2nd CU4 Meeting

Athens, 25-27 October 2006

ANNOUNCEMENT:

“The steering committee of CU4 agreed upon a two-day meeting in Athens

(at the National Observatory of Athens on the Penteli hill)

from October 25th early afternoon till October 27th late morning”

Dimitri Pourbaix, August 1, 2006

CONTENTS:

• REGISTRATION
  
  
• MEETING LOCATION
  
  
• HOW TO GET TO THE MEETING LOCATION
  
  
• HOTELS
  
  
• WORKSHOP DINNER
  
  
• AGENDA
  
  
• CONTACT INFORMATION
  
  
• USEFUL GREEK WORDS YOU MAY NEED
• With tools to help you learning to spell them properly
• and something about Greek food…

REGISTRATION

Please contact Dimitri Pourbaix ( pourbaix@astro.ulb.ac.be ) AND Dimitris Sinachopoulos ( ds@astro.noa.gr )

MEETING LOCATION

The meeting will be held at the National Observatory of Athens (NOA) on the Penteli Astronomical Station:

(see also: http://www.noa.gr/About/Campusen.html#PL2 )

Here is a satellite image of the Penteli Astronomical Station from GoogleEarth.

Full address of the Penteli Astronomical Station:

National Observatory of Athens
I. Metaxa & Vas. Pavlou
GR - 152 36 Palea Penteli, GREECE

Here is the address in Greek, in case you need it (e.g., in a taxi):

Εθνικό Αστεροσκοπείο Αθηνών

Ι. Μεταξά και Βασιλέως Παύλου

Λόφος Κουφού

15236 Παλαιά Πεντέλη

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HOW TO GET TO THE MEETING LOCATION

1. BY METRO AND/OR BUS
2. BY TAXI
   

1. BY METRO AND/OR BUS

Depending on where your hotel is located, you may need a combination of one metro and one bus to reach NOA Penteli:

• 1^st Route:

• Take metro line 3 (blue) and get off at HALANDRI station. The trip from city centre to HALANDRI takes 20-25 minutes.

• At HALANDRI station take bus No 426 and get off at “Penteli Square”. The name of the bus stop is "ΣΤΑΣΗ ΧΑΡΑΥΓΗ" (approximately pronounced as "STASSI HARAVGI"). You may find some photographs of the bus stop and instructions on how to pronounce its name here.
  

• The trip from HALANDRI to “Penteli Square” (or "STASI HARAVGI") takes 20 minutes.

• Bus No 426  timetable  –in Greek only, sorry. Numbers correspond to hours and minutes.
  

• Follow the path indicated in red color on the map above to go from Penteli Square to the entrance of the NOA, then continue to the Main Building. This walk takes approximately 10 minutes.
  

• 2^nd Route:

• Take metro line 1 (green) and get off at MAROUSSI station. The trip from city centre to MAROUSSI takes 25-30 minutes.

• At MAROUSSI station take bus No 446 and get off at “Penteli Square”. The name of the bus stop is "ΣΤΑΣΗ ΧΑΡΑΥΓΗ" (approximately pronounced as "STASSI HARAVGI"). You may find some photographs of the bus stop and instructions on how to pronounce its name here.

• The trip from MAROUSSI to “Penteli Square” takes about 40 minutes.

• Bus No 446  timetable –in Greek only, sorry. Numbers correspond to hours and minutes.

• Follow the path indicated in red color on the map above to go from Penteli Square to the entrance of the NOA, then continue to the Main Building. This walk takes approximately 10 minutes.

• 3^rd Route:

• From the centre of the Halandri suburb take bus No 451B and get off at "Penteli Square". The name of the bus stop is "ΣΤΑΣΗ ΧΑΡΑΥΓΗ" (approximately pronounced as "STASSI HARAVGI"). You may find some photographs of the bus stop and instructions on how to pronounce its name here.

  • The trip from Halandri centre to "Penteli Square" takes about 25 minutes.

  • Bus No 451B timetable –in Greek only, sorry. Numbers correspond to hours and minutes.
    

• Follow the path indicated in red color on the map above to go from Penteli Square to the entrance of the NOA, then continue to the Main Building. This walk takes approximately 10 minutes.

2. BY TAXI:

Athens area has (too) many taxis. They are much cheaper than in other European capitals, but this makes their use a little more complicated as well.

