DebConf15/FAQs

Registration and check-in/check-out

First Aid

There is a first aid kit available at front desk. If anyone is First Aid qualified please let front desk know? The more the safer...

What on earth do the letters and numbers mean on my badge?

The three numbers next to the 'FOOD' (if you paid for full board) is your summit ID. It has been generated when you registered in summit and helps us find your badge and T-Shirt. The 'logistic identifier', e.g. 1-A, has been completely randomly generated for the case we need to split a large group into smaller groups. It's advisory, and you don't have to split from your family. But please do consider it if you can.

Can I still register?

Unfortunately, no. Due to very high levels of interest, we were forced to close registrations for the time being. Please make sure to check back soon if you have not yet registered, but you want to attend.

What are the youth hostel front desk opening hours?

Reception is open from 6.30 a.m. till 2.00 a.m.

Are food and accommodation included in the professional and corporate registration fees?

No. While in the past the registration fees have included food and accommodation, this has often led to confusion and frustration on the part of our paid attendees. Also, in years when the conference is in a city, our corporate and professional attendees sometimes prefer to book their own hotel rooms rather than stay in the conference accommodations. To simplify the registration process, since DebConf13 the registration fees are kept separate from self-paid food and accommodation.

If I'm self-paid, can I stay in the same place as the sponsored attendees?

Yes.

How many people will I be sharing a room with?

There are varying size rooms (2, 3, 4, 6 beds), room allocation is done based on needs and availability. There's a flat fee for everyone.

What if I prefer to stay in a hotel?

A couple of hotels expect us. That said, we would like to stress that the youth hostel is of quite high quality and if we could convince you to stay there, you'll have a more immersed experience.

I want to be able to eat with the group, but I also plan to enjoy German's specialities and other fine dining. Can I pay à la carte?

You will be able to purchase tickets for individual meals at the hostel reception. Each meal costs 6.90 €, except for the conference dinner (20€) which is currently sold out. If you buy food for the whole week, please go to the front desk to ask for a new "food" badge. If you buy only lunch for the whole week, your food badge will also have the "lunch" tag. More info below

The kitchen is prepared to serve about 30 more people than expected. If you let to buy the meal in the very last minute, you risk to not being able to eat, or to have to wait until the service is almost over, so that the kitchen is sure they are not short of food.

I have someone accompanying me, do they need to register as well?

For those accompanying (significant others, spouses, offspring, etc.), if they intend to participate in the conference proceedings (attend sessions, the day trip, or anything that is part of the conference proper), please have them set up an account at Alioth to be able to register for the conference.

Please note that everyone is welcome to attend, and we encourage accompanying friends or family that might have any interest in joining our community to register for the conference, too!

Can I bring my kids?

Yes! We've set up a separate kids page to answer all your questions.

Can I pay in advance?

No, as this would require a lot of effort on our behalf. Payments are expected on arrival at the youth hostel, using cash or credit cards (only Visa & Mastercard!).

Do I get an invoice for my stay?

Yes, you will get up to two invoices, one from the hostel for food & accomodation, and one from DebConf (issued by the hostel) for your registration fee. Please note that all services are VAT exempt.

Will I need to leave a deposit for the hostel key?

Yes, everyone who received a key from the hostel has to leave 10 € with them, redeemable upon return of the key.

What should I bring? What should I leave at home?

There is a dedicated page about this: What to bring

When are we expected to vacate the rooms?

Your room has to be empty (with sheets stripped) by 10:00 o'clock on the day of your departure.

Venue/hostel

How safe are the rooms? Can I leave my stuff there?

Only you and your roommates, and housekeeping have access to your rooms. If you do not want housekeeping to enter the room, hang the "do not disturb" sign on the outside handle.

On this basis, the rooms can be considered safe. However, please understand that we cannot assume any liability.

There are locks on most of the in-room closets. If you put 1 or 2 EUR as deposit into the slot in the door, you can take the key with you.

Is there a place where I can safe-keep valuables

There are lockers in the basement big enough to hold luggage. The keys are available from the youth hostel reception desk (20 € deposit).

There's also a safe behind reception (i.e. you hand them stuff).

Neither locker nor safe contents are insured.

Where can I smoke?

The short answer: outdoors, where you don't bother others.

The long answer:

All indoor spaces are strictly smoke-free. While we will only be able to put up signs on Saturday, please respect the following areas as smoke-free:

• inside the court yard
• on the Heidelberg balcony
• in the hacklab underneath the Heidelberg rooms
• around the blue tables

This essentially leaves the sun terrace and the beergarden for smokers, but it'd be great if you could still be mindful of others.

Food and drinks

Can I bring food/drinks into the venue?

No, this is not allowed. We are working closely with the venue to ensure a diverse supply of food and drinks until late at night for reasonable prices.

How much do drinks at the bar cost?

See DebConf15/BarPrices.

What's the deal with the drink coupons

These can be bought for 20€ at the hostel reception, (plastic money accepted), and used at the bistro.

