Soon, you will travel to Berlin to the WikidataCon :) On this page, we tried to collect all the practical information that you may need. Feel free to update it or add more things. Please note that more information can be found on the pages about the location, travel or accommodation.
We expect a pretty warm autumn at the end of October in Berlin. Forecast announces between 14°C and 18°C during the day, with a slight possibility of rain on Friday 24th and rather sunny on the next days. In the night, temperatures can drop down to 8°C: please consider bringing warm clothes, scarf, winter hat, etc.
End of daylight saving time: In Europe, a change from summer to standard time happens on the last week-end of October. This transition will happen during the night between Saturday, October 26th and Sunday 27th: at 03:00, the new time will be 02:00. Please take this into account, especially if you are catching a plane or a train, or if you plan to attend to one of the side events. Your electronic devices connected to Internet may change automatically to standard time.
On Friday and Saturday, sunrise will be at 07:50 and sunset at 17:50. On Sunday 27th, sunrise will be at 06:50 (after the time change) and sunset at 16:50.
Make sure you have cash! In Berlin and in Germany in general, people tend to prefer paying cash than with cards, phones or other modern devices. A lot of restaurants and bars don't have a payment card device at all. If you plan to go out and buy stuff, we advise you to carry some euros in cash with you (50€ is enough). (if you want to understand why, you can read this article or this one)
Berlin is generally a safe and open-minded city, where people will tell you "be careful, your bag is open" rather than stealing your wallet, and most of the time mind their own business without interacting with you. However, like in any big city, there may be incidents, pickpockets, scams, or various acts of violence. Be careful with your personal belongings, especially in very touristic and/or crowded areas.
European number for medical emergencies: 112
Police: 110
During the conference (from Friday at 19:00 to Saturday at 22:00), all participants must comply with the Friendly Space Policy. Four people from WMF's code of conduct committee will be onsite to report any issue or support you. Feel free to reach them or one of the volunteers. (more info tba)
During the conference (from Friday evening to Saturday evening), the food provided by the organization team will be entirely vegetarian. Vegan options will be provided. (menus tba)
At the conference venue, we will offer warm drinks (tea, coffee) as well as water, fruit juice and mate-flavored soda. No further sodas will be provided, you can find some easily outside of the venue (see shop sections above)
Alcohol will be served on specific occasions (welcome meetup, dinners) with a limit per person, in order to minimize the risk of issues due to alcohol consumption. Bringing your own alcohol supplies in any of the conference locations is forbidden.
Food will be provided by the organization team at the following times:
Thursday evening at the welcoming meetup (meal for scholars, snacks for other participants)
Friday lunch, snacks in the afternoon, dinner
Saturday lunch, snacks in the afternoon, dinner
Breakfast is not provided at the venue, it is usually included in your hotel or hostel booking
A sweets table will take place in the venue, feel free to bring sweets from your home country or region!
If you eat outside in Berlin: the city is generally pretty vegetarian and vegan friendly, you will find a broad offer of partially or fully vegan restaurants or street food shops
Power plugs and sockets used in GermanyThese power plugs will also fit German sockets
In Germany, the power plugs and sockets are of type F. The standard voltage is 230 V and the standard frequency is 50 Hz (source). Many French-style plugs also work; if you're coming from the USA, the UK, or another region of the world, you may need an adapter.
In the conference venue and in Wikimedia Deutschland's office, wifi will be provided. Most of the hotels provide wifi connection as well (with various levels of security and quality). In the streets, you can find some mobile network, eg 4G.
Various shops and supermarkets allow you to buy a local SIM card (for example the Netto supermarkets)
Transports: not all U-bahn (underground) stations in Berlin are accessible. Some of them don't have elevators for example. Some of the tram lines are also not accessible. The safest way is usually to take the bus. The BVG website offers a page to plan an accessible route.
Conference venue: the conference venue should be entirely wheelchair accessible, with elevators that can be taken autonomously, accessible toilets, large ways, relatively light doors. We tried to check everything we could, but if you encounter any issue onsite, feel free to contact us at info@wikidatacon.org.
Wikimedia Deutschland: the office is accessible except for the toilets that don't offer specific wheelchair-accessibility devices. We apologize for the inconvenience.
Hotels: depending on the locations, accessibility is not always ensured. If you have any specific need, we advise you to call or write to the hotel management to double-check that they took your needs in account, providing specific details about what you need.
The main language in Germany is of course German, but since Berlin is a very touristic city, most of the people, staff in shops, etc. should be able to speak English at a basic level.
