Book a Flight with Street View

The Lufthansa airline has created a clever booking form that allows users to click on a map to input the destination of a flight.



As well as auto-filling the booking form with the selected destination a click on the map also displays a Google Maps Street View of the chosen destination. For example, if a user clicks on London a Street View of the Houses of Parliament is displayed to help entice the customer to book a trip to the UK.



Lufthansa: Street View Live



Via: Google Geo Developers Blog



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Your Google Maps Guide to Berlin

The Guardian's Google Maps based city guides now includes Berlin.



The Berlin City Guide maps the best places to stay, eat and shop in the German capital and also maps great bars, clubs, museums and galleries to visit. You can select a category to view on the map from the menu above the map. When you select a category as well as dropping the appropriate markers on the map a list of the venues is displayed beneath the map.



If you select an individual venue, by clicking a marker or from the list beneath the map, The Guardian's review of the location will then be displayed.



The Guardian - Berlin City Guide



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Munich's S-Bahn Live on Google Maps

I'm a great fan of live real-time maps of city transit systems. There is something about watching trains moving in real-time on a map that really appeals to my inner geek.

This real-time Google Map of Munich's S-Bahn shows the transit system's trains live as they move around the city. Each train is represented on the map with a numbered map marker indicating which line it is travelling on.

You can click on any of the train markers and view its next stop and its destination station. It is also possible to click on any station on the network and view the times and destination of the next trains scheduled to arrive.

S-Bahn Munich: Real-Time Map

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Hunting Nazi Gold with Google Maps

German hacking group No Name Crew earlier this month managed to hack the website of the far-right German political party the NPD. Someone has used the data to create a Google Map that lists the full names and addresses of 400 donors to the NPD.

The map contains a legend that says that it "might contain some errors..", which obviously does raise concerns that someone completely unrelated to the NPD could end up being targeted by a user of the map. I've therefore decided to not link directly to the map itself.

In 1998 the BNP, a far right group in the UK, similarly had its members' list hacked. A UK map developer also created a Google Map of the political party's members.



The map developer quickly took the map down, after realising that innocent people might end up being attacked. Instead he created a heat map of the UK, that didn't show individual addresses, but instead gave an overview of where in the country support for the BNP was stronger.

A similar approach from the German hackers or the creator of the NPD map would provide an interesting map of where support for the NPD is concentrated, without causing any risk to people's safety.

Via: taz.de

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Your Nearest Power Plants on Google Maps

Wo ist das nächste Atomkraftwerk?

This Google Maps application lets you find the location of the nearest nuclear power plants to your home.

When you first load the map your location is automatically detected and lines are drawn on the map from your location to the nearest nuclear power stations. If you click on any of the marked power stations on the map you can view its age and its distance from your home.

The site is in German but even if you can't speak the language it is very easy to work out which of the figures is the age of the power station and which is the distance.

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German DIY Street View

DIY-Street View

What do you do if Google Maps hasn't got Street View imagery for your neighbourhood and has also announced that they will no longer be collecting new Street View data in your country?

If you are Jan Martin the answer is easy - you go out and shoot your own panoramic images. You then use the Custom Street View function of the Google Maps API and you create your own Street View map.

Jan has taken a number of panoramic panoramas around his home town of Langen and has used Google Maps to provide a virtual tour. Jan's map works almost exactly the same as Google Maps. The blue lines on the map show where custom Street View imagery is available. If you click on a blue line (don't drag the pegman icon) you can enter the Street View.

You can read more about the project on Jan's blog DIY-Street View

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German Real-Estate on Google Maps

Munichmap

This Google Map application lets you search for real-estate in the German city of Munich.

It is possible to search the map for properties by location, by price and by number of rooms. To help you in your search for a new home the map also allows you to view nearby points of interest in a large number of categories.

You can view public transportation lines and stations and also find the nearby restaurants, bars, cafes and museums etc.

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Real-Time Train Tracking on Google Maps

NahverkehrsKarte

This Google Map shows the near real-time movements of trains and subway trains in Stuttgart and the position of buses in Reutling.

The map was inspired by the Swiss trains live tracking map swisstrains.ch. Like swisstrains.ch this Google Map shows the position of the public transit system based on timetables rather than track the vehicles in real-time.

It is possible to click on any of the moving map markers to view the vehicle's next stop. You can also click on any of the mapped stations or stops to view the times of the next arriving trains and buses.

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Your Phone Company is Tracking You

Verräterisches Handy

German Green party politician, Malte Spitz recently got a court order forcing Deutsche Telekom to reveal all the location data it had collected from his mobile phone. German newspaper Zeit has used six months of this data to create a Google Map showing how Spitz' movements were tracked over half a year.

The map animates Spitz' movements over the six months and includes a time-line that lets you check his location on any day and at any time of the day, during the six months. The amount of data collected is amazing (some would say frightening). His location was logged 35,000 times just in that six month period.

The amount of location detail collected by the mobile phone companies means that, for example, we can follow in incredible detail a journey Spitz took on the 31st August 2009 from Berlin to Erlanger.

