Final Preparations: Good to Know for Young Scientists

Nadine Gärber, Head of Young Scientist Support, presents the ultimate survival guide to the Lindau Nobel Laureate Meetings.

Hi everyone!

After great preparation and so many e-mails, we are ready to go! Only a few days left and we will meet in Lindau.

You are probably packing the last things for your trip at the moment and here are a few tips that might be helpful for your journey and your stay.

What to Bring & What to Wear

There is no dress code for the regular scientific sessions. For invitational dinners, you may want to bring something more festive (suits, cocktail dresses). As for the Bavarian evening, you can also dress in the traditional costumes of your individual home country. Those of you who own a traditional Bavarian costume (a Dirndl dress for women and Lederhosen for men) are of course welcome to wear that.

As the lake is great for swimming, you may want to bring swim wear. Some of the local swimming pools even offer free entrance for the participants of the Lindau Meeting. Sunscreen and mosquito repellants are a good idea as well.

Make sure to bring comfortable shoes that are suitable for cobblestone pavement or various weather conditions. A voltage converter (220 volt) may be useful, as well as a hairdryer.

Weather Forecast

Lindau has a very special weather – it can change very quickly, within 30 minutes from bright sunshine and 35°C to cold thunderstorms.

The actual forecast (as of Thursday 26) for the meeting says:

Saturday	Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
max. 22° C	max. 16° C	max. 21° C	max. 21° C	max. 21° C	max. 25° C	max. 28° C

But honestly, weather forecasts are not very reliable for the Lindau region, and we may see the complete opposite. Here is one of the better forecasting services, but you shouldn’t put too much trust in it.

Arrival & Registration

Since there will not be shuttles from any of the airports to Lindau, you need to organise your trip yourself. For any information and timetables on German rail please check www.bahn.com. Here you will find all connections to “Lindau Hbf”, the name of the main train station in Lindau. Lindau is well connected to the airports you might fly into – such as Zurich, Munich, Friedrichshafen, Stuttgart or Frankfurt.

For a google Map with all the important places in Lindau, please click here.

The registration in the Inselhalle (Zwanzigerstr. 12, 88131 Lindau), the central congress venue of the Lindau Meeting, will be open during the whole meeting, however, you should make sure to register before the meeting starts, as you are required to wear your name badge to enter the meeting facilities. At registration you will also receive wristbands compulsory for access to the Science Breakfasts and Master Classes. On Sunday 29 June, the registration desk will be open from 10.00 to 20.00 hrs. Please bring along your ID for registration.

The opening ceremony starts on Sunday at 15.00 hrs, and we recommend that you come early to get a good seat. For security reasons it is not allowed to bring any large bags into the Inselhalle but located outside to the right of the entrance we will provide a depository where your luggage will be securely stored.

For the early birds arriving already on Saturday 28 June we will open the registration desk on Saturday from 15.00 to 18.00 hrs.

Apart from swimming in beautifully clear Lake Constance, you might fancy some culture on Sunday morning: The City Museum of Lindau offers a free tour in English through their lovely exhibition of French artist Henri Matisse on Sunday, 29 June at 11.00 hrs. Please note: You need to be registered as a Lindau Meeting participant to take part in the tours. Another chance to participate in an English tour through the exhibition will be on Wednesday, 2 July at 18.00 hrs.
If you would like to get a deeper insight into the history and the current projects of the Lindau Meetings, you shouldn`t miss our recently opened exhibition “The Lindau Nobel Laureate Meetings: Now and Then” in the City Museum.

Programme

You will receive a printed programme along with your conference materials, but we have put it to print two of weeks ago, so it may be outdated by the time the starts. For the version, please check the online version.

Internet & Phones

There is an internet café with 40 work stations at the meeting. In addition, the meeting venue is equipped with wireless LAN. Please check your conference documents (provided upon registration) for further details.

For any requests, be it interviews, scheduling, arrangements of any sort, it would be very helpful if you could bring along a mobile phone so that we will be able to contact you easily. To use a mobile phone in a German network, it needs to support the GSM standard (used all over Europe).

Money

The currency used in Germany and many European countries (except Switzerland) is the Euro. Money can be exchanged at airports or at local banks. Credit cards (e.g. Visa, Mastercard) and Maestro/EC cards can be used to withdraw money from ATMs (called “Geldautomat”), using your PIN. Cheques and traveller cheques have become rather uncommon and are hardly accepted anywhere.

Emergencies

In case of an emergency at the main meeting venue, please contact any of the staff. Please note that our staff is not authorised to hand out any medication. A paramedic team is present at the meeting venue and can help with all health related issues. If you have an emergency at a different location, please either contact any of the staff if present, or call 112, the official emergency number that will work in all the EU countries and in Switzerland. During the meeting, you will be covered by a health insurance policy provided by the organisers.

Last but not least

My colleagues and I will be happy to assist you at the Young Scientist Help Desk whenever you need any help. This is going to be a great week, so let’s make the best of it!

Have a look at our bags, which will soon be yours 😉

See you soon in Lindau,

Nadine, Nesrin & Karen