EBT-Meeting 2012 in Frankfurt (Main): General information

[Asiamaniac]

Hello everybody, how are you doing, now that the EBTM is just a few days ahead of us? So many of you who are finding their ways to Frankfurt is both a big surprise and a big honour for us. Be sure that we are still meeting, planning, organizing and trying and doing everything to make your trip to Frankfurt a worthwhile one!


Well, there are some changes and additions to the plans. Please see.

NEW: Thursday, April 26th:
Between 6.30 p.m. and 8 p.m.: Start of the pre-meeting at the Bar Celona. Find it south of the underground trainstation "Hauptwache". Opposite the Samsung Building you go south into "Katharinenpforte". When you arrive in front of the department store "Sportarena", turn left and cross "Friedrich-Stoltze-Platz". (The view of the bank "NASPA" should grab your attention.....). After having turned left to cross Friedrich-Stoltze-square, you should already see Bar Celona. It is not more than 200 meters from the underground train station and easy to find. Try your look, too, at Google Earth.

Friday, April 27th:
CHANGE: 1.30 p.m. / 13.30 Uhr: Meeting at the main entrance of central railway station.

At 3 p.m. / 15.00 Uhr is the latest that we need to arrive at the ECB to undergo the necessary security procedures. Make sure you have got your ID-card with you!
(Security) procedures will have to be gone through before they will let us enter. Visit will last from 3.30 p.m. until 5.30 p.m. / 15.30 Uhr bis 17.30 Uhr


FRIDAY EVENING:
After our visit to ECB, we will walk to our restaurant for the evening, "Das gemalte Haus". (" The painted house") On our way to get there, you will have the occasion to take pictures from the skyline of Frankfurt from a different angle.
The "Gemalte Haus" is not just a place to eat and drink, it is a sight worth seeing in its own right. It is very traditional Frankfurt, very "gemütlich" (snug and cosy). Inside and outside many paintings on the wall reflect (rural) life in Germany as it was in these surroundings some centuries ago.

The "gemalte Haus" is located just a few meters away from the restaurant we had been to in April 2007, after our then visit to ECB. However, the place is nicer and they also have beer, and not only the Frankfurt specialty apple wine.

Saturday, 28th of April:
10.00 o'clock / 10.00 Uhr: Meeting at the central railway station main entrance again. We will have a nostalgic tram ride through Frankfurt at 10.15 a.m. which will last around two hours. We will be accompanied by a tour guide who will give explanations via microphone. Be informed that this is an old tram which has been renovated and which is on service for tourist purposes only. So, we will be among ourselves. Of course, you will not only see but also get some explanations about what we are seeing while driving through the streets of old and modern Frankfurt. There will also be a break for smoking or other relieves...

Schedule for the following hours is also dependent on the weather but experience has it that at that time of the year, it is mostly fine; at least fine enough for outdoor-activities. So, here we are - walking:

CHANGE IN ITINERARY:

Banks of the river Main to enjoy another angle of the skyscrapers -

- - Römer. The historic town hall of Frankfurt and the square. Enjoy the atmosphere with the half-timbered and well-groomed houses and feel like having travelled with a time machine back into the 17th century.

- Lunch break at the square around St.Paul's Church. Have a little something to get fresh again. There is a pizzeria at the square. Better avoid the restaurants as this might take too much time and they are both full and expensive.

- St.Paul's Church. Mainly interesting for Germans as it was there that in the 1840s a first constitution for a united country was set up. Regrettably in vain first, and the nobility kept her grip on Germany. Our present constitution ("Grundgesetz") contains many elements from this old document. We will see it from the outside; it is nothing interesting to see inside and today its inner is very different from what it used to be during the time of revolution.

- MyZeil: There we will enjoy some panoramic view across Frankfurt. The bank district will seem like a wall erected next you you.

- Alte Oper / Old Opera House: Very beautiful and classic building which we are going to see from the outside. You can take very nice photos there, too - of both the Old Opera and the skyscrapers surrounding it. (I took some pics some weeks ago which are published on Google Earth now.)

- Taunusanlage: Special view at the skyline of Frankfurt. Frame your photos of the skyscrapers with the green of the trees surrounding that place.

Later on saturday afternoon:

- Train trip to Flörsheim. (25 - 30 minutes)

NEW:
In Flörsheim there are two option:
1. After the buzzling city of Frankfurt, make a trip back into centuries long gone by and enjoy the silence and romanticism of the historic part of the town with its small lanes, half-timbered houses and the relaxed atmosphere on the river Main. That walk will not take longer than 60 minutes. Our volunteering tour guide will make sure that no bank will distract your attention...

2. To dry your tears, we offer a second tour for the die-hard-trackers which will be held at the same time. We will walk to Wickerer Straße where two banks have got their branches, as well as their ATMs...

