General Site Information

INDOEX Worshop, September 8-11, 1999 (September 11 for ISG only)
Utrecht University

INDOEX Workshop Venue

The conference will be held at the University Center (‘De Uithof’) of Utrecht University. ‘De Uithof’ is a suburb of Utrecht (http://www.uu.nl/maps/utrecht_city.html) and can be reached easily from the city centre within 15 minutes. http://www.uu.nl/maps/de_uithof.html

Utrecht University http://www.uu.nl/home_eng.html
P.O. Box 80125
3508 TC Utrecht

Bestuursgebouw
Heidelberglaan 8
3584 CS Utrecht
Netherlands
Tel: +31 (0)30 253 35 50
Fax: +31 (0)30 253 33 88

Utrecht and the Netherlands

Utrecht

Utrecht (http://www.utrecht.nl/) is situated in the heart of the Netherlands, approximately 35 kilometres from Amsterdam. Universiteit Utrecht, (http://www.uu.nl/home_eng.html), the largest university of the country with 25,000 students, strongly influences the atmosphere of Utrecht. In the crowded but friendly centre, you will find many shops and restaurants. Utrecht’s greatest tourist attractions are the old wharves along the Oudegracht and the unique waterside footpaths.

Public transport from Schiphol International Airport

Utrecht is easy to reach. It is centrally situated in the Netherlands and lies at the hub of the Dutch motorway and railway networks. Utrecht offers air travellers good road and rail connections with Schiphol International Airport: (http://www.schiphol.nl/).

Train
Trains leave Schiphol Airport for Utrecht every 30 minutes; 12 and 42 minutes past the hour. The journey takes 40 minutes, changing trains at Duivendrecht station (direct connection). Cost Dfl. 13.25 for a single ticket.
http://nsr1.ns.nl/reisplan2.asp. A bus station is outside the train station (Bus 11 and Bus 12 go directly to the Universiteit Utrecht)

Taxi
If you phone the Utrecht Taxi Company (UTC) in advance, (Tel: + 31 (0)30 2300400) a taxi will be waiting for you. Costs: Dfl. 110. If you call UTC from Schiphol, you will have to wait 40 minutes. A taxi from Schiphol costs Dfl. 150. These are daytime rates.

Transportation in Utrecht

Bus
Bus 11 and Bus 12 go directly to the Universiteit Utrecht (approximately 20 minutes from the station to the University). A 'strippenkaart' is needed to travel by bus. This is a 'zone-card' which should be stamped every time you step on a bus or tram. For travel within the centre of Utrecht, one zone (= 2 strips) should be stamped. From the center to the Uithof is another zone, so it will cost 3 strips. The driver will stamp your 'strippenkaart' as you enter the bus. The 'strippenkaart' can be bought at railway stations, post offices and tobacco kiosks/tabacconist's shop. Costs: Dfl. 11,75 for a card with 15 strips.

Train-taxi
You can share a train-taxi when you arrive at Utrecht Central Station by train. You buy the train-taxi ticket already at Schiphol Railway Station together with your train ticket. Costs: ± Dfl. 7.

Hotel Reservations
The Utrecht Hotel Service (UHS) can help you make your hotel reservation. Please use the hotel reservation form.

Credit Cards
International credit cards such as Eurocard, Mastercard, (http://www.eurocard.nl/) Amex and Visa (http://www.visa.com) are widely accepted in hotels, restaurants and shops in The Netherlands.

Banks and Exchange
Facilities for cashing travellers' cheques are available at banks, most hotels and the foreign exchange offices (GWK: http://www.gwk.nl/).

Banks in Utrecht and Amsterdam are open from 10.00 - 17.00, Monday-Friday. Some are also open on Thursday evenings from 18.00 - 21.00. They are not open on weekends.

The foreign exchange offices (GWK) in Utrecht Central Station and Amsterdam Central Station are open Monday-Saturday from 08.00 - 21.00 and on Sunday from 09.00 - 21.00. The Dutch currency is the Guilder (written as Dfl., fl., ƒ or NLG). A guilder consists of 100 cents. The average 1 US $ rate varies from Dfl. 2.07 to Dfl. 2.11 (Dfl. 2.07 rate as of 1-7-1999).

http://www.gwk.nl/cgi-bin/koersconverter
http://www.euro.nl/home.htm

Post office
Post offices are generally open from 09.00 - 17.00, Monday-Friday and on Saturday morning 09.00-12.30.

Passport and visa
Visitors from abroad require a passport to enter The Netherlands. Citizens of some countries may require visas. Participants are advised to check the requirements for entry into the Netherlands well in advance. The organisation will provide letters of invitation if these are needed for obtaining visas.

Climate
The climate of The Netherlands is under a strong maritime influence which produces relatively slight annual temperature variations and rain throughout the year. In October, the average day-time temperature is about 10°C and the evenings can be chilly. A sweater, umbrella and raincoat may be needed.

http://www.knmi.nl/voorl/weer/reindex.html
www.worldtime.com/

Electricity
European electricity is 220 v; American appliances require a transformer/converter and a special adapter to fit outlets.