You should better ask your hotel reception in the evening to reserve a taxi for the next morning. If you ask on the same morning, it may be difficult for the receptionist to find a taxi for you promptly.

If you make no reservation, you could try to get a taxi in the street. In Greece, you can make a signal with your hand to any passing taxi, even if they already have another customer. The taxi will slow down near you, and you must tell the taxi driver (loudly!) your destination. In your case, you must say: “PALEA PENTELI”, or you can print and show him the following:

ΠΑΛΑΙΑ ΠΕΝΤΕΛΗ

ΑΣΤΕΡΟΣΚΟΠΕΙΟ

Usually you will have to share the taxi that you stopped in the street with other customers going in about the same direction as you.

Every customer sharing a taxi must pay the fare for his or her own trip and not only a part of it. You may want to pay attention to these indicative prices:

Routes and prices (depending on traffic conditions):

· From centre of Athens to NOA Penteli costs about €11, and takes about 45 minutes.

· From Maroussi Metro station to NOA Penteli costs about €6 and takes about 25 minutes.

· From Halandri Metro station to NOA Penteli costs about €5 and takes about 15 minutes

Notes:

1. Taxi prices and travel duration may be up to 20% higher depending on traffic conditions

2. The taxi driver is obliged to issue ONE receipt per travel, if the customer asks for it. Cut the following and show it to the taxi driver if you would like to receive a receipt:

ΠΑΡΑΚΑΛΩ ΝΑ ΜΟΥ ΔΩΣΕΤΕ ΑΠΟΔΕΙΞΗ
ΓΙΑ ΤΗ ΔΙΑΔΡΟΜΗ
ΚΑΙ ΓΙΑ ΤΟ ΠΟΣΟ ΠΟΥ ΣΑΣ ΠΛΗΡΩΣΑ
Ευχαριστώ

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HOTELS

TIP:

You may prefer to book a hotel close to a metro station for line 1 (green) or line 3 (blue)

For more information about the metro lines see http://www.ametro.gr

There are many hotels in Athens and you can easily find  a room.

You may reserve rooms using the following links:

· First, search for a room at the small HOTEL AKRAION which is closest to the meeting place. It is located 3 km away from NOA, and there are four bus lines serving NOA (~10 minute ride).

· Then look into the ACROPOLE hotel (~6 km from NOA) (http://www.acropol.gr/) in the suburb of Halandri.

· Here is a long list of hotels:

http://athens.gtahotels.com/hotels/0.htm

· Another list of hotels with a refined search engine (select your language at the top of the page):

http://www.booking.com/city/gr/athens.html?aid=303626&label=athens-gr

· Many more in Google, searching for “hotels Athens”

You may find this map of the centre of Athens useful.

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WORKSHOP DINNER

The workshop social dinner will be on the evening of October 26

at the restaurant “O Telis”, a ten-minute walk from the NOA.

The restaurant location is indicated on the map with the “Bus Stop” label near “Penteli Monastery”:

Have a look at the small restaurant web page www.otelis.gr (in Greek, but the photographs give an idea).

Reservation for the workshop dinner has been made in a flexible way, so that participants will be expected after the end of the day's work session.

THE MENU:

1. One plate of five different Greek appetizers per person.
2. Main dish: Each person can select from a variety of about fifty items, as listed here.
3. Fresh salad
4. Bread
5. Variety of five cheeses (four of them Greek), and
6. Variety of fresh Fruits

THE DRINKS:

• Free (unlimited) consumption of table wine (red, rosé, or white: simple wines, tested and approved...)
• Beer(s)
• Refreshments (Coke, lemonades etc.)
• Bottled water
  
  The consumption of  all these drinks is "unlimited".
  

The cost is €30 per person

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CONTACT INFORMATION

Local Organizing Committee:

• Dr. Dimitris Sinachopoulos ( ds@astro.noa.gr )   or   Panos Gavras ( pgavras@astro.noa.gr )
• Telephone: +30 210 8109174
• Address:

National Observatory of Athens
Metaxa I. & Vas. Pavlou
GR – 15236 Palea Penteli

GREECE

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USEFUL GREEK WORDS

Here you can find a list of Greek words that could be useful during your stay.

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(This page was designed and  created by D. Sinachopoulos, IAA-NOA, 2006)