Remaining credit will be refunded whenever you want.

What about baby food? Or food I need which they won't provide?

Exceptions are made for pre-made or ready-made baby food, as well as all food you need due to dietary requirements. Please inform front desk on arrival, just to prevent any misunderstandings.

Are there cooking facilities at the venue for us to use?

No, sorry about that.

Can I drink tap water in Heidelberg?

Yes, the tap water in Heidelberg is completely safe for drinking and tastes nice, i.e. it has very little chlorine content, and a high concentration of natural minerals, specifically calcium (hard water).

What are the meal times? How late is food served?

During DebCamp, the meal times are 07:00 – 10:00, 12:00 – 13:00, and 17:30 – 19:30.

During DebConf, the meal times are 07:00 – 10:00, 12:00 – 14:00, and 18:30 – 20:30. See the Summit schedule for exact times on each day.

Outside those times, you can purchase food at the bistro. The bistro will be open from 12:00 – 02:00, but will close at midnight when there is no more demand.

If you're arriving late, you're encouraged to eat on the road, or rely on snacks at the bistro.

Our beergarden will be open from 16:00 – 00:00 each day (weather permitting).

Can I eat at the venue even if I am not staying there?

Yes. If you selected the food option during registration we are already counting with you for every meal while you are attending the conference (including conference dinner), regardless if you sleep at the venue or not. You need to pay for those meals at the hostel reception and get a "food" badge at DebConf frontdesk. If reception tell you there are no more food tickets left, talk to front desk, because we reserved food for you.

If you want to eat at the venue only on certain days, see further up.

How wil be food organized for the daytrip?

There will be packaged meal available in the restaurant and everyone who has lunch on that day should take one before leaving to the daytrip. The kitchen wil not operate during lunchtime.

Can I join the conference dinner on 2015-08-20 even if I am not staying at the venue?

If you have selected the food option during registration we are already counting with you. If not, you should have bought the ticket earlier if you intented to attend. We have already reached the full capacity of the restaurant and new places will only be available if there are cancelations.

I have food at the hostel but I'm not attended the conference dinner, what should I do?

Please let us know ASAP if you have other plans for the evening of Thursday the 20th. If we are counting on you and you don't go, it will result not only in waste, but it will prevent other people from attending. Thanks for your help.

Conference

What hashtag should I use on social media?

The (unofficial) @debconf Twitter account uses and encourages the use of #DebConf15.

How can I schedule ad-hoc events?

check out later

Where can I check what cheese & wine is being brought so as to prevent duplicates?

There is a wiki page: Cheese & Wine BoF

Amenities, logistics

Are credit cards accepted?

The venue takes only Visa and Mastercard. Don't expect it to be much different outside the venue. Most places do accept credit cards but they often require a minimum purchase (e.g. 10 or 20 €). So you're best off with a bit of cash always. Note: according to experience of some visitors, some places might only accept German debit cards. So please do bring some cash with you just in case.

Is there a cash machine nearby?

There is an ATM operated by Sparkasse Heidelberg at the Zoo's parking: https://www.openstreetmap.org/node/1750524829

Is there a supermarket nearby?

None nearby; the closest place to buy things is a small convenience shop at the University: Unishop (distance 1.1km) but there are some regular supermarkets a bit further away: REWE City (distance: 1.8km) NahKauf (distance: 1.9km), Aldi Süd (distance: 2.1km), REWE city (distance: 2.6km) and more.

Is is possible to wash laundry on site?

There is a single washing machine in the basement. Front desk will help coordinating that.

The washing machine takes tokens, which you can purchase at the hostel reception desk.

Can I park my car nearby?

Limited parking is directly at the venue, more parking is within 10-15 minutes of walking on public streets. If you have a large car or do not intend to use it during your stay, please do not park directly at the venue as others will need those slots more than you. Neither parking option has any associated costs.

Rest of the parking places around the venue are either reserved for hospital/university staff use or cost 1.6€ per hour with a 24-hour cap of 7€.

Do I need to buy the "environmental badge" for my car?

According to this map, the hostel is outside the green zone, so theoretically you ought to be able to go there without risk of being fined. The youth hostel arrival page is not clear on the matter and so we've inquired for more information.

Where can I buy the environmental badge?

The badge officially costs 7€ and may be bought from various places. Please have a look at the (German) Wikipedia article (in German) for links. There are also places online that sell them for (sometimes much) higher prices which may deliver by mail faster.

The cheapest and most convenient solution may be to go to a TüV or similar car service shop on your way to Heidelberg (check opening hours for week-ends), which will cost you only 5 euros.

Where can I get a taxi from?

Taxis aren't cheap, but should you need one, here's the number of the Heidelberg operator: +49 6221 / 30 20 30. There are also various smartphone applications in the corresponding stores, e.g. MyTaxi and "Taxi Deutschland".

How do I get a SIM card? What cell phone plans and coverage is there?

Please have a look at DebConf15/MobilePhonesAndData.