is possible.

Disclaimer: I’m an engineer at Google and I work on Goggles.

Another:

The reason I am choosing Tallinn is because the steeple and tower in the picture appear to be the same steeple and tower that were seen in another VFYW picture that you had narrowed my guess down to England or Eastern Europe.

I’m not going to try to guess exactly what window this view came from, but I’m sure some of your other readers will (especially since I’m sure you have readers who live or have lived there, or visited the church on vacation, or had their first kiss in that very steeple, or …). I’m glad that you print some of the e-mails from people who have guessed; it is so enlightening to see the details they are picking out in order to guess the location. And no matter how many details I pick out to guess the location, your readers always pick out many more that I have not even noticed.

Another:

That’s definitely Tallinn, Estonia – though I may have an unfair advantage, having submitted a similar photo that was featured in August 2008.

Another:

Since this will be more a test of one’s ability to stand out in the crowd than a real contest to get the correct answer, I’ll start off by making this a little bit about me.  [600 words later …]  So, how to distinguish myself from the many correct answers?  Sadly, I probably shouldn’t use the google maps screenshot on which I marked up the field of view because that might present copyright issues.  I don’t have much of a personal story about the location.  Although I can say I was there, on a very pleasant warm summer day three years ago, I didn’t get married there or otherwise mark the moment in any sort of spectacular fashion, and it’s probably too late (or too expensive) to plan something between now and Tuesday.

Best I can do is send along the attached photo evidencing my visit to Estonia, as to which I can say without question I own all copyright and hereby give you full permission to use. That’s the best I can do.

Gosh, I love this contest.

So many inventive and accurate answers, but we have to choose one.  So the winner of the free Blurb book goes to the following reader, who not only nailed one of the most difficult prior contests (Dili) but who also included an excellent window view – not too vague, not too obvious, several intuitive clues – to use for a future contest. (One of the most challenging and time-consuming aspects of crafting a contest is finding suitable windows from the limited number of unused photos sent to us.) The winner writes:

This time you’ve selected a picture which is simply too easy.  I’m betting 200 entrants get it correct.  This is going to be my third correct entry (I’ve previously gotten correct the photos of Dili, Timor L’Este and Sarajevo, Bosnia & Herzegovina).

In the photo this week, the architecture is clearly Baltic.  I’ve been previously to Riga, Latvia, and Vilnius and Kaunas, Lithuania, the other major Baltic cities, and I thus know it’s not a view of any of them.  So I presumed it must be Tallinn – which I haven’t visited.  All you have to go is google images of Tallin and it’s clear this is a view of Tallin’s old city.

Make it harder next time.

You can count on it.

You have until noon on Tuesday to guess it. Country first, then city and/or state. If no one guesses the exact location, proximity counts.  Be sure to email entries to VFYWcontest@theatlantic.com. Winner gets a free The View From Your Window book, courtesy of Blurb. Have at it.

by Chris Bodenner

A reader writes:

Now you guys are getting your act together.  This view will get guesses on all continents I imagine.  I’ll have to go with Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur.  Reason is, I have friends from India and China.  They have spoken to me about how they have personal drivers for their cars, as many people do there.  The little booth in the picture in front of the house would seem to serve this purpose.  But, I’m caught at a crossroads … China or India?  I”ll split the difference and say Indonesia.  Looking forward to the guesses.  They will be varied in global scope.

Quite prescient. Another writes:

This is San Francisco’s Seacliff neighborhood, on El Camino del Mar. That’s the Marin Headlands in the background. San Francisco Bay is hidden behind the houses.

Another:

At first glance, the picture looks so much like Southern California that it seems too obvious.  It must be one of the Inland Empire suburban developments that helped fuel the housing boom and bust.  But wait a minute – are those bars on the windows? A guard shack? That car isn’t American.  So I don’t think this is So Cal. But the mountains and perhaps Norfolk pines make me think the climate and typography are similar. Cape Town, South Africa would fit the mountains, climate, and car.  That’s my guess.

Another:

I’m going to go out on a limb and guess the Observation Neighborhood in Cape Town.  After my heartbreak last week at finally being successful at identifying the exact location of the towers in the picture, only to find out it was the easiest contest yet, I don’t have the heart to scour the globe finding the exact locale.  I’m going only with my gut. Hats off to those who discern the exact locale.  I will console myself with the knowledge that I am continually outdone by some of the most well-read and well-traveled blog readers on the internet.

