.The first message of this thread will be updated time by time, so it will be easier to find everything without looking across all the posts.
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Meeting information:
(It's a pity, the websites of the restaurants we visit are only in Dutch, but you can see what they look like).
Date
The S-EBTM will be held in the weekend of 3-4 August 2013 with a pre-meeting on Friday.
Program
The program for the meeting aren't fixed yet, but will be published as soon as it's known.
Friday 2nd August
14.00: meet inside railwaystation
14.30: departure with metro-line D.
15.00: arrival in Spijkenisse
little walking-tour to the Eurobridges with visit to ATM's (+extra dot); we'll walk approximate this route, the Bridges are near points B and D of the route.
17.00-17.30: departure from Spijkenisse with metro-line C or D
17.30-18.00: arrival at metro-station "Beurs".
18.00: dinner at restaurant Sorbonne (if you can't come to the Eurobridges, you can meet us here as well); menu's: look below.
20.30: after-dinner at Café Dudok (you can meet us here as well).
Saturday 3rd August
10.00: meeting-point Grandcafe Engels right next to Rotterdam Central railway station
10.45-11.00: departure with tram 8
11.00-11.15: arrival Euromast
13.00-13.15: departure with tram 8
lunch in City center (to your own choise)
15.45 meet at harbour (Willemsplein)
16.15-17.30: harbour tour
17.35: dinner at Rokkaa; menus: look below (please PM your choice to us)
evening: General Assembly at Rokkaa.
Sunday 4th August
visit Madurodam
lunch at restaurant 't Goude Hooft in The Hague
city-tour The Hague and Scheveningen (on the Dutch way)
Please note that we meet early: 9:00 at Rotterdam central station, inthe main hall
For the participants who will have to leave on Sunday: the train to the Airport of Schiphol also stops at the station "Den Haag-Centraal" (which can be reached from Scheveningen with a direct tramline).
If you leave from Rotterdam-The Hague-Airport you can take (from "Den Haag-Centraal") the metro "E" to Rotterdam (exit at station "Meijersplein", where you can take the shuttlebus "50" to the airport).
From the trains mentioned below only the HighSpeed-trains to Brussels-Paris don't stop in The Hague, therefor you need to change at Rotterdam-Centraal.
You can take your luggage to The Hague where you can store them at the station "Den Haag-Centraal" in lockers (max. 90x60x40 cm).
Adresses
Friday
Meeting place: railwaystation Rotterdam Central (inside station hall)
bridges: Adriaan Prinslaan; Spijkenisse
dinner: Grandcafé Sorbonne; Rodezand 46; 3011 AN; Rotterdam
afterdinner: Café Dudok; Meent 88; 3011 JP; Rotterdam
Saturday
Meeting place: Engels Grandcafé en Zalen; Stationsplein 45; 3013 AK; Rotterdam (next to railwaystation Rotterdam Centraal)
Euromast: Parkhaven 20; 3016 GM; Rotterdam
lunch: somewhere in the city center (you can choose by yourself)
harbourtour: Spido; Willemsplein 85; 3016 DR; Rotterdam
dinner+General Assemblee: Rokkaa; Westelijk Handelsterrein (pakhuis 30); Van Vollenhovenstraat 15C; 3016 BE; Rotterdam
Sunday
Meeting place: railwaystation Rotterdam Centraal
adress railwaystation Den Haag Centraal (for ATM's inside
): 2595 AA; Den Haag (the ATM's outside the railwaystation have another postcode)Madurodam: George Maduroplein 1; 2584 RZ; Den Haag
lunch: 't Goude Hooft; Dagelijkse Groenmarkt 13; 2513 AL; Den Haag
Fees
We don't know all the fees yet (we still investigate what's the best (cheapest) way concerning some enter-fees). But we know the prices of the meals:
Friday
Dinner: €22,50
Saturday
Lunch: free to search in the city center
Dinner: €26,50
Sunday
Lunch: €13,50
Public transport (for the Dutch which use "OV-chipkaart", there might be a difference: I'll post more information for them in the topic in the Dutch forum):
I have to split the advises for the best card to buy, because it can be different if you stay near the Central Station or you have to use transport between hotel and Central Station.
Staying at walking distance from Central Station:
For those who will visit all days (or Friday+Saturday), you best can buy a "RET-2-dagen-kaart" (2-day-ticket) (€10,50)
If you'll travel only on Saturday (or won't travel by metro to the Eurobridges), you best get a "RET 2x1uur" (2x1 hour) (€6,00); don't get confused with the "RET 2 uur", because with the "2x1uur" you may use it twice for a trip of max. 1 hour; with the "2 uur", you're allowed to have ONE travel which may last 2 hours.
If you only travel with us to the Eurobridges (on Friday), you best get a ticket of "RET 2x1uur" (2x1 hour) (€6,00).
Staying in a hotel where you need public transport to go to the Central Station:
If you travel, you're allowed to change and your ticket is still valid. But it's only valid for 1 or 2 hours (depending on the ticket you've bought). So if there's more than an hour between the travels, you need to buy another ticket (we're doing so after dinner on Friday and Saturday).