After that we go to restaurant Apollon where the dinner will be prepared for us and where we are going to spend the evening. Getting back to Frankfurt will be easy as the train station is just across the street. Trains for Frankfurt are leaving twice per hour.

Sunday, 29th April. Bus trip around the airport
CHANGE:
09.30 a.m. meeting at the airport, Terminal 1 hall C, ARRIVALS, in front of the stall with newspapers, magazines and lottery. (Relay). Close by is a chance to leave your baggages so you need not take them with you.

Punctually at 10.00 we must have started the security checks. Please bring your ID cards with you!

11 a.m. start of the bus tour which will take around 90 minutes!

That's the latest status of our plannings for which we have already taken quite some time and efforts and we hope that everybody attending our meeting will find things of his and her liking.

We look forward to see you in a few days.



Some more general information first:

1. Please don`t get confused: Your destination is Frankfurt-upon-MAIN! (There is a second Frankfurt, precisely Frankfurt-upon-Oder. This is a border town to Poland in the very eastern part of the country...)

2. Language assistance: You can contact Asiamaniac in French or Italian as well.

3. For participants arriving by plane at FRAPORT (Frankfurt Airport): You can reach the central railway station within 11 minutes from the airport by train no. S8. Railway station is below Terminal 1.

4. Be aware that "Frankfurt-HAHN" is misleading. Airport Frankfurt-Hahn is located some 120 kms away from Frankfurt-am-Main. So take a closer look to your flight destination. If you take Ryan Air or Wizz Air, for example, you are very likely to strand in "Frankfurt"-Hahn.

See the official website of Frankfurt-Hahn in English or German.


If you prefer to stay on a budget, please check this out -Frankfurt Hostel, opposite central railway station. Site is available in five Euro-languages.


Stay tuned - we will fill this thread with increasing information in the next time.
Greetings from the Rhine-Main-region

[Asiamaniac]

- Corrected:



we keep on making our plannings and considerations about the programme. The host of our usual regional meetings in Flörsheim at Restaurant "Apollon" will be fond of hosting us for our saturday evening dinner. It is within 25 minutes reach by local train from Frankfurt and the restaurant itself is just across the street in front of the train station.

[MDeen]

Apollon. Is that a Greek restaurant? They will be very pleased with us spending our Euro's there

[taucher]

hehe, yes it`s a Greek restaurant with Turkish owners

[Asiamaniac]

Hello everybody! Just got a hint at the possible confusion with the airport: Frankfurt am Main (Fraport) and Frankfurt-Hahn. The former is the large international airport while "Frankfurt"-Hahn is a small airport some 120 kms away, hosting some budget airlines.

[Asiamaniac]

More news available. Please see the initial entry.

And happy new year to everyone.

[Asiamaniac]

Breaking News: Location for friday evening found. The restaurant has already been tried and tested by the organizers on different private occasions and we are definitely pleased enough to select it for you.

[Asiamaniac]

Breaking news: Information on procedures and deadlines for the visit to ECB have been released It is my entry of 8th of March.

[Asiamaniac]

Breaking news:

Pre-meeting on thursday evening at Bar Celona for those who wish to meet some fellow-trackers the evening before

Two alternatives for Flörsheim before we go for evening dinner to the restaurant: Small walk through the historic part of town OR ATM bashing in Wickerer Str.

Schedule for the airport trip on sunday.


Please see the / my first topic in this thread. Thank you for your attention.

[MDeen]

How long will the Airport tour take (approximately)?

[Asiamaniac]

Getting from the airport to Frankfurt / to Flörsheim.

Guess many of you who stay in Frankfurt may prefer the public transport rather than taxis to get into Frankfurt or further to Flörsheim. So far we only know from German and Austrian fellow-trackers who have got their hotel in Flörsheim rather than Frankfurt. Maybe some more people will be based in taucher town, too, so we give our assistance to get there in this official and English part.

At the airport, you find yourself the regional train station below Terminal 1. ("Regionalbahnhof") Get yourself the ticket from the ticket machine!. Tickets are sold in busses, but NOT in trains!!! You can already at the airport enter the code for Flörsheim, which is 6673 or 5000 for Frankfurt and throw money into the machine accordingly. They usually accept bills, too, and the small change is in coins only.

The ticket machine can also be processed in English, Italian, Spanish and French language. Select your language and let you guide through it. You can already at the airport enter the code for Flörsheim, which is 6673 or 5000 for Frankfurt and throw money into the machine accordingly.

Generally, if you hop on trains here and if the "controllettis" will catch you without a valid ticket, it will cost you at least 40 EURO.

