Local and 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 ESO Auditorium, Karl-Schwarzschild-Str. 2, Garching b. München.

Instructions for travelling to the workshop venue

We advise all participants to travel to the workshop 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 ESO. 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 on Monday, March 9th between 08:30 and 09:00 in front of the ESO Auditorium.

Reception

The Reception will take place outside the Auditorium on Monday, March 9th after the last session.

Contact phone and fax number

Tel: (+49) 89 320-060 (ESO Reception Desk) Fax number: (+49) 89 3202 362.

Internet and email

Open wireless internet is available in most parts of the ESO building. In addition, 2 PCs/laptops have been set up in Room 232. This room is available for use by all participants.

Lunch

We suggest that you have lunch at the canteen of the Max-Planck Institute, located about 5 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.

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 March can be mild and sunny or cold and rainy/snowy. So you better come prepared for either. Average maximum temperatures are 10 C and average minimum temperatures are 0 C. For more information, see Weather Online.

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