9^th International Symposium on

Accommodation

Special rates for accommodation are offered for staying in Clarion Congress Hotel Prague. Should you need any help with your accommodation, please email RAFA2019@vscht.cz.

Airport

Prague International airport gets flights from Europe and from overseas. More information on travelling is available here.

Badges

You will receive your name badge at the registration. The name badge must be worn at all the time of conference.

Climate

Prague is located in the Central Europe and both Atlantic and continental circulation influence the weather. In November, daytime temperatures are usually in range 4 – 6 °C. Please follow the weather forecast for central Europe before leaving for Prague (e.g. at www.weather.com).

Currency

The Czech currency is called Czech Crown (CZK, local abbrev. Kč), one CZK divides into 100 Hellers. Banknotes are circulated in values of 5 000, 2 000, 1 000, 500, 200 and 100 crowns with coins valued as 50, 20, 10, 5, 2 and 1 crowns. Czech Crown is fully convertible to EUR, USD, CHF, JPY and many other firm currencies. In hotels, major restaurants and shops, credit cards (e.g. Visa, MasterCard, AmEx etc.) or EUR are accepted as indicated at the entrances. The Czech currency can be obtained from ATP using your credit or debit cards as well as in many exchange offices. Exchange offices are located throughout the city centre (exchange offices, banks, post offices), at the airport or in banks elsewhere. It is advised to exchange money in banks rather than in the high street exchange offices. For the current exchange rate please click here .

Electricity

Electricity used in Czech Republic is 230 Volts / 50 Hz. A transformer is necessary for your electrical or electronic equipment if using different voltage (i.e. USA, Canada).Please make also sure to bring adapters since sockets in your country may differ from those in the Czech Republic.

Entry into the Czech Republic

Czech Republic is a member of the European Union. The participants from particular countries are required to have valid visa. Please take your passport as a personal identification document even when being an EU citizen.

Insurance and Liability

Participants are strongly recommended to take out adequate cover for health, travel and private liability insurance. The organisers cannot accept any liability for loss or damage of properties, injuries, unexpected events, non-appearance of specific speakers, program changes.

Internet connection

Wi-Fi free access for all conference participants will be available during the whole conference.

Language

The official language of the conference will be English, no simultaneous translation will be provided.

Official letters of Invitation

Invitation letters for short-stay visa purposes can be requested and will be issued by the symposium secretariat upon request. Delegates requiring visas should request a visa invitation letter from the organisers at the time of registering for the event, ensuring sufficient time is left for applications to be completed. Delegates are then responsible for contacting the relevant/appropriate embassy themselves. The organizers can do nothing further to assist this process. Should you require an official letter of invitation to obtain your visa to enter the Czech Republic, please contact RAFA2019@vscht.cz. Please note that the organisers do not undertake any obligation to pay any expenses incurred by supplying these letters. The organizers also will not act as an intermediary between the foreign police and will not provide notarized invitation letters. Furthermore, for some countries, a confirmation of registration with payment may be required by the organizers/authorities.

Passports and Visas

There is visa-free entry for citizens of most European countries, Australia, Canada and the United States. If necessary, visas are issued by diplomatic missions of the Czech Republic in a given country. The Czech Republic is a member of the Schengen area. Inhabitants of contractual states are allowed to cross borders between states within this area without undergoing border controls. Still, inhabitants of these states have the obligation to carry a passport or identity card with them.

Some countries require a visa. Please contact your nearest Czech Embassy or Consulate for further information or visit the website of Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs (www.mzv.cz). List of countries with visa waiver regime with the Czech Republic can be found here. Visitors from non-EU Countries must possess a passport valid for at least a 3 month stay. Participants requiring a visa should apply immediately to a consular office or diplomatic mission of the Czech Republic in their country in order to avoid a delayed arrival to the Conference. Please note that the visa application procedure can take up to two months. It is not possible to obtain a visa at the Prague Airport.

Taxi

When taking a taxi, make sure the taxi is equipped with a permanently installed yellow roof lamp with the TAXI sign in black letters. The registration number, company name and the price per kilometere and one-minute-waiting rate must be displayed on both front doors with the prices set on the meter inside the cab. Participants are recommended to order a taxi with non-stop dispatching office where the information on fares is available in advance. For example AAA Taxi provides excellent service within Prague (14 0 14 (local phone number), +420 222 333 222, www.aaataxi.cz). Another option is for example www.liftago.com.

Telephone numbers

The Czech Republic telephone country code is +420 (00420).

• Emergency call 112
• Medical emergency 155
• Police 158
• Fire emergency 150
• Municipal police 156
• Emergency road service/car breakdown 1230, 1240
• Directory inquiries (Prague and the Czech Republic) 1180
• Directory inquiries (international) - both telephone and fax numbers, call services and prices 1181

Time difference

The Czech Republic is located in the Central European Time Zone. Central European Time (CET) is 1 hour ahead of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT+1).

Tipping

Service is almost always included in hotel and restaurant bills. A further tip of a few coins is appropriate. If you are satisfied with a service in the restaurant, you can leave tips. The waiter has in no way the right to require that. If you choose to provide it, its amount is usually 5-10% of the cost.

Transportation

The public transportation in Prague is very easy and efficient, mote information can be found here. How to reach the conference centre

Visas

More information about visas is available in the article about Official letters of Invitation and Passports and Visas.

Vocabulary

Even though you do not speak Czech yet, everyone is pleased when they hear a foreigner trying to communicate in the language of the country they are visiting. Be it in a restaurant, on the street, in a shop or anywhere else, basic conversational phrases like „Děkuji” and „Dobrý den” will definitely come in handy.

In English	Czech
Hello! (Good day!)	Dobrý den!
Hi!	Ahoj! / Čau!
Good morning!	Dobré ráno!
Good night!	Dobrou noc!
Good bye!	Na shledanou!
Bye! See you!	Ahoj! / Čau!
See you later!	Na shledanou později!
Please.	Prosím.
Excuse me.	S dovolením.
I' m sorry.	Promiňte.
Thank you.	Děkuji.
Thanks.	Dík(y).
You are welcome!	Prosím. / Není zač.
Yes.	Ano.
No.	Ne.
Entrance.	Vchod.
Exit.	Východ.
Open.	Otevřeno.
Closed.	Zavřeno.
No smoking.	Zákaz kouření. / Kouření zakázáno.
bridge	most
castle	hrad
chateau	zámek
church	kostel
garden	zahrada
river	řeka
shop	obchod, prodejna
square	náměstí
station	nádraží
stop	stanice, zastávka
street	ulice
theatre	divadlo
town	město