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[Wawik]

Is it really less than three weeks? Gosh, time flies! Time to panic!

Here are some last-minute errata. Watch this space for updates as EF comes closer.

Traffic

As of August 21, there are no known traffic restrictions or major roadworks in the general vicinity of Magdeburg.
There are some relatively minor timetable changes on local trains, these do not affect the long-distance connections in any significant way. An up-to-date map can be found at http://bauarbeiten.bahn.de/sachsen-anhalt,2 .

Elbe flooding

You've probably seen it in the news, the tide is rising in several places in East Germany again and houses are being flooded. Whilst Eurofurence is still a few days away, this may lead to disruptions on the rail and/or road network, especially concerning those going via the Southeastern route and Dresden.
The railway line between Dresden and Prague is currently closed due to flooding. Please check current updates before you travel: http://www.bahn.de/blitz/view/index.shtml

BAA strike

Industrial action in the UK might affect flights from and to Heathrow, Stansted, Southampton, Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen airports. See http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-10954851

Mobile phones

If you fancy getting a mobile phone or a SIM card for data usage whilst in Germany, there are several options available. Mobile network providers that are recommendable are O2 and its resellers (Fonic, Tchibo, Lidl Mobile) and E-Plus resellers (Aldi Talk, Simyo, blau.de and others). The City Carré mall across the street offers several shops that sell mobile phones and SIM cards; if you fancy a slightly broader selection you might also try the Saturn electronics store at the Allee-Center mall, 200 metres north of the hotel.
Protip: If you have some German friends, ask if they can get you a Fonic pay-as-you-go card in advance. Real and DM sell them for 9.95 at the moment but redeem 1,000 Payback points for each purchase, meaning they're essentially free for Payback card holders.
Also, Lidl Mobile has a "buy 1, get 1 free" offer now where you can purchase two SIMs for €9.95.

Parking

Please see this thread for updated information.

Businesses in the vicinity

Restaurants and fast food: Plenty.  

Supermarket/housewares: Kaufland, City-Carré (50m W), open Mon-Sat 8-22.

Electronics/batteries/appliances: Saturn, Allee-Center (150m NE), open Mon-Sat 9-20.

Chemist/pharmacy: Apotheke am Hauptbahnhof (100m W), Rats-Apotheke (100m N), normal business hours 8-18. Hotel reception should have a directory of late-night pharmacies.

Drugstore: dm, Allee-Center (200m NE), open Mon-Thur 9-20, Fri 9-22, Sat 9-20

DIY stores: Hornbach, Silberbergweg 2 (5 km NW), open Mon-Sat 9-20

Clothing/Shoes: Karstadt, Breiter Weg (250m NE), open Mon-Sat 10-20 (and additional stores in the vicinity)

Panic

AAAIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!11

[Mazin]

Speaking of prepaid SIM cards, do they have packages that include data *and* voice? Or is it a case of buying one card for phone calls and another for data?

[Wawik]

Speaking of prepaid SIM cards, do they have packages that include data *and* voice? Or is it a case of buying one card for phone calls and another for data?

Most cards these days come with a pre-activated volume data tarrif (typically 24 cents/MB) and have additional data packages that can be added by text message (i.e. 500 MB/1 GB/daily flat fees)

Best data options for short time use right now are IMO:

Fonic - 2.50 per day on HSPA

O2 - 1 GB/15 EUR (9.95 on a Tchibo SIM)

Aldi - 5 GB / 15 EUR (but no HSPA)

Stay away from Vodafone and T-Mobile. Their PAYG packages are dreadful.

[Wawik]

Moved to parent post.

[Mazin]

Rats-Apotheke

I smell a fursuit photoshoot!

By the way, thankyouthankyou THANK YOU for posting this info up!

[Korrok]

Any chance of adding details for an art supply/generic stationary store?

[Alpha_Ki]

Hey Korrok,

google just found one artists supply store:

Mal- u.Künstlerbedarf Passepartout
Mörikestraße 2
39114 Magdeburg

But it's 4.4 kilometers away from the hotel.

[Korrok]

Thanks for the address! I'll jot it down "just in case".

Anything like generic stationary stores? (laminate, erasers, folders type thing). Just that I ended up needing to get some stuff unexpectedly at the last con and couldn't for the life of me find where to go.  So some knowledge in advance would be awesome!

[Fairlight]

You could see if Kaufland has anything like that, just across the road from the con site. They sell mainly food, but also some household stuff, depending on store size.

[Thygrrr]

Stay away from Vodafone and T-Mobile. Their PAYG packages are dreadful.

I'm pretty happy with my "Web'n'Walk DayFlat" Prepaid SIM (5 EUR per day of actual use, and you can use it for Voice Calls at a mediocre, but not outrageously bad, rate).

Every Day, you get 7.2 Mbit/s till 1 GB, and then you get 384kBit/s till 2 GB, and then GPRS speeds. All limits are reset at Midnight.

Coverage is vastly superior to O2 (and O2 only has 3.6 Mbit/s), however it matters less in a city than in more rural areas like the Ringberg (where O2 reception was weak but very sufficient at 1 to 2 Mbit/s).