Institute of Formal and Applied Linguistics

 

• 2015-09-15 Notes are available at https://sites.google.com/site/yrrsdsmmxv/roundtable-notes
• 2015-09-15 Photos are available at https://sites.google.com/site/yrrsdsmmxv/
• 2015-08-29 We accidentally put wrong date for Day 0 informal evening- correct date is August 30
• 2015-08-17 Do not forget to bring your poster! (Format: A0/portrait)
• 2015-08-17 Tentative program updated see https://sites.google.com/site/yrrsdsmmxv/program
• 2015-08-15 For more information see the YRRSDS website which contains information about the event itself, registration as well as previous previous workshops.

 

Venue

1st floor (2nd floor in US counting), Room S9
Computer Science Building, Charles University in Prague

Address:
Faculty of Mathematics and Physics
Charles University in Prague
Malostranské náměstí 25
118 00 Prague 1
Czech Republic

• View the venue on Google maps

Getting Around

See the annotated Google Map for useful locations around the conference venue. Most of them are described below in greater detail. 

Location of the workshop

• Faculty of Mathematics and Physics: http://ufal.mff.cuni.cz/
• Malostranské náměstí 25, 118 00 Praha, Czech Republic, Rooms S9, S10, S11

Wheather in Prague

Wi-Fi at the venue

There is an Eduroam coverage in the whole building (as well as in other university buildings around the city and even train stations), so Eduroam will just work if you already have access to it.

Passwords to the conference Wi-Fi network will be provided upon arrival.

Public Transport

Prague has an excellent public transport network that includes Metro (subway), trams, buses, suburban trains, and river ferries. It is the recommended means of transportation around the city. It operates 5am-midnight, with some night trams running overnight. It is quite reliable and safe (safe to the extent as any capital city may be – beware of pickpockets!).

Basic ticket prices (more details can be found on the Prague Transport Co. website):

• basic – 90 minutes: 32 CZK (1.30 USD/1.20 EUR)
• short-term – 30 minutes: 24 CZK (1 USD/0.90 EUR)
• unlimited 24hr ticket: 110 CZK (4.50 USD/4 EUR)
• unlimited 72hr ticket: 310 CZK (12.80 USD/11.30 EUR)

Any transfers are allowed among regularly scheduled routes within the city limits and within the max.\ time bought. The unlimited 24hr/72hr tickets pay off only if you take more than 4 trips per day.

Tickets must be bought before boarding, either at ticket machines (most of them accept CZK coins only) at some tram stops and most subway stations, or at some newspaper stands. One such newspaper stand is directly at Malostranské náměstí, and a ticket machine is at the tram stop at Malostranské náměstí.

Tickets have to be stamped upon entry to the first tram/bus/subway station (stick the ticket into any of the yellow boxes with a slot; it will print the validity start time).

Taxis

Taxi drivers in the Prague city center are notorious for overcharging. This happens mostly when taking a “no-name” taxi on the street, so to be on the safe side, order taxis of larger companies such as AAA, 111 airport cars, or TickTack online or on the phone. Taxi stands at the airport and the train stations should be OK (more details given above).

When using a taxi, ask about the fare and payment options (CC, EUR) beforehand.

Currency

The local currency is the Czech Crown (Česká Koruna, CZK). The exchange course was about 24 CZK/1 USD and 27 CZK/1 EUR in August 2015.

• Current exchange rates of the Czech National Bank

When exchanging currency on the street, always check for commission charge and/or worse rates for lower amounts exchanged. Depending on the conditions of your home bank, the best way to get Czech Crowns might be using an ATM, which are plentiful around the city (in that case, letting your bank handling the exchange is usually preferrable to using the ATM's rate).

Here are some exchange offices known to offer reasonable rates without commission charges:

• Exchange.cz (Kaprova 13, in the Old Town)
• Superior Investments (Štefánikova 25, near the Nový Smíchov shopping center)
• Numedia Change (Malostranské náměstí 19, near the venue)

Important note for non-EU citizens

All citizens of countries outside the Schengen area must have a passport valid for at least 3 months after departure date in order to travel into an EU country.

Restaurants

Here is a non-exhaustive list of lunch/dinner options around the conference venue (you can find them all on the annotated Google Map):

• Profesní dům – rather a cafeteria, not great, but OK and you do not have to leave the building (just go down to -1st floor)
• Malostranská beseda – a Czech/international restaurant, just across the street from the venue
• Pivo & Basilico – a stylish international restaurant offering pizza and pasta as well as Czech cuisine (just around the corner from the venue)
• Malostranská Ferdinanda – a Czech restaurant with good and cheap daily lunch menus, a bit limited choice in the evening (5 minutes from the venue)
• Lokál U Bílé kuželky – a Czech restaurant/pub with traditional meals and Pilsner beer (5 minutes from the venue)
• Konírna – a stylish Czech restaurant serving traditional and modern cuisine (this is where the conference dinner will take place, it's 5 minutes from the venue)
• Kočár z vídně – a stylish restaurant serving imperial Austrian cuisine (5 minutes from the venue)
• Baráčnická rychta – a traditional Czech restaurant/pub (7 minutes from the venue)
• Barbar – a stylish restaurant offering international cuisine (10 minutes from the venue, or 2 tram stops)
• Green Spirit – a vegetarian café restaurant (about 7 minutes from the venue)
• Golden Tikka – Indian restaurant (about 20 minutes from the venue, in the Old Town)
• Ananta – oriental-style vegetarian restaurant and tea house (about 15 mins. from the venue, or 3 tram stops)

Many restaurants in Prague offer daily lunch menus from about 11:30am till 2pm, with usualy two to five options, cheaper and faster than the usual menu.