View source for DebConf19/Bids/Bratislava

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[[File:Bratislava Montage.jpg|thumb|Bratislava Montage. Clockwise from top left: View of Bratislava from the castle, St. Michael's Gate in the Old Town, Eurovea shopping complex, Primate's Palace, Hviezdoslav Square, Bratislava castle and the Danube riverbank at night]]

= Why Bratislava =

Bratislava is a capital of Slovakia, and is a nice small city in the centre of Europe. It is home to about 500 thousand people, and it's the biggest city in Slovakia. Unique among its kind, Bratislava directly borders two countries, Austria and Hungary.

Due to its location, Bratislava is easily reachable by land and by air. It is one hour away from Vienna and its airport, which has direct connections to many locations outside Europe, and lies on a railway line connecting Prague, Brno and Budapest, making it possible to use airports in those cities too. Bratislava's own airport is served by low-cost airlines (mostly Ryanair) to more than a dozen locations in Europe.

Bratislava has a lot nearby tourist attractions to offer, especially during the summer. The city is build on the Danube River, with Morava River entering the Danube at Devín, west from Bratislava. The Little Carpathians mountain range begins in the city, with lots of places for hiking.

The transport system in Bratislava is mostly buses and trams. There is a direct bus from the local airport, and several bus companies operate regular (every half an hour) connections to Vienna airport.

While Bratislava is more expensive than the most of Slovakia, it is much cheaper than most of the European countries.

= Visas, customs and entering the country =

Slovakia is a member of the European Union and the Schengen Area. Visiting it residents of most of the countries in Europe is possible without needing a visa, but depending on your citizenship if you're living in the UK or other countries not signatories to the Schengen Agreement, you may need to secure a visa prior to your arrival.

Due to the import restrictions, it is not allowed to bring dairy or meat products into the EU countries. If you attempt to smuggle any of the restricted items, they may be taken away from you should you be subject to a spot check.

= Local team =

Please add yourself if you are part of the team!

{| class="wikitable"
!width="12%"| Name/nick
!width="6%"| Location (town)
!width="37%"| Debian/DebConf experience
!width="43%"| Comments
|-
| Andrew Shadura (andrewsh)
| Bratislava
| Debian Developer; attended first DebConf in 2015.
|

|-
| Marek Mansell
| Bratislava
| 
| Local hackerspace member, PyCon.sk organiser


|-
| Martin Šechný
| Bratislava
| 
| [http://soit.sk SOIT], OSS Víkend organiser

|-
| Christian Amsüss (chrysn)
| Vienna
| Debienna/MiniDebConf Vienna organiser
| Agreed to help during DebConf17, confirmation required

|-
| Clara (TrT)
| Vienna
| Debienna/MiniDebConf Vienna organiser, DebConf volunteer
| Agreed to help during DebConf17, confirmation required

|}

= Contact Details =

* IRC Channel: #debconf19-bratislava on oftc
* Matrix: [https://matrix.to/#/#debconf19-bratislava:matrix.org #debconf19-bratislava:matrix.org]

= Venue options =

== STU/UK Karlova Ves campus ==

[[File:STU_Karlova_Ves_campus.png|thumb]]

{| class="wikitable"
!width="21%"| Criteria
!width="78%"| FIIT STU (main option)
|-
| Location
| Venue is situated outside of the centre (Karlová Ves). Student accommodation available (multiple options).
|-
| Transport
| Airport to venue is 45 to 60 minutes by public transport
|-
| Accomodation
| Nearby hotels or student residences
|-
| Food
| Internal caterer
|-
| Capacity
|
* Big lecture theatre: 390 seats ([[:File:FIIT STU big lecture theatre.jpg|photo¹]], [[:File:FIIT STU big lecture theatre upstairs.jpg|photo²]])
* Small lecture theatre: 110 seats ([[:File:FIIT STU small lecture theatre.jpg|photo]])
* ''Turing'' lecture room: 120/240 seats ([[:File:FIIT STU turing 1.jpg|photo¹]], [[:File:FIIT STU turing 2.jpg|photo²]])
* ''Babbage'' lecture room: 80/160 seats ([[:File:FIIT STU babbage 0.jpg|photo¹]], [[:File:FIIT STU babbage 1.jpg|photo²]], [[:File:FIIT STU babbage 2.jpg|photo³]])
* 9 classrooms (40 seats, 10 seats, 7×20 seats)
|-
| Advantages
|
* easily accessible by public transport, bicycle of by foot
* a few pubs and cafés next door, a shopping mall with even more
* botanical gardens and a zoo in a walking distance ⇒ fun
* good network infrastructure at the campus
|-
| Downsides
|
* while mostly wheelchair-accessible, has certain (potentially solvable) issues
* depending on the day temperature, air conditioning can be expensive
|-
| Potential Dates
| July 15th to August 15th
|-
| More photos
|
* Hallway: [[:File:FIIT STU hallway entrance.jpg|entrance]], [[:File:FIIT STU hallway entrance.jpg|downstairs]], [[:File:FIIT STU hallway downstairs seating.jpg|downstairs seating]]
|-
| Details
| [[DebConf19/Bids/Bratislava/Venues/FIIT STU|Venues/FIIT STU]]
|}