Another:

I’m so intimidated by this contest. I wouldn’t know the first things about how to research this picture, but it reminds of of the summer I lived in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico. I lived in a nice neighborhood, Colonia Providencia, and all the houses had gates like the ones seen in the picture. (With my luck, it’s probably from New Zealand.)

None from New Zealand this week. Another:

The houses and the pine trees in which they are nestled all remind me of a high-class neighborhood in Tunis, Tunisia. If this guess is correct, the mountain in the background is Mount Ressas. The only detail that throws me off is the little guard tower in front of the house; I don’t remember seeing those on my visit, so I am probably totally wrong.

Could I have the book anyway, please!? Two contests ago I mentally guessed the one from Sardinia, without writing an email. Does that count?

Nope, sorry (though the reader’s address is from Sardinia). Another:

This picture reminds me of diplomats row in Shihlin, Taiwan, north of Taipei.  I remember walking along several similar streets going door-to-door as a missionary back in 1999.  The National Palace Museum is nearby and there was a great noodle place along the way.

Another:

I have seen neighborhoods like this one in Lagos, Nigeria and Kigali, Rwanda — places where privileged classes are building (but not always completing) gaudy villas, while at the same time becoming more fearful of where they came from (as evidenced by the guard post). But the residents of this street do not perceive themselves as in quite so much physical danger as in Kingston, Jamaica, or Johannesburg, South Africa, where the fences would be higher or sharper and the gates closed shut. Also, the absence of palm trees suggests a more northern climate. Almaty, Kazakhstan?

Another:

This is Arab – by the architecture, and the guard boxes in front. Based on the mountains and the Mediterranean pines, I would say Lebanon. The guard boxes would say the diplomatic quarter of Beirut. However, the wealthy in Lebanon also have guard boxes, equally empty, so it could also be Jbeil. I’ll stick with Beirut.

Another:

It looks like Ankara, Turkey. I stayed in the Cankaya District for two weeks and saw a few of those guard shacks while walking some very steep roads in that area.

Another:

First, thanks for doing these.  Like a good crossword, they’re hard.  But if you stare at it long enough the clues start to show themselves. That’s the best kind of puzzle.  Anyway, my guess: I’ve narrowed it down to the Malaysian suburbs somewhere in the mountains.  Beyond that it’s a proverbial dart at the Google map, which landed here: 2-42 Jalan Selasih Taman Cheras, 56100 Kuala Lumpur, Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. I assume your knowledge of Malaysian geography is as bad as mine, so here’s a link.

Another:

My guess is an eastern “suburb” of Mandalay, Myanmar. The hills in the background would be the Shan Hills; both vehicles are white, a common colour choice for cars there, and the license plate is black. The guard houses and walled compounds are also familiar. The person in the driveway also appears to be wearing a longyi, normal dress for Burmese males. That said, the longyi is white, not a common colour, so perhaps this is from Pakistan or somewhere in Northern India.

On the right track. Another:

Tropical flora, but also pine trees; flat landscape with steep mountains in the background.  Person appears to be wearing all white (cotton?).  My guess — northern India; specifically, Chandigarh (since a le corbusier designed city seems like something the Dish would lean towards), looking north east towards the Himalayan foothills.

Getting really warm. Another:

Normally I zero in on details in the photos, like everyone else, and scrutinize the tiny hints to narrow down a guess.  For this scene, it popped up and I instantly thought, “Kabul, Afghanistan – probably the neighborhood of Wazir Akbar Khan.”  The guard posts outside the houses were a give away, plus the familiar rugged mountains in the background, which section up the city.  Also the seemingly new construction (the house in the middle with unpainted masonry).  Perhaps the small figure in white is wearing a salwar kameez.  I spent time a few years ago working at Kabul University, which is pretty far from “Wazir” where I spent limited time, but enough to feel pretty confident about this one.  Until recently Wazir was one of the safest parts of town, where a lot of internationals live.

Closer still. Another:

The homes look made for security and privacy, which suggests to me a predominantly Muslim country with perpetual security angst, plus green luscious mountains.  Pakistan was my first thought.  There’s also the guy wearing the white kurti. Probably a city, because it looks pretty affluent, and Karachi doesn’t have the mountains, so: Islamabad, Pakistan.  I’m guessing somewhere on the northern part of the city looking north at Margalla Hills National Park.

Correct! But which sector of the city? Another:

This week I’m convinced the VFYW is of Islamabad. The houses at first appeared very South Asian to me, and the glimpse of the cars and the man appearing to wear a kurta made me sure of it. Islamabad is among the few well-developed South Asian cities nestled among the mountains, and the pine tree gives away the alpine location of the city. I imagine the hills in this picture are the Margalla Hills. Finally, to narrow down on the neighborhoods in which this photo could be taken, I think the photo is either from the posh sectors E or F, especially evidenced by the little security guard kiosks located just outside each gate.

