CAST 2019 - Practical Information

By Air

If you are flying to Berlin, you will land at either Tegel (TXL) or Schönefeld (SXF) Airport. Most flights from outside of Europe land at Tegel, flights on budget airlines typically land at Schönefeld. (Rumors of the existence of a large new airport called Berlin-Brandenburg International (BER) remain unsubstantiated, though you may see a large modern terminal building next to Schönefeld and wonder why it is not in use. So do we.)

Both airports are accessible via public transportation with travel times of about 45 minutes to the city center.

• Public transport links at Tegel: There is no U-/S-Bahn station at Tegel, but you can catch bus lines TXL, 109 and X9 in front of the main terminal building. Line TXL connects to the S-Bahn at Beusselstr. in less than 10 minutes, and in 30 to 40 minutes gets you directly to the major transit hubs at Hauptbahnhof and Alexanderplatz. Lines 109 and X9 each take under 10 minutes to get to Jakob-Kaiser-Platz (line U7) and Jungfernheide (also U7 plus the S-Bahn ring line). Tegel is in transit zone B, so you will need to buy a ticket for zones A and B; this is the same ticket that you need for almost everything else.
• Public transport links at Schönefeld: There is a train station at Schönefeld which serves as the southeastern terminus of S-Bahn lines S9 and S45, running once every 10 to 20 minutes depending on time of day. From this station you can also take a regional express train (the Airport Express), which runs about twice an hour and takes 30 minutes to reach Berlin Hauptbahnhof, also stopping at Alexanderplatz, Friedrichstraße and Zoologischer Garten. The same ticket you would need for the S-Bahn is also valid on the Airport Express. Achtung: Schönefeld is in transit zone C, so you will most likely need a ticket for all three zones to get from there to your destination. (For most other significant destinations in Berlin you only need a ticket for zones A and B — see getting around the city below.)

By Train

Almost all long-distance trains to Berlin stop at Berlin Hauptbahnhof (central station). Many also stop at Bahnhof Südkreuz south of the center, Bahnhof Gesundbrunnen north of the center, and/or Ostbahnhof east of the center; depending on the location of your hotel, one of those other stations may be more convenient for you. All of these stations are connected to the S-Bahn network.

All public transportation in Berlin is operated by the BVG, which divides the city into three transit zones (A, B and C) and uses a unified ticketing system, i.e. the same tickets are valid on all underground and overground trains (S-Bahn and U-Bahn) as well as public buses and trams (Straßenbahnen). The BVG website includes a very useful journey planner, which will tell you the quickest connection between any two points (stations or addresses) in Berlin.

(click for a complete interactive map of the U-/S-Bahn network).

There are no gates or turnstiles at entrances to stations, but tickets are sometimes checked by plain-clothes control officers riding on trains or trams; on buses, you should normally show your ticket to the driver upon boarding.

The most commonly needed ticket for individual trips is a single ticket (Einzelfahrschein) Berlin AB: this is good for all travel within zones A and B for up to 2 hours after validation and can be bought for 2.80€ from automated machines in all U- or S-Bahn stations or in trams, or from the bus driver when you board a bus. If the distance of your trip is at most 3 stations in the U-/S-Bahn network or up to 6 stops on a single bus/tram line, then you can instead buy a Short-trip ticket (Kurzstrecke) for 1.70€. Important: unless you are buying a ticket from a bus driver, all tickets need to be validated (entwertet) before you start your journey — this is done by sticking them into validation machines which can be found on every platform or inside buses/trams.

If you expect to make at least three trips on public transport in one day, then it is worth buying a Day ticket (Tageskarte), which is good for an unlimited number of rides until 3:00am the next morning. There also exist special tickets for tourists that allow unlimited rides for 48 or 72 hours, but these cost more than buying individual Tageskarten for a few days. We can easily reimburse the cost of Tageskarten if you are receiving travel support from us.

Note that almost all important places in Berlin are in zones A or B of the BVG network, including the workshop location, all major long-distance train stations, and Tegel Airport. The only notable exception is Schönefeld Airport, which is in zone C and thus not covered by tickets for zones A and B.

The workshop will take place in Room 2094 at the HU Berlin's Hauptgebäude (Main Building), located in the central Mitte district, at Unter den Linden 6, 10099 Berlin (see map below). The nearest S/U-Bahn station is Friedrichstraße, which is between 5 and 10 minutes away on foot. A few bus lines also stop right in front of the Main Building: the relevant bus stop is "Staatsoper". You can find out from the journey planner on the BVG website whether any of these buses are convenient for you.

Achtung: Do not go to the HU Berlin mathematics department! That is in Adlershof, which is nowhere near Unter den Linden.

Special note about Friday, March 8: The government of the city of Berlin recently proclaimed March 8 as an official public holiday, so almost all stores and public buildings will be closed. The front entrance of the Main Building will also be locked(!) on that day, but the building will be open and accessible from the back via Dorotheenstraße, through the courtyard.

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