== STU central campus ==
[[File:STU central campus.jpg|thumb]]

{| class="wikitable"
!width="21%"| Criteria
!width="26%"| SvF STU
!width="26%"| SjF STU
!width="26%"| FChPT STU
|-
| Location
|colspan="3"| Venue is situated in the centre of the city. Student accommodation available (multiple options).
|-
| Transport
|colspan="3"| Airport to venue is 20 to 35 minutes by public transport
|-
| Accomodation
|colspan="3"| Nearby hotels or student residences
|-
| Food
| TBD
|
* There’s a small cafeteria, the entry hall can be used for serving food
|
* There’s a [[:File:FCHPT STU cafeteria.jpg|slightly bigger cafeteria]], a [[:File:FCHPT STU café.jpg|nice café]], potentially the entry hall can be used for serving food
|-
| Capacity
| TBD
|
* Lecture theatre: 700 seats ([[:File:SjF STU lecture theatre 1.jpg|photo¹]], [[:File:SjF STU lecture theatre 2.jpg|photo²]])
* 4 smaller lecture rooms: 120 seats each ([[:File:SjF STU small lecture room 1.jpg|photo¹]], [[:File:SjF STU small lecture room 2.jpg|photo²]], [[:File:SjF STU small lecture room 2.jpg|photo³]])
* Multiple hackrooms of not yet known capacity
* Big entry hall, smaller hallway next to the lecture rooms ([[:File:SjF STU small hallway seating.jpg|photo]])
|TBD, preliminary data:
* Lecture theatre: 168 seats
* 3 lecture rooms: 176 seats each
* 4 ultra small lecture rooms: 96 seats each
|-
|rowspan="2"| Advantages
|colspan="3"|
* easily accessible by public transport, bicycle of by foot
* potentially better wheelchair accessibility of the campus
* lots of pubs and cafés nearby due to the proximity of Obchodná street and the city centre
|-
| TBD
|
* were very direct and professional in communicating terms and conditions
* promised to arrange a dedicated faculty person to help during the conference
* insisted key organisers undergo safety training
|
* the entrance is [[:File:FCHPT wheelchair access.jpg|wheelchair-accessible]]
|-
| Downsides
| TBD
|
* lecture rooms are on the first floor with stairs only, need to investigate wheelchair access
* rooms are slightly old, but have been refurbished recently
* small lecture rooms may be a bit too small? — need to be checked
| TBD
|-
| Potential Dates
|colspan="3"| July 15th to August 15th
|-
| Details
|colspan="3"| TBD
|}

== More venues ==

* Find one or more alternate venues.

= Power =

Slovakia uses CEE 7/5 sockets and CEE 7/6 plugs (‘French plugs’). The socket has a predominantly circular recess with two symmetrical round apertures and a round earth pin projecting from the socket. Sockets accept German Schuko and Europlugs.
<gallery>
File:French-power-socket.jpg
File:French_Plug_CEE_7_6.jpg
File:CEE 7-7.jpg
</gallery>

= Potential dates =

* As we consider universities, in June they are mostly fully booked (exams, proms…), leaving mid-July to mid-August to us. July is the hottest month in Bratislava, so we need to check with the weather agency, but with good air conditioning the climate issues can be mitigated.

= Prospective local sponsors &amp; support =

== Community ==

* Progressbar hackerspace
* PyCon Slovakia
* SOIT.sk
* …

= Fun and Free time =
[[File:Castles around Bratislava.png|thumb|512px|right|Castles around Bratislava]]

* Bratislava castle
<gallery>
File:Bratislava, Hrad, Slovensko.jpg
File:Bratislava Cityscape.jpg
</gallery>

* Most SNP bridge
<gallery>
File:Restaurace, Nový most, Bratislava.JPG
</gallery>

* Devín castle
<gallery>
File:Devín Castle (3705531512).jpg
File:Castle Devin - walls and river.JPG
File:Bratislava 007.jpg
File:Castle Devin - confluence of Dunaj and Morava 1.JPG
</gallery>

