The city: Erlangen is a small city in Middle Franconia, in the northern part of Bavaria, Germany. A bike-friendly city (Fahrradstadt) with a very good standard of living, Erlangen belongs to the Nuremberg Metropolitan Region, one of the strongest economic areas in Germany. Together with Nuremberg, it is home to the Friedrich-Alexander-Universität (FAU) Erlangen-Nürnberg, the third largest university in Bavaria. 

How to get here:

• by plane: the closest airport is the Nuremberg airport (NUE), from which Erlangen can be reached in quick times by bus or S-bahn (see below). Besides, the Munich (MUC) and Frankfurt (FRA) international airports can be reached by train or bus respectively in ≈2h30min and ≈3h.

• by train: Erlangen is well-connected to all major German cities by regional, intercity, or express train; you can arrange your trip and buy tickets by using the Deutsche Bahn website or by downloading the DB Navigator app.

How to move around: local transportation in the Nuremberg region is managed by VGN. In particular, the city of Erlangen has an extensive bus network. All tickets can be purchased via the DB Navigator app: you can buy either single-trip tickets (to be validated in a short time span after the purchase) or day tickets. Bus trips in the city center are free of charge: see here for details.

Accommodation: we reserved rooms for all invited speakers at Hotel Stadthaus (Henkestraße 4, 91054 Erlangen), in the center of Erlangen. All major points of interests of the city are at a walking distance from here. The bus stop Erlangen Arcaden (named after the largest shopping center of the city) is just across the street.

Venue: the workshop will be held at the newly founded Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light (Staudtstraße 2, 91058 Erlangen). The building is located in the nature-surrounded scientific campus of FAU, in the south-eastern part of Erlangen. From the hotel, you can easily reach the venue by bus in circa 20 mins (easiest option: bus no. 20 from Erlangen Arcaden to Erlangen Staudtraße), or in circa 35 mins by foot. All talks will be held in the Leuchs-Russell Auditorium on the first floor; lunches and coffee breaks will be held right outside the same room.

Posters: a poster session, together with a welcome reception, will be held in the afternoon of December 11 in the library at the second floor of the building. In the remaining days of the workshop, the posters will be brought on the first floor, outside the auditorium, so that participants will be able to read and discuss them during lunches and coffee breaks.

Conference dinner: all participants are invited to a friendly get-together on December 12, at 18:00, at the historical brewery Steinbach Bräu. Here you will have the opportunity to enjoy some typical Franconian beer and food (vegetarian/vegan options are available). We will reach the location by bus together.

Other tips: typical Christmas markets are organized throughout the festive period in all major cities of Franconia. Erlangen has three Christmas markets; among those, we recommend the Historischer Weihnachtsmark, in the heart of Erlangen, which can be reached from the venue (easiest option: bus no. 20 from Erlangen Staudtraße to Erlangen Arcaden). We suggest to pay a visit there all together after the poster session on Wednesday 11. The market is open until 21:00.

If you have time to explore the region, we highly recommend a visit to the Christkindlesmarkt in Nuremberg, one of the oldest and most famous Christmas markets of the world.