Ennui Blog

Welcome back!

I spent the day away from home, so I didn’t really miss not having the internet or TV. My wife and I went with the family to the Christmas Open Houses in Kouts, Indiana.

After that we drove on through the country and came across Hessler Tree Farm - where we got our Christmas Tree. It was only $15! Pretty cheap. Thankfully my parents bankrolled the whole day, which was nice since we obviously didn’t have money!

We then made our way to North Judson, Indiana and paid a visit to Baily’s Discount Center and Richard’s of Toto. We needed lights for the tree and got a couple cheap things we needed for the house.

It was snowy and pleasant, the drive home was nice. When we got home, we spent the evening decorating our tree then watched some Christmas movies.

Overall, we had a pretty fulfilling day without Comcast.

I never heard back from @comcastcares on Twitter. I don’t expect to.

When I was a kid, I had a really cool book called “Free Stuff for Kids.” It was a great book that had loads of information on things that you could send away for and get that cost nothing except a stamp. It was great for learning how to write letters and request things in the mail, an art lost on many people these days.

My favorite thing to send away for was free road maps. I loved maps (still do). I could stand in front of a map for hours studying it and learning about it’s contents, learning where things are. Well, sending away for free maps was something I sort of forgot about.

Last week I was sitting in Barnes and Noble trying to decide on which map of the British Isles would suit me best and I realized, I probably didn’t have to pay for this map. In the age of the internet it’s now a lot easier to find and request free maps.

There is already a blog that wrote about how to get free roads maps of the 50 US states, so I’m not going to cover that. But the blog entry is a great place to find free road maps of the US. Basically you need to contact either the local state tourist board or highway department and they will be more than happy to send you a road map. Check out free US State Road Maps here.

Instead, I would like to focus on free road maps from international locales. These maps are generally harder to find and definitely more valuable.

Most countries with a tourist industry have a Tourist Office that helps advertise them abroad. Find the agency in your country and simply write or call them and request a map of the country. Tell them that you are planning a trip and would like a map to help plan your trip. Most of the time, they will be happy to oblige.

Below is a continually updated list of the countries I was able to find free tourist maps and free road maps. Some took a quite a bit of digging but I want to provide this information to everyone.

If you click a link and it’s dead, please let me know. If you come across a country that’s not listed that has a free road map, feel free to e-mail or write a comment suggesting it.

Without furhter ado, here’s the list of free international road maps.

Free New Zealand Road Tourist Map

Free Germany Road Map Autobahn Map

Free Anguilla Road Map

Free Israel Tourist Map Road Map Information

Free Ireland Tourist Map Road Map Ireland

Free Luxembourg Tourist Road Map

Free Belgium Tourist Map Road Map

Free France Road Map Tourist Map

Free Monaco Road Map Tourist Map

Free Japan Tourist Map Road Map

Free Tourist Map Road Maps Scandinavia - The Scandinavian Countries - Denmark, Norway, Sweden Finland and Iceland cooperate together on the same tourist site, you can request free maps all on the same page.

Free Portugal Tourist Map Road Map

Free Slovenia Tourist Map Road Map

Free Tourist and Road Map of Switzerland

Other Free United States - USA - Free Road Map Resources:

FreeRoadMaps - Bravehost -Another source of all 50 States and how to get free road and highway maps from them. They also have resources on how to get free roads maps of the Canadian Provinces in Canada.

Free Road Map of US - America - Interstate System - This site is run by the federal government and allows you to request a free map of the entire United States Interstate Road System.

If a country is not listed here, check out Rick Steve’s List of European Tourist Information agencies. You should be able to write or call them and ask for a free map if you can’t request one online.

Be sure to Bookmark this page and check back often for the latest updates!