But is it E or F? Another:

This is my first submission, but I think I have a shot. Initial key things I noticed were the license plate (there are black ones in Pakistan), and what appears to be a fellow in a shalwar khamis.  The topography and foliage remind me of Islamabad, along with the architecture and the little guard houses. The view is looking toward Margalla Hills and the Faisal Mosque, possibly from the E-7 section of town – but I cannot find the houses or view on Google Earth (I am sure someone will, but I have to go walk the dog).

You can blame this loss on the dog then. The winner:

Here goes my shtick for why I think the pic is possibly a rich suburb or neighborhood in Islamabad. (By the way, such a nice view compared to the horrors of the flooding happening elsewhere in the country.)

The style of construction seems like what I’ve seen in the area, as well as the security huts and gates. Checking the Google terrain and some pics in the area, I would say it’s near the area called Christian colony, possibly near the Danish embassy. The hills appear to be the Margalla hills seen from F-6 area of Islamabad. Ok, that’s my guess.

The house in the photo is specifically located on Street 40 in Sector F-7/1 – which is just a hair closer to F-6 than E-7:

Congrats to the winner, who gets a free VFYW book. Below are a few more of my favorite Islamabad guessers (who numbered 12 out of about 150 overall guessers). One writes:

So far as I know, those stupid little security booths are not found anywhere else and the mountains in the background look just like the Margallas. Also, the guy in the picture looks like he is wearing a shalwar kameez. And finally, the completely eclectic/random mix of architecture is oh so Islamabad.

Another:

My name is Mark and I’m a VFYW addict (when will we get a midweek fix?).  This is definitely … possibly … probably not … Islamabad. The small guard houses, the chap standing in the driveway wearing a shalwar kameez, the hilly topography, the Chir pine tree, the black number plate on the left-hand drive vehicle and what appears to be minarets in the background (though I might be seeing things – it’s part of my addiction). Today I’ve spared myself the “joys” of Google Earth. Nothing like scouring a city for an hour only to discover that you were a continent away.

If it’s any consolation to the near-winners, we keep track of people who have guessed correctly. In a close tie, victory goes to a correct guesser in the past.

By the way, I just spent more than a half-hour plugging all 150-odd locations into Google Maps, only to have Safari refuse to accept my screenshot software (Safari sucks in general; use Firefox) and then delete all the locations when I tried to log in through Firefox. I may get a burst of energy to do it all over again and post the map, but here is a rough rundown: the most common locations were Cape Town and Beirut; a notable number from Kuala Lumpur and Bogota; an inordinate amount from southern California; a good number from Mexico; a smattering from South America; a handful from Europe … you get the idea – scattered all over the world. My favorite was Schenectady, New York.

by Chris Bodenner

Recently I asked readers if they had any good ideas for presenting the VFYW guesses in a cool and dynamic way.  We have received a ton of really great suggestions – thanks!  I am still testing several of them to see which works best with the Dish.  Below are some of the leading contenders.  Hopefully one might be useful for a project of your own.  A reader writes:

Not that I ever have any luck at guessing, but I do love the VFYW contests and I think I have an idea for your map. Why not get together with the great folk at WorldMapper (or even do it yourselves if you have the know-how) to develop a map that expands the area devoted based on guesses? Since I hope that you get more “close” guesses than not, the region around the correct spot would be blown up and allow people to more easily see all the close guesses. Besides, who really wants to waste all that space on the map to those of us who couldn’t even get the right hemisphere.

Another:

OpenHeatMap might fit your needs. All you need to do is create a Google spreadsheet containing your guesses, and it handles the rest. (Here’s a two-minute guide for journalists.) As a long-time Dish reader, I’m happy to customize it if it doesn’t do exactly what you want.

Another:

I’m a longtime reader of the blog and a big fan of the VFYW contests. I work as a product manager at a web/search company and I’m a computer scientist by training. Here’s one way to dynamically create markers on the map:

1. I can build you a JavaScript widget that you insert into these contest result posts.
2. The JavaScript analyzes the page’s content on the fly and identifies all the place names on the page (this is not foolproof but quite easy to do)
3. It geocodes each place down to lat/long using the Google Maps API
4. It draws the map on the fly, directly into the page.

