Venue, accommodation and logistics

The 2nd LOFAR Users meeting and the 2015 LOFAR Community Science workshop will take place at the inspiring building of theatre De Nieuwe Kolk in Assen. It is located in the centre of Assen, the capital of the province of Drenthe. See https://www.dnk.nl/algemeen/home

The 2nd LOFAR Users meeting will be held in Bioscoopzaal 2.
The LOFAR Science workshop will be held in the Rabo Zaal.

 

The address of the workshop venue is:
Theater De Nieuwe Kolk
Weiersstraat 1
9401 ET Assen
Phone +31 (0)88 012 8000

The theatre is situated one kilometre from Assen train station, so about 15 minutes walk. 

How to reach De Nieuwe Kolk (PDF)

 

The conference dinner will be held on Tuesday evening June 2 at Hotel de Jonge. For the other evenings, you can choose between a variety of restaurants in Assen. Please, have a look at the following link: Restaurants in Assen.

 

 

Hotel reservation

Participants are requested to make and pay for their own hotel reservation.
A block reservation has been made at two hotels in Assen. Note the expiration dates!
It is advisable to make a hotel reservation in time.   

 

Best Western City Hotel de Jonge *** (35 rooms in block reservation)
Brinkstraat 85
9401 HZ Assen
Phone +31 (0)592 312023

 

The hotel is situated in the centre of Assen.
Travel distance to De Nieuwe Kolk meeting location: 400 metres (walking). Since this hotel is close to the workshop venue, there will be no transportation provided by the LOC to/from De Nieuwe Kolk.
Price double room: € 69,50 per room per night. Breakfast: € 9,50.

 

To reserve a room: send an email to w.jager@hoteldejonge.nl, mention ‘LOFAR Science week’ and the details of your reservation.
Note that the block reservation will expire on 15 May 2015. Reservations after that date are on the basis of availability and prices will go up. 

 

Van der Valk Hotel Assen **** (50 rooms in block reservation)
Balkenweg 1
9405 CC Assen
Phone +31 (0)592 851515

 

Travel distance to De Nieuwe Kolk meeting location: 2,6 kilometres. In case you wish to rent a bike, please indicate this while you make the reservation. Cost of bike rental are 10 Euros per bike per day.  
Price double room: € 106 per room per night including breakfast. Room can be shared (max. 2 persons), please indicate clearly in your reservation in case you will share the room.

 

To reserve a room: send an email to info@assen.valk.nl and mention ‘LOFAR Science week’ and the details of your reservation. Note that the block reservation will expire on 3 April 2015. Reservations after that date are on the basis of availability and prices will go up. 

 

 

Transport from Van der Valk Hotel Assen to meeting location De Nieuwe Kolk & workshop dinner hotel

Due to a small number of people staying in Hotel Assen, taxi services will be available upon request.

 

Bus transportation Van der Valk Hotel Assen - meeting location De Nieuwe Kolk

Depending on the time of day, there is a bus connection once or twice per hour from Assen city centre to Van der Valk Hotel Assen, Balkenweg 1, Assen. To plan your bus trip, see http://www.9292.nl (also in English).

 

Taxi companies in Assen:

Taxi Dorenbos (0592 615000) or Taxi Kolk (0592 331122).

 

 

Public transportation in the Netherlands

From Amsterdam Schiphol airport, you should take the train to Assen. There are two connections per hour; one is direct and the other one is an indirect connection with one transfer in Zwolle.  
To plan your train trip, you can use the website of the Dutch trains in English language: http://www.ns.nl/en/travellers/home
If you want full information about all public transport in the Netherlands, see http://www.9292.nl (also in English). This travel advice includes bus, train, tram, metro.

 

Purchasing train tickets - at ticket machines or in advance via website
At Amsterdam Schiphol airport or any other railway station you should buy a train ticket (ticket has a chip) from the machine with a blue sign. These ticket machines accept creditcards  (Visa and Mastercard). Machines accept most debit cards with a Maestro logo.
More information about purchasing a ticket:
http://www.ns.nl/en/travellers/arrange-and-buy/tickets-and-passes/purchasing-tickets
and
http://www.ns.nl/en/travellers/arrange-and-buy/tickets-and-passes/purchasing-tickets/ns-self-service-ticket-machine.html

IMPORTANT: when you go in and out of a train you must check in and out at the machines at the entrance of the train. For more info: http://www.ns.nl/en/travellers/arrange-and-buy/tickets-and-passes/ticket-and-pass-types.
 
In case you want to buy a train ticket in advance, you may want to use https://www.b-europe.com/
This site allows anyone to buy train tickets (on a specific date) for the larger intercity trains using any standard credit card and print out the ticket. Train times match the timetable of the Dutch railways (NS). Print the ticket and bring it with you together with your passport. The Dutch railway company only allows buying e-tickets with a Dutch bankcard - that is why the above website is recommended. With this print ticket it is not necessary (yet) to check in and out.

 

 

Contact

If you have any additional questions please send us an email.