Location

The meeting will take place at the Kongresshotel Potsdam, which is beautifully located at the Lake Templin. The closest local bus and tramway station, Luftschiffhafen, is in walking distance (700 meters). The closest train station is "Potsdam-Pirschheide", which is also in walking distance.

The city of Potsdam is located very close to Berlin and accessible through the public transportation system of Berlin. During the last decades Potsdam has developed to one of the most attractive cities for international tourists in Germany. You won't find another city of this small size (190,000 inhabitants) with more UNESCO World Heritage sites (Sanssouci park and palaces, Neuer Garten with Cecilienhof palace, park and palaces of Babelsberg and Glienicke, Peacock Island, Sacrow palace and church, Lindstedt palace and park, Russian colony Alexandrowka, Pfingstberg with the Belvedere, Astronomical Observatory, Dutch quarter).

Find more information about the city of Potsdam here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potsdam

You will find information on national and local transportation services here: https://int.bahn.de/en

Travel

How to travel to Potsdam

By air travel

• Book your flight to Berlin Airport BER. Alternatively, you may fly to Frankfurt (Main) FRA and continue your travel by train (however approx. 5.5 hours train ride).
• There is a direct train (RB 22) from BER to “Potsdam Pirschheide” leaving every h+23 minutes from platform 4 in the airport building’s ground floor. The journey takes 23 minutes and the train stop is in walking distance to the hotel. In case of train cancellations, alternative routes can be found here: https://int.bahn.de/en. For all connections from Berlin to Potsdam, the single fare ticket "Berlin ABC" is valid (4.70 €). Tickets can be purchased from vending machines in the airport’s railway station.
• There is also a direct bus (BER2) from BER to Potsdam station leaving at varying times during the day, please check here: https://www.berairportshuttle.de/fahrplan-1. The BER2 bus is leaving outside the terminal building from Bus stop A2. On top of the single fare ticket "Berlin ABC" (valid in Berlin and Potsdam; 4.70 €), there’s an additional charge (5 €) for using bus BER2 (the bus takes an hour to Potsdam station).
• A taxi from the airport to the venue will cost at least 100 €. Please note that unlicensed drivers are approaching travellers within the airport building – please stay away! Official taxis wait outside the airport building.

By train

• Book your train journey to Potsdam Station (Hauptbahnhof). Connections can be found here: https://int.bahn.de/en

By car

• Use your GPS or the google maps route planner.

How to reach the hotel and the venue of the welcome reception (Sunday evening)

• In Potsdam station, use exit Friedrich-Engels-Strasse. Single fare tickets in Potsdam are 2.80 € and can be purchased from vending machines in buses and trams, which leave in front of the train station.
• Take tram 91 in direction Pirschheide (platform 2), bus 631 in direction Werder (platform 8) or bus 580 in direction Brandenburg (platform 8).
• In either case, alight at the stop Luftschiffhafen. At the tram stop you will find signs indicating the way to the hotel (Yellow route in map; 700 meters).

The welcome reception on Sunday, August 3^rd starts at 6pm at the nearby Villa Carlshagen, home of Health and Medical University (Address: Olympischer Weg 1). Depending on your arrival time, feel free to check in at the hotel first or to go directly to Villa Carlshagen from the bus and tram stop Luftschiffhafen (red route in map, 300 meters). It is an easy and pleasant walk between Villa Carlshagen and the Kongresshotel along lake Templin (purple route in map).