I’ve got a similar service that does this for food bloggers (identifies restaurant names in content and converts them to points on the map), I’d be happy to customize it for this use case if you are interested.

Another:

Apple’s iMovie has a mapping tool which creates animated “flight tracks” between geographic points you specify that you can intercut with the window photos in each location.  Of course, it’s not very interactive.  Perhaps check out a geomapping program like ArcMap, where you can tag each location with the corresponding photo.  I’m pretty sure that ArcMap now has a web creation utility.

Another:

Why not save the guesses in a file readers can simply download from your website and then overlay on Google Earth?  I don’t know if The Atlantic would be able to support that, but a host site shouldn’t be too hard to come by.  For my job I’m always using Google Earth and have multiple files I can simply open and close at will so the map doesn’t get too crowded.  You can even color code the markers if you want to get really fancy.  It takes a little work (but is not that hard once you get the hang of it) and it’s an easy way those of us at home can get a good first hand feel for the guesses that week.

Another:

Google Earth is an obvious choice. You can create “virtual trips” and embed each picture at the actual point it was taken, with any added textual comments you wanted. (Here are some examples related to literature.) Then save it as a kmz file, and people could upload it to their desktop Google Earth. Though that might be more work than you (or your readers) want to do.

Another:

Use Google Charts with world maps. It is a little more work, but here is what you could do:

1. You can mark the countries with most guesses in a different color. Or use darker and lighter shades for more guesses.
2. You can still mark the locations which people guessed.
3. You can mark out different regions within the same country.

Another:

Tableau Public. This is a great, free visualization system aimed at web publishing, and for something so sophisticated it’s fairly easy to use.  I think it’d be a good choice for showing geographical data like this.

Another:

There is a tool called Map Builder that lets you add markers on a map and add information on each pointer. You can see it in action here. We have also occasionally used BathGeo, which lets you paste in data from a spreadsheet and spits out a map. The former is a bit cumbersome, but useful if you want to display the various windows featured in VFYW. (For instance, if you want to link to the window.) The latter is better for a quick map.

Another:

Ushahidi builds tools for democratizing information, increasing transparency, and lowering the barriers for individuals to share their stories. It’s currently used for crisis mapping and election monitoring, but can be used for anything.

On a somewhat related note:

A couple weeks ago someone explained how they had created a VFYW fantasy league, and I was wondering if you guys have had others who’ve mentioned the same thing – have created leagues, were looking for other participants, etc.  I’m contemplating creating a VFYW Facebook page, but as a semi-slacker I was hoping someone else has gotten around to doing it first. In case I do create the FB page, do I have (or need) your permission do it?

No permission needed! And a quick search of Facebook shows this group that has already started (though it appears closed to the public). Send us a link at vfywcontest@theatlantic.com if you end up creating something – on Facebook or elsewhere.

You have until noon on Tuesday to guess it. Country first, then city and/or state. If no one guesses the exact location, proximity counts.  Be sure to email entries to VFYWcontest@theatlantic.com. Winner gets a free The View From Your Window book, courtesy of Blurb. Have at it.

A different approach for the holiday weekend. A reader writes:

I think you’re just throwing us a bone here, since you assume that no one will play on Labor Day weekend.  I’ve never tried the contest before because they all looked too difficult, but I was able to google that trolley in seconds, so I thought this one would be easy.  The trolley appears to be the MBTA Green line in Boston.  The street appears to be Commonwealth Ave.  However, I’ve been up and down it three times in Google maps now, and I don’t see a turnaround like the one in the picture.  Perhaps it’s not as easy as I suspected …

Another writes:

I never thought I’d see one I’d know so immediately!  My dad grew up in Brookline and later my grandmother moved back there; I myself lived right off Comm Ave for years while in grad school. I grew up in Boston. I love seeing home!  And that shot is Beacon Street if ever anything was. Admittedly, it’s been six years since I left so I had to double-check with Google Street View to get the exact address.  Google says it’s 1207 Beacon, which sounds about right.  After Sarajevo and East Timor and god knows what else all over the world, I’m really cheered up seeing a place I know and love!

Another:

You are going to get a ton of correct answers to this one.  I’m a little curious as to how many people who actually live in that building write in.

Another:

This VFYW was almost shamefully easy. A quick glance indicates it’s the U.S. (cars, parking meters, possibly Georgian- or Gothic- style architecture of the building in the foreground). The dead giveaway is the Kinki-Sharyo Type 7 light rail vehicle in the background: It bears the unmistakable silver and teal paint scheme of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority’s Green Line in and around Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A.  A quick scan down the street with Google Maps’ satellite view looking for a courtyard with a fountain led me to 1209 Beacon Street, Brookline, Massachusetts. According to Google Earth, the second-floor window from which the photo was taken is at about 42°20’35.01″N, 71° 6’57.06″W.

