Travel and Logistics

In addition to what you would usually bring, don’t forget

an Ethernet cable;
if your notebook does not have an Ethernet port, an appropriate adapter;
a wifi adapter, if your notebook does not have wifi; and
a travel power adapter for Type F (“Schuko”) sockets, if needed.

It is hard for us to predict the weather in Bochum in October. Temperatures typically vary between 5 and 20 °C, and rain is possible. You should check a forecast shortly before travel and pack accordingly.

2.2 Getting to Bochum

We recommend flying into Frankfurt (FRA) or Düsseldorf (DUS). Cologne/Bonn (CGN) and Dortmund (DTM) are also reasonable, though getting from there to Bochum is a little more complicated.

Bochum is also reachable by train (via Bochum Hbf station), and we generally recommend taking the train from the airport to Bochum. You can check German train schedules at bahn.de.

Unfortunately, Deutsche Bahn construction works in October mean that long-distance train service to Bochum will be severely restricted. The online schedule already reflects this.

2.2.1 Frankfurt Airport (FRA)

Frankfurt Airport has a long-distance train station directly at the airport (Frankfurt Flughafen Fernbahnhof).

Normally, there is an hourly direct ICE from Frankfurt Airport to Bochum. Unfortunately, due to the construction work, that connection is only served in the evening, so if you arrive on Monday, you will have to take a different route to Bochum.

Reasonable options include taking the ICE to Gelsenkirchen Hbf and then RB46 to Bochum Hbf, or the ICE to Hagen Hbf and then RB40 to Bochum.

There are multiple connections every hour; it should take about 2.5 hours to get from FRA to Bochum.

2.2.2 Düsseldorf Airport (DUS)

Düsseldorf Airport also has a long-distance train station. Because the construction work is on the line from Düsseldorf to Duisburg, service at that station will be severely limited.

Instead, make your way to the S-Bahn (local transportation) stop “Düsseldorf Flughafen Terminal” below the terminal. This means not taking the SkyTrain that would normally take you to the long-distance trains.

From there, take S11 to Düsseldorf-Derendorf, S6 to Essen Hbf, and finally any one of RE6/RB40/S1 to Bochum Hbf. This takes about an hour; trains run every 30 minutes.

2.2.3 Cologne-Bonn Airport (CGN)

Getting from CGN to Bochum is somewhat more involved than from the prior two airports. You will want to check bahn.de or vrr.de for details.

Generally, you will take, e.g., S19 or RE6 to Köln Hbf (or Köln Messe/Deutz) and change into an ICE (or RE7) to Gelsenkirchen or Hagen, then proceed as from FRA.

At the time of writing, bahn.de offers three connections per hour, at about two hours of travel time.

2.2.4 Dortmund Airport (DTM)

Check vrr.de for options from Dortmund Airport. Generally, this involves first getting to Dortmund main station (via bus 490 and then subway U47, via a direct shuttle bus, or via the shuttle bus to Holzwickede station and RB59).

Shuttle bus tickets can only be bought offline.

From Dortmund Hbf, regional trains run to Bochum Hbf multiple times per hour. The total travel time is about 75 minutes.

2.2.5 By Car

Bochum is located on the A40 and A43 highways and generally easily reachable by car or coach. You can find the addresses for the venues in Venues.

2.2.6 Trains in Germany

There are a few things you should know about booking train tickets in Germany:

Deutsche Bahn does not sell tickets on its trains. Buy tickets before you get on the train. If you are flying, you may want to consider purchasing Rail&Fly tickets alongside your flights instead of buying separate tickets from DB (make sure to redeem the Rail&Fly voucher codes ahead of travel, though).

DB will show you connections that include trains run by private train companies (FlixTrain, Eurostar, etc.), but will sell you tickets only for the parts of the journey run by DB. Don’t end up without a ticket by accident!

DB sells “saver fares” (Sparpreis) tickets for its long-distance trains ahead of the travel day. Those tie you to a specific connection (that train, at that time), while flexible (Flexpreis) tickets do not. Make sure to check what kind of ticket you have!

Seat reservations are optional on DB long-distance trains. You only need to buy them if you want a guaranteed seat on a full train (the website will warn you). There are no seat reservations on regional trains.

You can buy tickets online (at bahn.de), or through the DB Navigator app.

If your train is cancelled or delayed, here are a few additional things you should know:

If you would miss a connection, or arrive 20 minutes (or more) late at your destination, your train-bound Sparpreis ticket is now a flexible ticket. The DB Navigator app will indicate this to you (“Zugbindung aufgehoben” / “take any train”). You can take any train of the same class (if you have an IC-only ticket, you have to pay a surcharge to take ICE trains) on the same route.

If you arrive 60 (or more) minutes late, remember to claim back 25% of your ticket price from DB. If you are two hours late, you can get 50% back.

2.3 Getting around Bochum

Public transport in Bochum is reliable and safe.

Buses and trams typically run until shortly after midnight during the week; on Friday and Saturday evenings, there are additional hourly night services (NE bus lines).

Public transport in Bochum is run by BOGESTRA. You can buy tickets on their website, in their “Mutti” app, or on-site in Bochum. Alternatively, you can use the app or website of the regional transport association VRR. DB Navigator and bahn.de also show current connections, as does the open-source Offi app.

2.4 Emergency Services

In case of emergency, call 112, the European emergency number.

You can also reach police directly at 110, but the 112 emergency dispatcher will forward you to police or other appropriate services; 112 should be your first call. Mobile phones should translate other emergency numbers (e.g., 999) to 112 automatically. Calling emergency numbers in Germany requires a valid SIM card, but this does not have to be German (your SIM card from home is sufficient).

For urgent but non-emergency medical assistance, call 116117 (“Ärztlicher Bereitschaftsdienst”).

To handle smaller injuries (e.g., cuts) or medical issues during the event, we will have medically trained staff on site.