Workshop Location
AVoCS'12 will be held in Bamberg, Germany. (Map, Tourist Office, Wikipedia, Flickr)
Located in the Upper Franconia region of Northern Bavaria in Germany, the city of Bamberg has enjoyed a rich history since its founding in the 10th century. Despite being relatively small with a population of about 70,000, it is home to a beautiful historic city center. The center was classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1993 due to the city's buildings escaping the destruction of the world wars. Part of the city center lies on an island created by the two arms of the Regnitz river, while the rest extends up the sides of the seven hills that surround the city.
There is much to see as a tourist in Bamberg such as the cathedral, the old city hall and the abbey built on the Michaelsberg (one of the seven hills). Bamberg is also famous for its beer which is produced in the eight local breweries. Among these, Schlenkerla Rauchbier (smoked beer) is especially well known.
This year Bamberg will be host to the Bavarian state flower show which will take place about 2km from the city center.
About 10km from the city is the beautiful Franconian Swiss countryside. This mountainous region has many picturesque small villages and lots of opportunities for hiking and cycling, not to mention many more breweries!
Travel to Bamberg
Bamberg does not have its own airport, but there are good train connections to nearby cities that do. Nuremberg airport is the nearest, but is limited in the number of destinations it serves. Frankfurt airport and Munich airport are about the same distance away by train and offer many options for travel. Finally, Memmingen (Munich East) airport is the furthest by train but is used by some budget airlines.
You can book your train ticket in advance at the Deutsche Bahn (DB) website or you can buy it at any station on the day. If you book on the website, you can purchase an electronic ticket that you can print out before you travel. You will need to bring the identification you selected when buying your electronic ticket for it to be valid.
If you are travelling within Baveria (from Nuremberg, Munich or Memmingen to Bamberg), then a Bayern rail ticket can be considerably cheaper. Up to five people can travel on one ticket but it is only valid on regional trains (trains with the designating letters RB, RE, IRE, S-Bahn). There is also a Bayern ticket for single travellers, which is a little cheaper. More info is available here and here.
Travel from Nuremberg Airport: [about 1.5 hours] Take the U-bahn (subway) from the airport to Nuremberg central station (Hbf = central station) and then a train direct to Bamberg.
Travel from Munich Airport: [about 3 hours] There are two options here; with the first take the S-bahn to Munich central station and then take a train either direct to Bamberg, or with a change at Nuremberg. Alternatively, you can make this journey without the high-speed ICE train which can be significantly cheaper (see the information about the Bayern ticket above). In this case, you should take a bus from the airport to Freising train station (travel time 20 minutes) and then take a train to Bamberg with a change in Nuremberg.
Travel from Frankfurt Airport: [about 3 hours] You can catch a high-speed ICE train to Würzburg from the long-distance rail station at the airport (note that there are two different train stations at the airport, one being only for local services). At Würzburg you will need to change trains for Bamberg.
Travel from Memmingen (Munich West) Airport: [3.5 - 5 hours] The first option is to take an express bus service from the airport to Augsburg or Munich and then catch a train to Bamberg. Alternatively, there is a local bus service from the airport to Memmingen train station; from there you can take a train to Bamberg (there are a few different routes here, but you will probably need to change in Augsburg and Nuremberg).
Workshop Venue
The exact building in which the workshop will take place will be announced later; however, it will located in the city center.