Total searching time: under 5 minutes. Also, if it makes a difference for the run-off, I’ve spent a total of one day in Boston in my life but have studied its transit system a great deal from afar. The Green Line is rather well-known, as it runs through America’s oldest subway tunnel. I knew my master’s degree in transportation systems engineering would pay off one day!

Another:

I’d go GoogleMap the son of a bitch to figure out the exact latitude and longitude of the window, and the hour at which the photo was taken, and what the photographer’s horoscope said that morning, but here in Massachusetts we’re having a lovely respite from a week of heat, so I’m going outside.

Another:

First, modern cars + right hand side = America.  Then I saw the trolley.  I could recognize that trolley anywhere:  It’s the late 1980s rolling stock of the MBTA Green Line built by Kinki Sharyo, which they had to buy in an emergency because the Boeing-Vertol models were so terrible that they had to reinstate the PCC cars from the 1950s.  Given that, the above-ground location narrows the scope even further to somewhere to the immediate west of Boston proper (i.e., Back Bay, South End, Beacon Hill, etc.).

Let’s go even further.  The design of the above-ground track in conjunction with the road rules  out the D Line (which is independent of the roads, for the most part).  The E Line can also be ruled out, for Huntington Avenue (which is where the trolley is grade separated up until about Brigham Circle, which it then becomes part of the road) is a wider road and has no trees lined to it.  The vast majority of the B Line is also ruled out due to lack of trees and road layout, and after looking through the section of B Line of which this picture could have come from (the last three stops, basically, from Chiswick Road west), that can be ruled out as well.  This leaves the C Line, of which almost the above-ground portion is based in Brookline, Massachusetts.

Because I’m assuming that a lot of people are going to get the city right, I’m going to attempt to nail down the address.  The angle of the cars behind the track suggest that this is one of the C Line parking lots, and looking closely at the upper left and the fact that the trolley doesn’t look in motion, it is near an intersection and likely a stop.  Given the size of the trees by the tracks, this means it is somewhere after St. Mary’s Street (the first above-ground stop), before Coolidge Corner (the major stop on the C Line, and where I briefly used to live), and the building from which the shot came from the south side of Beacon Street.  Roving on Google Maps gives me a direct hit.  From the street view, it was hard to confirm it due to some excess greenery, but the red building across the street (the Holiday Inn Boston-Brookline) gives me the confirmation.  Thanks to someone leaving some registered addresses, I’m going to take a stab: 1207 Beacon Street, just off St. Paul Street and its respective stop.

Another:

The Green Line? Seriously?

You guys are just trying to figure out how many people actually look at this contest, aren’t you?  Your answer unveiling is going to have to be reformatted this week, due to a dearth of erroneous replies. Of course, now I’ll have to come up with a great story to actually be the winner of the book.  Fortunately, it just so happens that the fountain in the photo was brought over from the old country by my great grandfather, and at his request, we buried his ashes beneath it when he died.  This is why I proposed to my wife right there in that courtyard many years later.  And next Sunday, my newborn son will be baptized in those very waters.

Another:

Yawn. Light rail image search for trains with green stripe: Boston. Find MTA map, guess Green Line, follow in Google Maps to U-shaped driveway at 1209 Beacon St. Too bored to figure out the apartment number. Nite, nite.

Another:

I expect you’ll get lots of complaints that this was too easy, but it was just right for me!  The view screamed “New England in fall” but Googling that wasn’t going to get me anywhere. I decided the green-and-white tram was my best bet, and sure enough, searching for images of that while bearing ‘New England’ in mind quickly lead me to the Boston MBTA Green Line. They have a super-useful Interactive Street Map. I searched along it in Satellite view, looking for where the tram line ran in the middle of road, shaded by trees. I spotted the fountain and courtyard after about 15 minutes. Here’s the building’s Wikipedia page and here it is on Google Streetview. The building across the road, with a distinctive flash of green just visible, is a Holiday Inn. Love this contest!

Another:

The name of the apartment complex is Richmond Court, owned by aptly named Sullivan & Co.

Another:

It’s an apartment building on the National Register of Historic Places. According to Street by an iron fence, brick and stone posts, a fountain, and private gardens. Richmond Court was designed by Ralph Adams Cram who went on to design All Saints Church, further west on Beacon Street, as well as the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York, and many buildings at West Point and Princeton University” … which included the monstrous chapel opposite McCosh Hall, where I used to work.

