Gas and Stars in Galaxies - Practical Information

Practical Information

Travelling to Garching

Garching lies about 13 km north-east of Munich and 17 km south-west of Munich international airport (Franz Josef Strauss). Please follow these instructions to travel to Garching.

See this Overview for an indicative summary, with some caveats, of public transport possibilities between the airport, Garching, ESO, Ismaning and Munich city centre. We recommend to consult the electronic time tables of the Munich tranportation network MVV, and of the German Railways.

Workshop venue

The workshop will be held in the Large Auditorium of the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics (IPP) on the Garching Campus. The IPP auditorium is located near the Max Planck Canteen, and is at 5 minutes walking distance from ESO headquarters. It can be very easily reached by direct underground (U-Bahn) train (U6, stop Garching Forschungszentrum) from both Garching and the centre of Munich. The IPP auditorium is only 1 minute walking distance from this stop.

The map on the right shows the orientation of the U-Bahn station, the ESO headquarters and the IPP auditorium, which is marked as D2.

Instructions for travelling to the conference venue

We advice all conference participants to travel to the conference venue with the underground train (U-Bahn), line U6. The U-Bahn station in Garching is centrally located and within close reach of all hotels and is indicated with a large blue "U"-sign. Exit at the last stop (Garching-Forschungszentrum). From Munich, take any U6 stop and travel north to Garching-Forschungszentrum.

After exiting the train you have to reach the South exit of the station, following the sign for IPP, MPE, MPA and ESO. After you exit you will see to your left the entrance gate. If you want to go directly to the IPP lecture hall you have to go through this gate. If you have your nametag (given to you at registration) you just need to show it to the guards to get in. Otherwise, you will have to identify yourself with an ID card to the guards, who will check your name in the list of participants, and you can ask for further directions (the lecture hall is only a short walk away to the East). If you want to go to ESO, then, after exiting the station, keep going South and you will find ESO at the end of the street, after a 5 min walk.

More information on the use of public transport

Tickets can be purchased from vending machines in the train stations, or from the drivers of buses. A single trip is valid for three hours and only one-way. Tickets are validated by inserting them into the blue boxes in train stations, buses and trams. There are many different tickets offered, but these are our suggestions (the same ticket is valid for trains, buses and trams):

Streifenkarte (stripe ticket): a convenient and cheap way is to buy a Streifenkarte (10 stripes, 10.5 Euro) instead of a single trip ticket and cancel the appropriate number of stripes depending on the route. For up to two U- or S-Bahn stations you should cancel one stripe (for example from Garching to Garching-Forschungszentrum). The public transportation area is divided in four main rings around the Munich city center. Each main ring is also divided in four secondary rings. Every two stripes allow a one-way trip inside one main ring.

Tageskarte (day ticket): valid for the whole day and cost: 4.80 Euro (innenraum: inner main ring around Munich city center); 6.50 Euro (XXL: extended Munich area including Garching and the research center, but not the airport); 9.60 Euro (gesamtnetz: entire area including the airport)

Registration

Registration will take place at the welcome reception in the Rathaussaal in Garching on Monday night between 18:00 and 20:00. Registration will continue on Tuesday morning at 8:30. A registration fee of 100 euro is payable at the desk in cash or by credit card. If you wish to pay by credit card, we kindly ask you to fill out and sign this form in advance and bring it with you.

Welcome reception

We would like to invite you to a welcome reception in the Rathaussaal in Garching on the evening of Monday the 9th, starting at 18:00. There will be a light food buffet, drinks, and the possibility to register. A map of downtown Garching with directions to the Rathaussaal is available here.

Contact phone and fax number

During the workshop: (+49) 89 3299 1834 (Workshop Secretariat) or (+49) 89 3200 60 (ESO Reception Desk). Fax number: (+49) 89 3202 362. The workshop sectretariat is staffed by Britt Sjoeberg, Christina Stoffer, and Svea Teupke.

Internet and email

There will be wireless internet available in and near the lecture hall.

Lunch

We suggest that you have lunch at the canteen of the Max-Planck Institute, located about 2 minutes walk from the conference room. (See map of the campus. The canteen is marked C2.) The opening hours are: Dining hall: Mo.-Th. 11:15 - 13:45; Fr. 11:15 - 13:30. Cafeteria: Mo.-Th. 8:30 - 11:00 and 11:30 - 16:30; Fr. 8:30 - 11:00 and 11:30 - 14:00. Only cash is accepted. Prices for a main course range from about 4 to 6 Euros.

Conference dinner

The Conference Dinner will take place at Gasthof Neuwirt in the centre of Garching on Wednesday evening, June 11, from 19:00 to 22:00 hrs, starting with a welcome drink. All conference participants are invited to join, without additional charge. If you do not plan to attend the dinner, please let us know.

Farewell drink

On Friday afternoon, after the workshop has closed, we would like to invite you to join us for "Bier und Brezen" at the ESO premises (on the lower left corner of the map).

Bank service

There are banks and cash-points in Garching. All main credit and debit cards are accepted (with PIN code). Please note that the banks may close during lunch time and have otherwise opening hours grossly different from shops.

Weather

Munich weather in June can be warm and sunny or cool and rainy. So you better come prepared for either. Average maximum temperatures are 20 C and average minimum temperatures are 10 C. For more information, see Weather Online.