* Parks
<gallery>
File:Sad Janka Krala, Bratislava, Slovakia.JPG
File:Kastiel rusovce.jpg
</gallery>

* Koliba/Kamzik
<gallery>
File:Bratislava, Staré Mesto, Slavín, pohled na vysílač Kamzík.jpg
File:TV VEŽA NA KAMZÍKU - panoramio.jpg
File:Lanovka zelezna koliba.jpg
File:Cvičná lúka.jpg
</gallery>

== Conference dinner ==

Bratislava Flagship restaurant ([http://www.bratislavskarestauracia.sk/]) is a nice reasonably-priced restaurant with beautiful interiors, which can accommodate up to 400 people. We think it's one of the best options available.
[[File:Bratislava Flagship Restaurant Balcony.jpg|600px]]

= Transport =

== Public transport ==
[[File:Škoda-30T.JPG|thumb|Škoda 30 T tram in Bratislava]]
[[File:New Bridge by night.JPG|right|thumb|Most SNP bridge]]
[[File:Mercedes-Benz Capacity Bratislava line 95.JPG|right|thumb|A typical red bus in Bratislava]]

Bratislava has a rather good [http://www.dpb.sk/en/ public transport system] although some of the vehicles are quite old. Buses tend to be the slowest means of transportation. Stops normally don't need to be requested unless stated otherwise, request stops are marked ''zastávka na znamenie'' at the bus stop sign as well as on electronic information displays in most buses and trams. Bus doors are usually opened by the driver; tram and trolleybus doors have to be opened by yourself by pushing a green or yellow button at the doors.

A single-journey ticket costs €0.70, valid for 15 minutes only. There is a longer validity ticket available for €0.90 (valid for 30 minutes). Any ticket can be used for any number of travels within the specified time period. There are day and multiple day tickets available.

Tickets must be validated directly after boarding a vehicle.

Bus and tram drivers in Bratislava do not sell tickets, therefore you need to obtain a ticket prior to entering a bus or a tram. There are ticket vending machines at most stops in the town. Few newer ticket machines accept bills and credit cards, although most accepts coins only. A few old style coin-only machines near the train station have been upgraded to accept contactless cards. Tickets are also sold by many news agents and at the train stations. Users of Slovak mobile carriers can buy an SMS ticket by sending an empty text (or a text with one Latin letter only) to 1140 or 1100. Do '''not''' board a bus or a tram before you have received the confirmation. Tickets obtained by texting 1140 are valid for 40 minutes, for a longer trip get a 70 minutes ticket from 1100. Both SMS ticket types can be used on any number of travels within the time period. SMS tickets cannot be used on S-trains.

There are a few main interchange points in the close city center where you can get a bus or tram to nearly anywhere else:

* Hodžovo námestie (Presidential palace) for Northwest- and Eastbound bus connections
* Poštová  for trams
* Most SNP (close to St Martin’s Cathedral and the Danube banks) for trams and for Westbound buses as well as bus connections to Petržalka.
* Trnavské mýto for Eastbound connections and connection to the Bratislava airport

=== More information ===

* <abbr title="Bratislava transport company">DPB</abbr> website for ticket prices, terms and conditions: [http://www.dpb.sk/en/passengers/ticket/ ticket types], [http://www.dpb.sk/en/passengers/ticket-through-sms/ SMS tickets]
* [https://www.idsbk.sk/en/ Bratislava integrated transport system website] for maps and general information on public transport in Bratislava
* [http://imhd.sk/ba/public-transport IMHD.sk] for a route planner

== Bikes ==

There are multiple places in Bratislava where bikes for hire are available, and there's a [https://whitebikes.info/ community bikesharing scheme] which attendees may join. The city administration also promises to run an official public bike sharing scheme ''soon''.

== Car hire ==

There are many car hire companies in Bratislava, a few of which are conveniently located in the airport.

== Taxi ==

Mismanaged taxi regulations in Bratislava resulted in many overpriced taxi services specifically targeting foreigners not familiar with local prices at the train stations and the airport. While there are a few cheap taxi services, it's difficult to tell them from the expensive ones. Uber and Taxify both operate in Bratislava, and are quite cheap. Should you prefer actual taxis, using a taxi-hailing service Hopin may be easier than having to order a taxi by phone.

= Network connectivity =

= Food =

TBC.

= Potential sponsors =

Energotel hosts mirrors of Ubuntu and Mint — they might be interested in sponsoring?

= Links =

* [https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Bratislava Bratislava in Wikivoyage]

[[Category:DebConf19 bids]]