Signposts to destinations over the border

[Owain]

How about this?

Ljubljana - Slovenia
Trieste - Italy
Villach - Austria
Zagreb - Croatia

I love how the Slovene name for Trieste has absolutely no vowels, however they may be defined.

I do recall being quite struck by that myself, on the day I left a trail of destruction in Slovenia* and couldn't get back to Italy fast enough!

*Jamming a parking ticket machine, driving on the motorway without a vignette, going to Croatia by accident...

[James]

This sign made me do a double take.. seems excessive to give distances to Paris from Spain, although its novel
https://goo.gl/maps/JygcQbJGZ9ki2J936

[WHBM]

This sign made me do a double take.. seems excessive to give distances to Paris from Spain, although its novel
https://goo.gl/maps/JygcQbJGZ9ki2J936

US Interstates at the very start sometimes have distance to the opposite end; I-10 in Santa Monica, California has one to Jacksonville, Florida, of 2,500 miles.

[Berk]

Do these count??

[nowster]

Do these count??

I'm intrigued by this one: https://goo.gl/maps/9iP9G8hHDjyGpEvp6

[Berk]

Do these count??

I'm intrigued by this one: https://goo.gl/maps/9iP9G8hHDjyGpEvp6

Yep, it’s for bio security. There are bins close to the state border, so any fruit and veg you may be carrying in the car should be deposited there. Like the international border.

It’s so that vines and trees don’t get infected by parasites.

[exiled]

Do these count??

I'm intrigued by this one: https://goo.gl/maps/9iP9G8hHDjyGpEvp6

Yep, it’s for bio security. There are bins close to the state border, so any fruit and veg you may be carrying in the car should be deposited there. Like the international border.

It’s so that vines and trees don’t get infected by parasites.

Proper inspection points entering WA. I understand California has similar.

[KeithW]

Proper inspection points entering WA. I understand California has similar.

They certainly do, I got pulled in to this one on California 396 and they checked my car, the inspector insisted on confiscation of the ham salad I had bought for lunch in Carson City, he settled for watching me eat it

https://www.google.com/maps/@38.6825921 ... &entry=ttu

[Vierwielen]

Proper inspection points entering WA. I understand California has similar.

They certainly do, I got pulled in to this one on California 396 and they checked my car, the inspector insisted on confiscation of the ham salad I had bought for lunch in Carson City, he settled for watching me eat it

https://www.google.com/maps/@38.6825921 ... &entry=ttu

In 1979/80 I bought a place on a trans-Sahara trip. In the middle of Algeria I bought a bag of third-rate dates. On enering Tunisia, our party was asked "Do you have any guns, flick-knives, drugs or dates?" My dates were confiscated. I though it amusing that dates were included withthe other types of contraband that they were worried about.

[exiled]

In 1979/80 I bought a place on a trans-Sahara trip. In the middle of Algeria I bought a bag of third-rate dates. On enering Tunisia, our party was asked "Do you have any guns, flick-knives, drugs or dates?" My dates were confiscated. I though it amusing that dates were included withthe other types of contraband that they were worried about.

Prohibitions of taking agricultural products across borders are very very common as they can bring in diseases that harm the local producers, or mask invasive species.

[Andy P]

Here's one in Shkodër in Albania.
https://goo.gl/maps/Tp9YE17xD9BZxERf7

7 destinations in 7 different countries.

I'm sure it was erected as a talking point rather than a serious piece of information for drivers.

It's particularly odd as it's on the road leading west, which isn't the logical route for the last 5 destinations. The distances are therefore well over 100km too long.

Even if you take the route in this direction via Ulcinj in Montenegro (Ulqin on the sign), most of the distances are over 50km too long.

[Vierwielen]

In 1979/80 I bought a place on a trans-Sahara trip. In the middle of Algeria I bought a bag of third-rate dates. On enering Tunisia, our party was asked "Do you have any guns, flick-knives, drugs or dates?" My dates were confiscated. I though it amusing that dates were included withthe other types of contraband that they were worried about.

Prohibitions of taking agricultural products across borders are very very common as they can bring in diseases that harm the local producers, or mask invasive species.

I am aware of that. I know that Tunisian dates are first-class and the ones that I had would probably have failed the third-class test.

As a student in South Africa, I heard that one of my Rhodesian [late 1960's] fellow-students had a "pocket" (15 kg) of oranges confiscated by the South African border guards when coming back to Uni by train. As a gesture of good-will the guard took the pocket of oranges up and down the train asking "Who wants an orange?" while insisting that they be eaten there and then. There were enough passengers on the train to ensure that all the oranges were eaten before the train moved on.

[Osthagen]

This sign made me do a double take.. seems excessive to give distances to Paris from Spain, although its novel
https://goo.gl/maps/JygcQbJGZ9ki2J936

In the UK, we tend to sign 'The NORTH', 'The SOUTH', and the like, as a substitute for long-distance destinations. That's the theory, anyway.

Europe is very different, being far, far larger, you'll rarely find one route that goes unambiguously to 'The SOUTH', or any other compas point - for example, if I'm in Paris and I want Clermont-Ferrand, which I know is south of my current location, and the A6 was signed 'Le SUD', so I took that, and ended up via the A6 in Lyon, 85 miles to the east of my intended destination, I'd be pretty much fuming - so therefore, you tend to get a lot more long-range signage of really specific destinations.

Mind you, it would be handy if RCSs in the UK at least featured a few more long-range distances.

[Vierwielen]

... I'd be pretty much fuming -

SO are you a smoker?

[FosseWay]

Do these count??

I'm intrigued by this one: https://goo.gl/maps/9iP9G8hHDjyGpEvp6

Yep, it’s for bio security.

That explains the fruit and veg, but "second hand cases"? What are travellers supposed to have their clothes in?

[wibble]

Surprising city street sign in Vienna, with directions to three cities in three other countries; Czech, Slovakia and Hungary, while the bicycle route sign to Vienna centre makes it four. Is this a record ?

https://www.google.com/maps/@48.1963241 ... ?entry=ttu

You'd need either a small country or a place like Vienna where the borders are quite close by and it has borders close by with several countries.

I did find this on the A4 in Luxembourg, showing destinations in Luxembourg, Belgium, France, and Germany.

How about this?

Ljubljana - Slovenia
Trieste - Italy
Villach - Austria
Zagreb - Croatia

In a similar vein, how about this sign that I drove past yesterdsay with directions to 7 countries shown - HGV transit traffic should use motorways via Ljublijana and not the alternative route via the mostly single carriageway E61 towards Riejka and then onwards on Croatian motorways.

https://goo.gl/maps/CXy3ffqp4j3Bvdhk6

[6637]

On the Belgian side it's Calais (perhaps there is no Dutch name for this)

The historic Dutch name was Kales, which I believe is still recognized but archaic, so it's not surprising it doesn't appear on signs.

Incidentally, centuries ago during its time as an English town, it was spelled Cales and pronounced "cal-is", similarly to Lewes. Both that spelling and pronunciation are long since obsolete of course.

[nowster]

... I'd be pretty much fuming -

SO are you a smoker?

Is that a valid défense?