Another reader sent a black-and-white photo from the turn of the century (click to enlarge). Another:

Since this one is straightforward, I thought I would try to go the extra mile and try to figure out whose window this is.  The town of Brookline’s municipal website has an assessor’s atlas that  shows the allocation of street addresses to the different sections of Richmond Court.  We appear to be in the 1211 section, on the second floor.  After finding the assessor’s atlas, I went to the Mass. Norfolk County Registry of Deeds website, hoping that the Richmond Court units would turn out to be individually-titled owner residences.  Alas, Richmond Court appears to consist of rental units – good for affordable housing, but bad for me.  Ultimately, I cannot say which apartment number this is, or who rents it, since rental lease documents are not public.  The entire building and its land appear to be owned by a trust.  No doubt the historical significance of the structure and its status on the National Register have thus far prevented a condo conversion.  In any case, if I Google “1211 Beacon St” with “Brookline”, I find that a doctor and a couple lawyers have recently lived in the units with the 1211 address.  That’s Brookline!

Another reader found the original floorplan here. Another:

The only business at this address is a dentist, who gets great reviews on Yelp.  Not sure if this is his office.

Another:

I’d bet that some of those cars parked in front belong to patients of Dr. Ken Thomases, the dentist next door.  Which reminds me, I’m looking for a dentist up here; anybody know if he’s any good?

Another:

I am not sure of the address, but I know the building well enough.  After graduating from college I went to India, to study Carnatic music and travel around.  When back in Boston, I spent a year working painting apartments, for the company that owned this building. In a way, this is really a view from MY window, because unless they later installed more energy efficient windows,  I probably painted the bit of window frame visible in the lower left corner. Those were great apartments, and rent controlled in those days.  How I wanted one of them!

Another:

I have a particular fondness for this VFYW, and this building. I am a realtor, and have rented several units here. I have also worked as a bartender in the building next door, ridden that C-line T right outside 100 gazillion times, received over a dozen parking tickets from those pesky meters along Beacon St. (thanks Fenway Park parking prices), occasionally stayed at the Holiday Inn with the green awning across the street, endured the horrible Brookline Red Cab drivers parked out front, and now work one block away. Great to get one that is so personal to me!

Another:

Now that’s amusing. I used to live in that same apartment complex on the other side of the courtyard.  It’s a great place to watch the Boston Marathon as the runners go right by about 2 miles from the finish line.

Another:

I know exactly where that is. I lived in that apartment complex for four years, and as pristine  as the courtyard looks right now, you should see it on Marathon Monday. This building is on Mile 24 of the route, and it seems like every person in the buildings invites their 50 or 60 closest friends over to celebrate. Start early, stay late. Super super fun. Epic disaster on Monday night. I miss living there already!

Another:

This looks like the view from the third floor of the building where I live at 1211 Beacon Street in Brookline,  Massachusetts. Attached is a view from my window on the fourth floor of our building during the Boston Marathon, which runs right in front. Thanks for the view!

Another:

I look at the contest picture every week and wonder how anyone can even make a guess. I’ve almost stopped reading the guesses you post because it makes me feel something like stupid or unworldly (or that I’m spending too much time actually working at my job). But this week I’ve got it … because my sister lived in this building about 5 years ago. I emailed her to be sure and she says she was on the other side of the hallway (and one floor up, she thinks), but used the same entrance. I’m not sure if actually having been (nearly) in the place of the photographer is “cheating.” If so, thanks for the jolt of electricity I felt when I saw that the picture was her old apartment building.

Another:

I went to BU and actually have friends who used to live in the building, and in fact briefly dated a girl who lived there. That’s a great little courtyard in front, which made for some nice BBQs and the like over the years. Never expected to see somewhere so close to home on here.

Another:

My girlfriend used to live in the same complex (1215 Beacon) so I recognized this as soon as I saw it.  On our 3rd date, a little over three years ago, we had our first hug was on the sidewalk right outside the gate when I dropped her off after seeing a movie.  Is that enough to make us the winners this week?

Another:

Having the Green Line train in the picture from the MBTA made this too easy.  I lived in that area for four years.  Randomly, I spent a night playing German board games in that exact apartment complex three years ago.  This picture provided a strange, vivid flashback to a night I barely remember.

