Congratulations to Steve D. who came in under the wire with a fully correct submission. As he was the only one to submit correct solutions to all four riddles, he's the winner!!
The hunts start here!
I'll give you a head start this time. All four locations can be found by starting here.
You must begin here in order to find the right solutions. Solutions are screenshots of specific places found via the "street view" via this starting point.
https://artsandculture.google.com/search/streetview
https://artsandculture.google.com/search/streetview
The Riddles
Location #1 - Release Date 04/04/2020
Myra, Mura on the wall.
Behind a chair he stands so tall.
Once he brought some gifts of gold.
But now you’ll get what he holds.
Starting location is here.
Final location is here.
Behind a chair he stands so tall.
Once he brought some gifts of gold.
But now you’ll get what he holds.
Starting location is here.
Final location is here.
Myra and Mura are the same thing, just alternate spellings. Saint Nicholas was the Bishop of Myra (or Mura). If you celebrate Christmas and receive an orange in your stocking, the tradition comes from Saint Nicholas and his propensity for gift giving that involved gold (the orange represents the gold). Once you found the right street view location, you would find his image which stands behind a chair (top of the chair is shown in the lower left of this screenshot).
Location #2 - Release Date 04/11/2020
The check is in the mail, postmarked 1993.
Head over to the busted room with lots of names to see.
Look closely at every one and study without fail.
Soon you’ll find what you seek is just an Erben tale.
The check is in the mail, postmarked 1993.
Head over to the busted room with lots of names to see.
Look closely at every one and study without fail.
Soon you’ll find what you seek is just an Erben tale.
Starting location is here.
Final location is here.
This one was pretty easy! A LOT of people got this one. Not much explanation needed. The check is the Czech Republic, which peacefully came into existence in 1993 when Czechoslovakia divided into the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Find the National Museum and once you're inside there aren't many places to go. Hang a left and find the room full of busts. Search around until you find Erben.
You can't see his face, though he’s not wearing a mask.
Driving the boat backwards is your first boring task.
Walk to the brothers as you’ve been told.
And soon a dead end will become a cross road.
And soon a dead end will become a cross road.
Hint: The way 2020 has been going, I feel like I'm crossing the bridge of sighs. So maybe we should take a deep breath and look at the riddles again.
Starting location is here.
Final location is here.
This one was more difficult than I imagined. Only a few people got it. The hint included the "bridge of sighs" which would lead you to Venice, so you'd just have to find the Venice street view from the main starting point in the instructions. An interesting quirk in this one is that if you "jump off" the boat once you enter the street view, you'd basically be at your destination.
Walk to the brothers = Calle dei Fratti, which is a "street" in Venice. The end of this street is a dead end, which has a cross at the top - a cross road.
Location #4 - Release Date 04/25/2020
Hint: September 15 is more important than May 5.
Coco might guide you in this, your final quest.
The state that you’re in might lead you to rest.
Is this a city? or a park? Or? Do some inspection.
Soon you may find the Chapel of the Resurrection.
Starting location is here.
Final location is here.
The hint points to Mexican Independence Day (September 15) being more important than Cinco de Mayo.
Coco is a reference to the animated movie (for which I placed an Amazon advertisement on the same page of my website). The movie was inspired by the Mexican holiday celebrating the Day of the Dead. This also points you to the street view of a Mexican cemetery. Wander a short distance (basically straight ahead and to the left) and you'll find the Chapel of the Resurrection.
*Google and Amazon are not sponsors nor are they in any way affiliated with this contest. Use of Google and Amazon does not imply endorsement.