Fare from the airport into Frankfurt: EUR 4,10
Fare from the airport via Franfurt to Flörsheim: EUR 6,55

So, once you get your ticket for Flörsheim already at the airport, you need not bother yourself in Frankfurt to get another one.

The relevant local trains to Frankfurt central railway station ("Hauptbahnhof") are S8 or S9. Before you enter the track make sure you get the right track in direction to Frankfurt. (It should be track no. 1) Otherwise you may end up in Wiesbaden (my place, by the way... ). From there you could catch up to seven trains per hour back to Frankfurt but it costs time and money.

The trip by train from the airport to the central railway st. takes some 11 minutes. Mostly, you will arrive at the underground station in Frankfurt and if you are even luckier, it will be track no. 102. This is beside track 103 from where S1 in direction Flörsheim will leave. To change track, you must walk up a stair and cross the track that way.

Well, normally it is from this track 103 that regional train S1 leaves to Flörsheim. It will be written "Wiesbaden" or "Hochheim" on it. Enter any of these two; after some 25 minutes they will stop in Flörsheim. (Rödermark-Oberroden would be the wrong direction, please be aware.)

A second option to get to Flörsheim from the airport starts at the local train station, too. This time, you find yourself S8 with direction to Wiesbaden. Then you get off in the town of RÜSSELSHEIM. There you find yourself a taxi which goes to Flörsheim which is just across the river. Depending on where in Flörsheim your hotel is and on the density of traffic, taxi fare should be between 10 and 15 Euro.


Or take the bus No. 1 from the bus terminal which drives to Flörsheim. (Hopefully you have got a map or a smartphone with internet-connection or the right apps with you, so you could find your way to your hotels in FLÖ)

And get yourself a bill in Rüsselsheim: Either in the bakery at the station or go to the bank. One bank, SPARDA, is visible from the tracks. The second one, a Sparkasse, is behind the buildings. When you leave the station, cross the square in front of the station, take the narrow street along the OPEL-factory. Turn right at the first street and you should see the bank.

I have experienced both banks as tracker-friendly.

Track at the airport to catch the right train S8 into direction of Rüsselsheim is track no. 3.

[Asiamaniac]

Money matters

Cost for ECB: None

Cost for tram ride: 15 EUR per person, 3 non-refundable vouchers for drinks included

Cost for airport tour: 15 EUR per person

Cost for day ticket at least for saturday, which covers both Frankfurt and Flörsheim: 8 EUR per person
(or a group ticket; five persons for EUR 14,90. altogether. However, you always must stay together)

Cost for one-way-ticket between airport & Frankfurt: 4,10 EUR

Cost for gastronomy: Roughly calculate 15-25 EUR per restaurant visit. That covers main dish, beverages and maybe a dessert. (Generally, I have a feeling that dining out in Germany is cheaper than in most other EUR-countries I have ever been to.)

[Asiamaniac]

Airport tour and your time frames

We have received now more data from the makers of the airport tour. So, in a nutshell:


9.30 a.m.: Meeting in terminal 1, venue / Hall C near the newspaper and lottery store.

10.00 a.m. latest start of the check-in and security procedures

10.30 a.m. Start of the bus tour around the airport

12.00 a.m. Estimated end of the tour

END OF EBTM

As schedules are always prone to delays we suggest that you do not join the airport tour if your flight leaves (much) before 2 p.m.

Please be punctual as nearby there is a chance to leave your luggage and not bothering you with it during the tour.

My mother told me this morning that she did that guided tour already twice. She was deeply impressed and if the occasion arises, she would do it a third time. So, if your time permits, look forward to an interesting tour. Me, I only know the standard tour of 60 minutes which is already interesting, but our big one really must be a great one. In a week, we know more.

[Asiamaniac]

Paying cash

It has proven well to take small denominations with you. I remember it was once de rigueur that only were "allowed" for payments during the EBTMs in order to make sure that no friendly hits occur, if for example one participant pays the organizer with a , gets back a that another participant has used for his payments, and the hit must be moderated.

As for me, when I cash in your 15 EUR for the tram ride; I would not mind and . Please, generally see to it that you need not get back change in the shape of bills when we are in the group.

What you do outside our schedules when you walk and move individually through Frankfurt, is your own choice.

[Asiamaniac]

Restaurants I: Dress code

Don't worry, there is none. So, you can leave your grey suit with the white shirt, the black trousers, the neck tie and your well-shined black leather shoes at home. Honestly, it would be a bit inconvenient to walk through Frankfurt like this. Okay, you need not necessarily wear those clothings that you would also wear

- when you dig your garden
- when you go to the beach on your third week of holiday
- when your repair the bottom of your car

Those who are already experienced in the participation of EBTMs can do as they did during previous meetings. And to quote an old song of Phil Collins: "No jacket required".