All privacy issues aside, the Google Map created by Zeit is very impressive. The time-line allows you to visualise Zeit's location on the map for any day and at any time. The animation of the six month's of data includes a speed control, which is useful if you want to animate the whole six months. You can set the animation to play at full-speed and watch as six months of Malte Spitz's life flashes by.

Street View Germany - Part 2

Schloss Solitude

What first appeared to be a very small release by Google Maps of Street View in the small southern town of Oberstaufen has begun to look a little more extensive.

As well as Oberstaufen a number of German landmarks also now seem to have Street View. These include:

Munich's Allianz Arena
Berlin's Siegessäule
The Bundestag
Munich's Konigsplatz
Schloss Solitude
Kohlbrandbrucke
Imtech Arena, Hamburg
Theatreplatz, Dresden
Millerntor Stadium, Hamburg
SC Freiburg
Fritz Walter Stadion, Kaiserslautern
FC Koln
Bay Arena, Leverkusen
Signal Iduna Park, Dortmund
FC Schalke
AWD Arena, Hannover



Theatreplatz, Dresden

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First German Street View Animation

Street View Drives

I think I can claim a world's first here. I've just added an animated drive along Munich's Konigsplatz to my Street View Drives collection.

The Konigsplatz drive is the last image on the page. If you open up Street View Drive and scroll to the bottom of the page and then click on the Konigsplatz link you will be able to watch the animated drive.

As well as this new animation you can also view Street View animations of Stonehenge, the Eiffel Tower and other locations around the world.

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Street View Arrives in Germany - Updated

Google have released Street View for the first time in Germany. The small town of Oberstaufen in southern Germany is one of the first places to get Street View in the country.



You may wonder why the small town of Oberstaufen has been chosen to launch Street View in Germany. The answer it seems is that whilst some Germans have been less than keen to see Street View in their country the town of Oberstaufen was kind enough to bake Google a cake.

Yes folks, all you have to do is show Google a little love and they will reciprocate. (via DW-worlde.de)


Update

I've just discovered that Munich's Allianz Arena and Berlin's Siegessäule and Bundestag have also been added to Street View.



I suspect that other small patches of Street View may also have been added today. My guess is that Google may have added a number of public spaces that won't cause too many bad headlines over invasion of privacy.



Leave a comment if you find any more German Street View imagery.




Munich's Konigsplatz

Via: Street View Funny

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Hamburg City Guide on Google Maps

HafenCity Map

UbiLabs have combined the Google Maps API with OpenStreetMap map tiles to create a guide to shops and restaurants in the port area in Hamburg, Germany.

It is possible to search the map for different types of shop and different types of restaurant. As you browse the map you can bookmark any restaurant or shop that you like from the map sidebar or from the locations' information window. It is then possible to view a map of only your bookmarked locations.

It is also possible to view car parks, taxi stands, bus-stops, cash-points and toilets on the map.

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German Google Maps Round-up

Skobbler

Skobbler is a German Google Maps based application for the desktop, iPhone and for Android phones. Skobbler lets you search and save locations and places, create tips for locations, add photos, and rate venues.

The Skobbler website allows you to search for local listings on Google Maps. For example you can search for pizza in Berlin and view the locations of Berlin's pizza restaurants on a map. If you click on an individual listing you can read reviews, user ratings, view uploaded photographs and get directions to the venue.

Skobbler encourages user contributions with a 'local hero' rating system. If you contribute the most locations, comments and ratings in a neighbourhood you can earn yourself a coveted local hero status. Skobbler has even provided a Local Heroes Google Map to help you search for the local hero in your neighbourhood.

Maporado

Maporado is a German map search and route planning website that is integrated with Google Maps, Bing Maps, Open Street Map, Navteq and Yahoo Maps.

Using Maporado you can search for a location and choose on which map provider you would like to see the results. If you want driving directions you can use the route planner to set a starting point and destination. Once you have selected these you can then choose between a large selection of route planning services.

So, if you are very picky, you can view your route as suggested by different online map providers and choose which you think provides the best directions.

Street View Protest Map

This Google My Map has been created to provide a virtual protest against Google's plans to launch Street View in Germany. Some Germans are so opposed to the idea of images of their houses appearing on Street View that they have added photos of themselves standing outside their houses and posted these photos to the map.

If you are really opposed to Street View you could even take a 360 degree panoramic photo of yourself and post it to the map. If you got a few of your neighbours together you could even create a series of panoramic photos for your street. If you then linked these together with hyperlinks you could create an amazing virtual protest that allowed viewers to virtually walk down the street. I even have a name for this innovation: 'View Street'. I wonder if it will catch on?

Via: landkartenblog

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Check Your Social Status with Google Maps

ihood

Here is a useful site for anyone house-hunting in Germany. ihood is a website that can help you find out about a German neighbourhood. It can also help you check out the social status of your neighbours.

ihood uses Google Maps to help users explore the social environment of an area, such as purchasing power, education levels and professional status. The map also contains local points of information with user reviews.

