How to use GPS files:

Things to remember - the date and time in the file is Coordinated Universal Time. If you didn't set the clock on your camera to local time while we were there, there will be a time difference of 8 or 9 hours, depending on whether or not your camera also observes daylight savings time…

The KMZ files can be used to open the track in google earth. The KMZ file is a zipped KML file. KML is a geo-data specific XML file with more information like speed and bearing, where the GPX files only have latitude, longitude and altitude for any given point in time.

The sampling resolution is about every 10 seconds on average, and the location accuracy is generally around 30 feet, so there’s pretty good granularity. The GPS would automatically pause any time we were stationary for a period of time, or when it couldn’t get a satellite fix (hiding in my pocket inside a building or something…) So, if you can’t find the exact time of your picture, check the entries either before or after and see if that puts you in a reasonable location.

GPX files (GPS Exchange format) is a collection of GPS data in XML format. It is fairly 'human readable'. Depending on how your browser is set up, it may simply display the contents of the file if you click on a link to a GPX file. XML data consists of tags that identify data elements and collections of related data. The tags are enclosed in '<' and '>' symbols. They usually come in pairs, with related data between the opening and closing tags in a nested structure.

Here's a sample of GPX data and how to use it:

<gpx xmlns="http://www.topografix.com/GPX/1/1" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" version="1.1" xsi:schemaLocation="http://www.topografix.com/GPX/1/1 http://www.topografix.com/GPX/1/1/gpx.xsd" creator="MotionXGPSFull 22.2 Build 4844R">
  <trk>
    <name>Bucharest to Brasov</name>
    <desc>Jun 22, 2014 8:12 am</desc>
    <trkseg>
        <trkpt lat="44.4457933" lon="26.0997397">
            <ele>79.693</ele>
            <time>2014-06-22T05:13:19.070Z</time>
        </trkpt>
        <trkpt lat="44.4457071" lon="26.0998107">
            <ele>80.705</ele>
            <time>2014-06-22T05:13:23.197Z</time>
        </trkpt>
        <trkpt lat="44.4456347" lon="26.0998962">
            <ele>83.960</ele>
            <time>2014-06-22T05:13:26.768Z</time>
        </trkpt>
     </trk>
</gpx>

The <gpx> tag denotes the start of GPS Exchange data. Note at the end of the file is a </gpx> tag. The slash denotes the end of that particular type of information.

The <name> and <description> tags define the name and description associated with this collection of data.
Next comes the collection of GPS information that we're interested in.

Search the file (press <ctl>F) for the time you took your picture, find the latitude and longitude associated with that time. Cut and paste that information into a map tool, and it will show you within 30 feet of where you were when the picture was taken. In most cases you'll need to clean up the data to include only the numbers.

File Index

Start Date Start Time End Time GPX file KMZ file Description Key photos
June 21, 2014 14:59 15:36 GPX KMZ Aeroportul Internaţional Henri Coandă - Bucureşti to our hotel
June 22, 2014 05:13 18:33 GPX KMZ Bucharest, Peles Castle, Brasov, Bran Castle, Bucharest
June 23, 2014 06:51 07:47 GPX KMZ Hotel to Palatul Parlamentului to Airport (Otopeni)
June 23, 2014 13:38 14:17 GPX KMZ Ferihegy Airport to Hotel in Budapest  
June 24, 2014 07:08 13:21 GPX KMZ Morning tour of Budapest - Citadel, Castle Hill, Vajdahunyad
June 24, 2014 14:01 16:20 GPX KMZ Gödöllői, Grassalkovich kastély  
June 24, 2014 16:58 21:07 GPX KMZ random walk, dinner, looking for ice cream. no camera...  
June 25, 2014 07:02 12:18 GPX KMZ Farm tour - Tanyacsarda
June 26, 2014 07:06 14:08 GPX KMZ Budapest, Esztergom, KOMÁRNO, Bratislava
June 26, 2014 16:12 18:11 GPX KMZ Walk to old town Bratislava on our own, looking for ice cream  
June 27, 2014 07:07 11:10 GPX KMZ Bratislava morning tour - Slavin Monument, Bratislava Castle, old town walking tour
June 27, 2014 11:12 14:03 GPX KMZ Bratislava Afternoon - Pottery factory, wine tasting
June 28, 2014 07:45 19:07 GPX KMZ Vienna, Schlosskapelle Schönbrunn, Hainburg
June 29, 2014 06:40 14:33 GPX KMZ Bratislava, Hronsec, Banská Bystrica, Levoča
June 30, 2014 07:20 11:19 GPX KMZ Levoča to salt mines in Krakow
June 30, 2014 16:43 17:18 GPX KMZ Salt mines to hotel  
July 01, 2014 07:10 13:06 GPX KMZ Bus/walking tour - Jewish quarter, Wawel, old town
July 01, 2014 15:01 15:28 GPX KMZ To St Catherine's
July 02, 2014 07:53 14:32 GPX KMZ On our own in Krakow
July 03, 2014 07:02 15:04 GPX KMZ Bus ride from Krakow to Prague
July 03, 2014 15:47 19:24 GPX KMZ Prague on our own - through old town, across Charles Bridge, dripstone wall
July 04, 2014 09:08 12:05 GPX KMZ Prague City Tour - Castle Hill down through Old town, back to hotel
July 04, 2014 13:17 14:06 GPX KMZ Concert at church on hill - bus to bottom of hill, walk...
July 05, 2014 07:39 13:45 GPX KMZ Morning walk to Prague Gardens (west side) and City Center
July 06, 2014 01:20 01:34 GPX KMZ Bus to airport  

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