In this case, you better get day-tickets:
1-day-ticket if you only stay on Friday or Saturday (€7,00)
2-day-ticket if you travel Friday AND Saturday (€10,50)
2-day-ticket if you travel Saturday AND Sunday (€10,50)
3-day-ticket if you travel Friday AND Saturday AND Sunday (€14,00)
These tickets are available at the ticketmachines at the metrostations (you can see a picture of the "TVM apparaat" on this page) or RET-Servicepoints.
With the (bus-/tram-)driver you only can buy tickets for 1 hour.
You can find an overview of tickets available on this page.
Tickets public transport on Sunday:
Besides the transport from your hotel to Rotterdam Central Station, we need a ticket for the train to Den Haag Central Station. The cost for this ticket (one way and return) is €9,00.
Reminder for using public transport:
There's one thing with using the public transport in the Netherlands: each ticket has a chip within it.
Each time you enter the public transport, you'll have to "check in" and with leaving you have to "check out".
At the entrance and the exits of the bus or tram there's a machine you hold your ticket against (than the machine gives a sound for accepting). At the metrostations you'll find gates which open when you "check in".
There're officials who step into the bus/tram/metro/train and check if your ticket was checked in. If you hadn't checked in your ticket, you can get a fee for "traveling without a valid ticket".
As soon as we know more, we'll post it here.
Menus
Friday evening (Sorbonne): (choices for this dinner can be told when you're here)
Homemade spring rolls or
Seafood cocktail or
Vegetarian tortilla or
Vegetarian pasta
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Sorbonne skewers (2 meat skewers with chicken, pork, onion, bacon and peppers) or
Baked salmon with herb garden or
Greek Meal-salad
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Vanilla ice cream with caramel sauce and nuts
EDIT: There's also a vegetarian menu. It's now listed too in the list above.
Saturday evening (Rokkaa): (please PM your choice to us)
- Meat:
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Carpaccio of fillet of beef
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Fillet of beef with redwine sauce and wild mushrooms
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mixed dessert
=============================== - Fish:
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Carpaccio of halibut
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Bass with white lemon sauce
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mixed dessert
=============================== - Vegetarian:
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Tapas
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oven dish of different vegetables
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mixed dessert
cup of coffee/tea
glass fresh made orange juice
cup of soup
various pastries
jams
several kinds of cold cuts
cheese
fried egg with bacon
Other information:
Getting there (and away)
Where
Rotterdam is situated in the west of The Netherlands, roughly halfway between Amsterdam and Antwerp (Belgium).
Car
Please refer to Google Maps, or your other favourite map provider. Parking in the city is possible at a fee. See http://www.rotterdam.nl/parking" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;, which also lists the free parking options (requiring public transport travel to your final destination).
Train
Rotterdam is easily reachable by train from Belgium and France (direct line with Thalys high speed trains, and other slow trains), and from Germany via Utrecht or via Venlo (and/or Eindhoven). Train information (also for those arriving by airplane; see hereafter) may be found on the Netherlands Railways website: http://www.ns.nl" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Airplane
Rotterdam Airport (RTM) is linked to airports in Spain, France and Austria (among others) by Transavia Airlines. Lufthansa links RTM with Munich, and both British Airways and KLM / Air France fly from various London airports to RTM.
Connection from the airport to the city (Central Station) is provided by RET buses (bus number 33); the journey takes some 25 minutes.
Another connection to the city is provided by a shuttlebus (number 50) to the nearby metrostation "Meijersplein", where you can change at metro number E. To the Central Station it's one extra change, but if your hotel is nearer to one of the metrostations "Stadhuis", "Beurs", "Leuvehaven", "Wilhelminaplein" or "Rijnhaven", this can be a better route; this route takes 20 minutes.
A 1 hour RET Pass costs 3 euros, and may be bought from the bus driver. A 1 day pass (for unlimited RET travel, but excluding the metro / underground to The Hague) costs 7 euros, a 2 day pass costs 10,50 euros, and a three day pass costs 14 euros. These passes can only be bought at a ticket machine; do note, however, that these machines are not available at the airport itself. See http://www.ret.nl" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; for more information.
Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport (AMS) is fairly closeby, and is The Netherlands’ primary international airport, linked with most (if not all) major cities in Europe. The high-speed train to Rotterdam departs at least two times per hour from AMS, and takes about 25 minutes. Regular trains (which are cheaper) depart three to six times per hour (sometimes requiring a transfer at Leiden Centraal), and take 50 to 60 minutes.
Eindhoven Airport (EIN) is the primary budget option, as it is served by Ryanair. A bus (number 401) links EIN with Eindhoven’s railway station (3,50 euros, about 20 minutes), and from there, trains depart twice per hour to Rotterdam Centraal, the train journey taking some 70 minutes.
More in the distance are the airports of Brussels (BRU) and Charleroi (also euphemistically named “Brussels South” by Ryanair; CRL), Maastricht-Aachen Airport (MST) and Groningen (GRQ). Travel times to and from those airports are at least two-and-a-half hours, if not more, so these are only for the more adventurous travellers.