When you search for an address with ihood.de you are shown the location on a Google Map. The map includes small markers over every house. If you click on an individual house you can view the house's social status on the ihood social thermometer.

There is obviously great fun to be had here in checking out how ihood rates the social status of your neighbours. Are you brave enough however to check out your own ihood social ranking?

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Street View in 20 German Cities

Google's German blog Der Google Produkt-Kompass has today revealed that Street View will be available later this year for 20 German cities. The cities are: Berlin, Bielefeld, Bochum, Bonn, Bremen, Dortmund, Dresden, Duisburg, Düsseldorf, Essen, Frankfurt am Main, Hamburg, Hannover, Köln, Leipzig, Mannheim, München, Nürnberg, Stuttgart and Wuppertal.

As well as using the usual face blurring on the German Street View Google are allowing German citizens to remove their house from the Street View imagery before it is released. Starting next week people can ask Google not to show their houses in Street View by filling in a form at google.de/streetview.

Alternatively you can always wait to see what your house looks like in Street View and then, if you don't want it shown, ask for it to be removed from Street View in the usual way (via the 'report a problem' link at the bottom of every Street View image).



If you can't wait for Street View you can always check out German website Sightwalk. Sitewalk already have a Street View type service for a number of German cities using OpenStreetMap. Or if that doesn't grab you then have a look at this Oldenburg Panorama-Tour, which uses the map that shall not be named (#cough Microsoft).



Via: Der Google Produkt-Kompass by way of Street View Funny

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Urban Development in Cologne - Mapped

Köln-Exkursion / Cologne Excursion

This Google Map explores the current urban development being undertaken in Cologne, Germany. The map shows a tour of the city that takes in areas that have been or are being redeveloped.

Along the route of the tour are map markers with photographs and information about the areas being redeveloped.

One really nice feature of this map is the arrow map markers. The markers themselves show where the photograph in the information window was taken and the direction of the arrow shows the line of sight (the direction the photograph was taken).

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German Street View Imagery

Dutch website Websonic.nl discovered some errors in the Street View imagery for the town of Rijssen in the Netherlands. Instead of showing the Dutch town some of the imagery actually showed the German town of Marl.



Since the Websonic.nl post Google seem to have been busy removing the offending imagery. If you visit the Street View for the address that Websonic.nl posted all you will see is a black screen with the message that 'This image is no longer available'. However Google haven't yet found all the German Street Views of Marl.

Check out the blue sign in this Street View. It seems to say 'Rosenstrasse'. There is a Rosenstrasse in Marl in Germany. The blue skip also seems to belong to Somplatzki, a German company. So I'm guessing this Street View is not of Munsterpad as indicated by the address but of a street adjoining Rosenstrasse in Marl.

Around the corner from Rosenstrasse in Marl is Nelkenstraße. Here's the Street View:



Via: Street View Funny

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Google Maps of Local Problems

Gerecht Geht Anders

We all sometimes have problems with our neighbourhoods that we would like to see fixed. Whether it is an annoying pothole, some ugly graffiti or problems with local street lighting it is very useful to be able to report these problems on-line.

If you are lucky enough to live in the US, UK or Netherlands you have been able to use SeeClickFix, FixMyStreet or Verbeterdebuurt respectively to report local problems to the local government. Now German web users have their own Google Maps based local problem reporting website thanks to Gerecht Geht Anders.

Users of Gerecht Geht Anders can use Google Maps to highlight a problem in their neighbourhood. They can even add a video to the map to show the full extent of the problem. Gerecht Geht Anders is in fact part of a wider campaign to protest against cuts in taxation that the users claim is leading to cuts in local services.

Also See

• SeeClickFix - US site for citizens to report local problems
• FixMyStreet - UK site, allows citizens to report local problems. All problems are then passed onto local government
• Verbeterdebuurt - Dutch local problems reporting site
  

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German Google Maps Mashup Round-up

Geopaint

Geopaint is a Google Maps mashup with the map as a canvas and your mobile phone as a brush. Geopaint periodically fetches your current location and connects the dots to create line paintings of your movements.

It is possible to change the colour and the size of your brush as you move around. As well as creating your own geoglyphs with Geopaint you can view the paintings created by others.

Although developed in Germany Geopaint is in English and whilst it was developed for mobile browsers you can access it from your desktop computer.

Wetterwolke.de

This site uses Google Maps to show the weather in Germany. It is possible to view the current weather and the predicted weather for the next two days.

Wetterwolke.de also includes quick links to zoom in and view the weather in different German cities.

Wanderservice Schwarzwald
Wanderservice Schwarzwald is a hiking map for the Shwarzwald region of Germany. The map shows the location of hiking trails throughout the region.

As well as viewing hiking trails directly on Google Maps the site allows you to view transit routes, tourism points of interest and other layers.

Innviertel-Hausruck

This Google Maps mashup is a great guide for visitors to south-east Germany. The map includes a huge number of selectable layers for you to find things to do and see in the region.

The layers include, restaurants, museums, parks, churches and many more.

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