Wikimedia Conference 2010/Practical information

General Information

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Emergency numbers

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Emergency numbers work free of charge from any land line or cell phone.

  • Police: 110
  • Ambulance / Fire: 112
  • Blocking stolen Credit Cards or Bank Cards: 116116

Electricity, Internet, etc

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  • 230V at 50 Hz. People from the US, UK, Australia, etc: bring an adapter!
  • "Schuko" plugs type F (CEE 7/4), see wikipedia:Schuko
  • Cell phone coverage is good pretty much everywhere in Berlin, including subway tunnels.
  • Free Wifi is common in Cafes, you may have to ask for a code though.

Getting around

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Public Transport

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Berlin has excellent public transport. It's backbone consists of the Berlin S-Bahn and Berlin U-Bahn systems, aided by buses and street cars.

  • overview
    • You can get travel plans online at bvg.de
    • The S-Bahn system is layed out in a circle with a major east-west axis and minor north-south connections in addition to the circle lines.
  • night service
    • At night, there is Night-Bus and Metro-Bus service.
    • However, major S-Bahn and U-Bahn lines run non-stop from Friday evening until Monday.
  • to the venue
    • The venue is close to the S-Bahn und U-Bahn stations Warschauer Straße, serviced by U1 and all east/west S-Bahn lines.
    • The S-Bahn station Ostkreuz, 2km east of the venue, is serviced by all east/west S-Bahn lines as well as the circle lines.
  • fees
    • a "short range" ticket for 1.30 EUR covers 3 stations by U-Bahn or S-Bahn, or 6 bus stops.
    • a regular ticket "AB" for 2.10 EUR gets you through all of Berlin proper. It's valid for 2 hours, with unlimited transfers and interruptions. However, you need a new ticket if you want to reverse your direction.
    • tickets can be bought at ticket machines at the stations. Tickets need to be redeemed (punched) in order to activate.
    • You can buy tickets from Bus drivers and inside street cars, but not inside U-Bahn or S-Bahn trains.
    • You will receive public transport tickets along with your name tag for the Chapters' conference!
  • taxi calculator

By Car: Environmental Zone in Berlin

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On 1st January 2008 the city of Berlin established an Environmental Zone. You need to have a special sticker (costs: 5-6€) to be able to drive in the inner-city (conference, accommodation, etc is here!), which marks your car to be classified in a certain exhaust emission standard. Please keep all documents providing any information on your car with you. Get a sticker before you enter the inner-circle.

  • Information and addresses needed to get a sticker de/ en/ fr/ it/ tr/ ru/ po

Going out

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  • Basic English is understood nearly everywhere.
  • Tipping waiters and taxi drivers is customary. 5 to 10% is the usual amount.
  • ...

Weather

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  • Spring in Berlin tends to be wet and windy, but last year we got lucky. Let's hope for the best!
  • Forecast: BBC and Weather Channel.

Money

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  • Bring cash, Germany is not credit-card-friendly at all.
  • ATMs are plenty, though.

Catholic Church Service

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  • Service (in German) can be attended on 18th April, 8:45 a.m. at St. Piuskirche, Palisadenstraße 72, D-10243 Berlin [1]