Another:

The funny thing is, I didn’t even need to know about transit in order to get this one.  After I finished undergraduate education, I spent a year in Boston as an Americorps volunteer for a non-profit called the Urban Ecology Institute.  During that time, I went on a date or two with a friend of a friend who lived in that apartment complex.  Alas, it didn’t work out (for a number of reasons, including her and my mom having the same last name), but I saw the picture today and made me think about that young woman, that apartment building, and what could have been.

Another:

It would appear that the residents of this particular building have created a Facebook group on its behalf.

Another:

I’ve been following these contests with amazement, wondering how folks have been able to figure out such random places so accurately.  So I was quite surprised to not only recognize the city in the photo, but also recognize the location as being the old apartment of a friend.  A two minute search on Google Maps confirmed it, so I e-mailed my friend to check. She says, “That is totally my old apartment!  Good eye.  If I were a betting person, I would say it was taken from the third or maybe the fourth floor of 1211 Beacon Street (I was on the second, and it looks higher).” This was a fun experience for me.  I was surprised how easy it was to recognize a city I’ve called home, and how easily I recalled a location I have only been to at night during the winter.   Thanks for providing a great excuse to catch up with an old friend!

Another:

You can’t possibly know how much this one meant for me to find. I am a 2L law student currently at Boston University (a great law school, but not really one of those dastardly ivy-league schools that has been the topic of recent debate on your site). I work as a Resident Assistant at BU to help pay my way through school, just a block or two West of Fenway Park. I was so disappointed to learn recently that I had to be “on-call” for all of labor-day weekend and labor day itself, meaning that I am not allowed to leave a 10 minute radius from my area of campus. I spent much of Friday night and early Saturday morning dealing with a very serious student issue, so I didn’t sleep much. When things finely calmed down this afternoon, I checked your blog, and it just put a smile on my face after an otherwise long and sad day.

While I had never been by this specific building, I had a hunch in might be in my neighborhood. I decided to take a walk down Beacon Street for about 10 minutes (making sure not to leave my zone in case of emergencies on campus), and sure enough I found it about three blocks from my apartment.  I attached a few pics taken outside, but alas I lost my connecting cable and had to upload camera phone pics of the pics. If I get a chance I can send along better pics later. Thank you again for the amazing treat.

Thanks to you; those pics are better than you realize. Another:

This is Beacon Street, just a few doors up from St. Paul Street. I can’t believe I know an exact location for one of these; I’m so excited!  I’m going to drive over and get the exact address now.  [next email]  I couldn’t see the exact number, but Google says it’s 1223 Beacon, so I’ll go with that. It was definitely taken from the second floor, probably the back corner window as seen in my poor quality iPhone pic.

Another:

My wife and I just moved to Boston, so imagine our surprise and delight when our favorite photo game hit so close to home!  We immediately recognized the green line train and knew the image was captured in Boston.  As a fun little Saturday diversion, we decided to walk to Cleveland Circle (the end of the C Line) and take the train until we found the exact spot.  We probably looked a bit ridiculous peering out the windows of the train, or maybe we just looked like your garden variety Boston tourists, but we finally found the building on Beacon Street in Brookline.

Another:

Since the addresses on Street view were approximate, I decided to bike over there to find out  the exact address.  The window in question is at 1211 Beacon Street, St. Albans Hall, part of Richmond Court.  A plaque on the wall mentions it’s in the National Register of historic places and was completed in 1898.  I’ve included a picture of the window from the courtyard.

Another:

Long time reader, first time participant.  While I wouldn’t know Islamabad from Kuala Lumpur from Cape Town, the sight of the green line train told me that this had to be somewhere in/near Boston – practically in my own backyard!  For years I commuted into Boston and there are only a few locations where the T runs at street level.  Google maps gave me the location, although in the Google street view the courtyard is obscured by vines.  After a short field trip and some research I found out the place.  I saw at least two other suspected Dish readers checking out the location and snapping photos so I know that I’m not the only one with the correct answer.

Another:

My girlfriend and I were quickly able to find the window using Google Earth, then we paid a visit to the site to take some pictures.  In the few minutes that we were there, another couple arrived also to take pictures of the window (they asked us “are you guys here from View From Your Window too?”). I’m guessing that your inbox this week is going to have more than a few winning responses containing photographic evidence.

Another:

A million people will get this, but I’ll try anyway. Here’s an overhead shot from Google Maps. I’m no match for the folks who can nail Estonia or Islamabad, but I’m a Boston boy, and I rode the Green Line for a long time, in every sense.

