Re: FOSDEM 2011

In case you have not been to FOSDEM yet and got no idea how much it will cost
you, here is a rough list of the expenses I had last year. This includes travel
expenses (depends for everyone based on how you travel and from where) as well
as expenses for the hostel, going by bus through town (to/from campus) and
eating/drinking during FOSDEM itself and in the evenings (those numbers are
based on what I got listed from 2010, so they might partly be outdated but
should give you a rough idea):

* Driving to Brussels by car, 300km per way (requiring about 35l Diesel): 45€
* 2 nights at 2go4, each 24€ (if in the 4 bed dorm rooms): 48€
* Public transport in Brussels (using the bus 4 way to/from campus): ~13€
* Dinner at the Greek restaurant (including some beers): 15€ to 20€ per evening
* Breakfast at the campus (for something to drink as well as some sweet rolls;
no food included at 2go4!): ~4€ per day
* Lunch at the campus (some french fries as well as a burger or hot dog and a
can of coke for drink): ~5€ per day
* Some cans of coke during the day: ~3€ per day

So overall expenses for me were around 170€ from Friday "late afternoon" till
"Sunday evening". You will have to keep in mind that your travel expenses are
likely to differ depending on how you travel. Without travel costs expect costs
around 125€.

If you stay at 2go4 you should not forget to take a towel with you, since those
are not provided by the hostel. Beside this a padlock might make sense,
depending on the room we get and if the room does include a locker (in '09 we
had a room with lockers, in '10 there was no locker in the room).

General packlist for FOSDEM (will resend this closer to FOSDEM2011):
 - Bring Euro coins (1, 2, .5, .2 and .1)! The reason is simple: Close to the
hacking room is a vending machine that is a little cheaper than the official
sale of drinks at FOSDEM and the drinks are cooled (~0.70€ vs 1€ per can). The
problem: you need coins to feed it! Beside this buying tickets is cheaper when
getting them from the automate available at basically every station. When buying
from the driver you pay a little more.
 - Don't forget your laptops plus power supplies if you plan on hacking.
 - Don't forget to take your mobile phone with you and take the power supply for
it either.
 - Some people should take power extension cords as well as some multi outlets
with them. That is I will take some with me and last year mordante had some,
too. Though if you are coming over to FOSDEM by car you might want to consider
putting some into your trunk.

Please do not forget to notify boucman/me if you want to stay at 2go4 and want
us to include you in booking!
Cheers,
Nils Kneuper aka Ivanovic