General

Aachen is a mid-sized university city. It is the most westernmost city of Germany, sharing borders with the Netherlands and Belgium. The central location of Aachen brings along a powerful cultural mix and excellent connections for central European metropolis.

The city itself is over 2,000 years old and has been populated since Roman times. The city is famous for its thermal springs, which were already known for Romans who built the first public baths. The original Latin name of the town, Aquis grani (Aquisgrana), originates from these times. The city still has sulfur-rich springs and bathing possibilities, which might be tempting also for DySPAN visitors.

The old historical centre of the city includes the main cathedral, the Dom, which has been proclaimed a UNESCO cultural heritage site. The cathedral is some 1200 years old, and it dates from the time of Charles the Great, who made the city one of his Imperial Capitals. Next to it is also the gothic city hall. For over 500 years, most kings of Germany, who were reigning over the Holy Roman Empire, were crowned King of the Germans in Aachen. The city has seen also a lot of more modern historical activity, and its cultural mix is proven by the fact that it has name not only in German and Latin, but also in French (Aix la Chapelle) and in Dutch (Aken).

The DySPAN conference dinner will be organized in the crowning hall of the kings. The organizing committee is also seeking the possibility to organize some other sightseeing opportunities for the participants.

One can find additional information in Aachen from http://www.aachen.de/en/ts/Current_information/index.html and http://www.aachen-emotion.com/

Location and Traveling

The location of Aachen is very central and it is easily reachable also for intercontinental travelers. Dusseldorf International Airport serves as our “home airport”. There is a very regular and fast direct train connection from the airport to Aachen, although one might also choose to take a rental car and drive in about 45 minutes to Aachen.

Other suitable airports with easy connections are Cologne Airport (ca. 50 minutes with car to Aachen) and Brussels International Airport (Train connection from Brussels City to Aachen takes ca. 1 h 15 min). At slightly longer distance, but also offering excellent connections is the Frankfurt am Main International Airport (rapid train leaves directly from the airport). Maastricht airport (20 minutes away) may also offer connections especially for participants arriving from Southern Europe.

Both Dusseldorf and Cologne metropolitan areas are within 65 km (40 mi.) distance from Aachen, Maastricht in the Netherlands is just 30 km (20 mi.) away, and Brussels is 125 km (77 mi.) away. The train connections in Europe and Aachen-Maastricht area are very fast, and provide also post-conference travel opportunities. The travel time to Paris with a rapid train is 2h 30 min and to Brussels 1h 15 min.

Weather

Aachen has a typical Northern European oceanic climate, with warm summers and mild winters. While the city does get its share of rain, May is usually a relatively dry month, with typical daytime temperatures ranging from 10 to 20 degrees Celsius (50-70 degrees Fahrenheit). If the last May is an indication the delegates should be prepared a rather warm, ca. 18-22 Celcius, weather but be prepared for occasional rain showers.

Visa

Germany is one of the 25 countries making up the Schengen area, and thus accessible for most Schengen Visa holders and residents of EU member states without an additional visa. Germany has also a number of visa waiver agreements in place, enabling the nationals of a number of countries outside European Union to enter Germany without a visa for business or tourism. Detailed information on visa requirements is available from the Federal Foreign Office of Germany:

http://www.auswaertiges-amt.de/EN/EinreiseUndAufenthalt/Visabestimmungen_node.html

From the above website you will also find detailed instructions on the visa application process, should you require a visa to enter Germany.

Visa Assistance from IEEE Communications Society

The IEEE Communications Society can provide you with a letter to assist with the VISA process if you meet one of the following conditions.

• You are the Author of a Technical Paper that has been accepted in the conference or a keynote, tutorial or panel speaker.
• You have registered for the conference with full payment.

Authors should use EDAS to retrieve their personalized visa assistance letters (soft copy in PDF format) from the "home page" of their accepted papers. Non‐Authors (Speakers, Committee Members, and paid attendees) requiring visa assistance letters, or authors needing a hard copy of the letter must complete a Comsoc Visa Assistance Request (http://www.comsoc.org/node/add/visa-assistance-request).

If you have additional questions, please contact:

Gayle Weisman
Conference Manager
g.weisman@comsoc.org