Another:

I feel guilty even emailing, as I walked by this exact location earlier today after a fun Labor Day Oreo Fry.  (It was just as much fun as it sounds.  And better.)  I appreciate the inclusion of Boston/Brookline in the VFYW contest – the way the Sox have been performing recently, we can surely use the pick-me-up!

Another:

I suspect a bunch of readers will get this one, and the trickiest part is not confusing Brookline with Boston, which surrounds Brookline on three sides.  This is my first contest, and I don’t have any funny ties to the picture, other than I live just down the street and I’m pretty sure my dog has relieved himself in front of that courtyard. And how can you say no to this face?

Another:

I lived between the B and C lines. Sometimes I would get off at Coolidge Corner, the next stop, and grab dinner at Rami’s, which had the best falafel, or Anna’s Taquiera, which had the best burritos in town. I moved back to SoCal a few years ago after living in Boston for a decade. While I don’t miss much about Boston, particularly the weather and Celtics fans, I do miss my friends and days like I am imagining this one to have been. I especially enjoyed this time of year, when I’m guessing that this photo was taken. Fall is approaching but the days are still warm and less humid; the nights are finally starting to cool off; and some leaves are hinting at the fall foliage to come (I have no doubt that some of your readers will be able to identify the trees and which ones tend to turn first).

The photo was actually taken last October. Another:

I’ve never even been to Boston or the Northeast.  I’m just a broke Georgia redneck who can’t afford to travel.  This is my vacation – scouring the globe to win this addictive contest every Saturday. I went to YouTube and watched a half dozen videos of train fanatics, who actually record their subway rides on MBTA and post them.  I road that green line all over Boston.

Another:

How did I find it?  Saw the commuter train.  Looked for similar pictures with Google images.  Figured it was probably the MBTA Green line. Decided an Andrew Sullivan reader in the Boston area would probably be a student (you know, one of those elites Conor likes to complain about).  Saw the Green line goes to the Boston College and Cleveland Circle area, then dropped into Google Maps to search for the roundabout with a fountain in the middle. Noticed Beacon Street had the rail in the middle, and from there, it was easy.

For the record, I’ve only visited Boston once, spent all my time downtown, and I’ve never been to Boston in the fall:

Another:

It’s taken over an hour, entirely on a mobile phone, but it’s been fun.  I guess this means the contest was too easy, but I’m chuffed.  Sitting in bed with a mobile phone I can track down the precise window on another continent.  This really is an age of miracles – it’s nice to be reminded of that sometimes.

Another:

Imagine for a moment how difficult the VFYW contest would have been only fifteen years ago.  I certainly wouldn’t have been able to succeed in less than fifteen minutes, without leaving my bedroom!  Now all I need is just a few context clues and an internet connection.

Another:

So about 8% of the 150 guessers got Islamabad right.  By going to the US this week, I predict you’ll have over 300 entries and over half will get the city and state (with the winner probably able to tell us all something interesting about that fountain).  I’m addicted to the contest, and you are mixing in just the right amount of easier and harder images.  I get close about one out of five, but can be completely off about half – being able to nail one every so often is just the right hook to create an addiction. Thanks for the diversion on a rainy Anchorage morning.

Closer to 600 actually. Only a few dozen guesses were not Brookline. Perhaps the most spectacular miss:

I usually spend so much time trying to figure out all the possibilities, based on topography, architecture and paving styles that by the time I have a guess it’s already Wednesday morning. And I’m still wrong. So this time, I’ll get it over with quickly and guess Taft Avenue, Malate, Manila, Philippines. I believe that’s the MRT blue line running along the median. I await my humiliation.

Another:

I’m sure the winning entry will be from some enterprising Boston-Area college student who spent all day Saturday riding the green line and, having found the spot, took a photo of themselves climbing the tree outside the window in question, but for me, seeing that circular driveway and those stone-topped pillars on Google earth and having the thrill of knowing I got it was all the reward I needed.  What a great feature the window view and the contest are. You guys make me a believer in blogs.

The winning entry goes to a previous near-winner of one of our most difficult puzzles:

I won’t be the first of the hundreds that send this in to you. And I didn’t ask my girlfriend to marry me right at St. Paul’s MBTA stop or anything. I got Lausanne because I lived there. I got this one out of luck, because while I never lived there, one week ago I moved to Boston. After four years of long-distance relationship that began in Beirut, then variously involving Québec, Geneva, Lausanne, New Haven, and Boston, my girlfriend and I are finally living in the same place. “Même maison” has been our mantra for a long time, even though it has come at some career costs. I’d been visiting her on some weekends over the past year, and she lived about four blocks from here. We passed it a handful of times.