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[Santa fox]

First off, I do apologize if this is the wrong section to ask this, so, feel free to move it or anything like that.

Though, as Eurofurence will be the first con I will be visiting, I was just wondering if anyone had any general pointers on how much cash to bring? In Euro notes, in case that makes a difference. As it currently stands, I would most likely be able to bring anything from 1 to 5500 Euros, everything permitting. I assume this should at least last for a while? Like I said, never been to one before so I am completely new to such things :x

I am expecting the cash to cover train to and from, in case the bus pickup doesn't happen. I also quite like drinking and will probably be around furiends who share the same interest. Also looking to buying a few things, and making a donation to whichever one will be recieving it, which is why I am a bit uncertain if it will last.

Of course, I am not counting the cost for flight, con registration and so on into this.

[Quincy the Raccoon]

That's all in the eye of the beholder. You can ofcourse bring as much as you can spare, but it's IMHO inadvisable to bring VERY large sums of money to the con. At best you could use your bank card for the ATM and pin off some cash which you can spend. Be wary, you were talking about food. Quick reminder that the restaurants inside are a bit expensive. You can buy stuff at the local mall across the street.

[Santa fox]

That's all in the eye of the beholder. You can ofcourse bring as much as you can spare, but it's IMHO inadvisable to bring VERY large sums of money to the con. At best you could use your bank card for the ATM and pin off some cash which you can spend. Be wary, you were talking about food. Quick reminder that the restaurants inside are a bit expensive. You can buy stuff at the local mall across the street.

Hmm.. yeah, sounds reasonable not to bring so large sums to it, heh. Though, i'd rather have cash in notes than rely on my bank card working all the time.

[VulpesRex]

Greetings, Santa Fox!

   While EuroFURence seems to operate on-site on a cash basis, there are certain expenses which it is best (and safest) to handle with a credit card.  Things like your flight, and your rail travel - your hotel accommodations will be part of your EuroFURence registration, paid in advance, unless you elect to stay at the local Youth Hostel.  Actual cash will probably be required for meals, drink, anything which you purchase in the Dealers' Room, and for both the Art Auction (for the artists) and the Charity Auction (for our supported charity).

   The Convention lasts from Wednesday afternoon through Sunday, or 5 days; of course, some people depart on Sunday, some on Monday morning, meaning an extra night in the hotel.  Some elect to arrive a day early, some do both.  Average stay though is 5 days.

   Assuming that you eat all your meals at the hotel and confine your drinking to the Bier Kiosk in the lobby or to the friendly bar just off the lobby, you can get by nicely for 50 Euro a day, though you can trim that a bit if you are judicious in your dining.  For those expenses for 5 days, that's 250 Euro.

   For purchases in the Dealers' Room, that can range from commissioning several artists for sketches in sketchbooks, badges, or separate illustration, to buying prints or pre-made merchandise, or comic books.  For just buying Dealers' "stuff", you could easily spend upwards of 500 Euro during the convention - though most attendees make do with less. be prepared in any event, figure a top-end of 500 Euro.

   Charity - it is possible to make a direct donation to the charity, but there are usually objects of art which various artists have either chosen to put in the auction with all proceeds going to the charity, or of which a stated percentage of the final bid price will be donated to the charity.  If you donate 50 Euro to the charity, they will be quite happy (but they would be positively ecstatic for 150 Euro).

  The Art Auction, Proper - here the sky is the limit.  It is possible to buy several nice illustrations for minimum bid, but please be aware that artists in general tend to be their own worst critics, and undervalue their own talent so severely that they set their minimum bid prices way too low.  It is fair and a mark of a Patron of the Arts to bid, if you happen to be the first bid, about double the minimum which the artist has listed; and a good strategy, to ward off possible competitors for a piece which you really want, is to bid 3 times the minimum as the first bid, just to show that you are serious about wanting it.  Casual collectors will take the hint, and not bid against you...though if a serious collector also wishes to have it, it won't stop a counterbid.  Depending on how serious a collector you are, and how many pieces you can safely transport home, figure a "war chest" of 2,000 Euro.

   This works out to 2,800 Euro.  This is a "Top End" figure, I bet that most people have a perfectly good time at EuroFURence and spend less than 1,000 Euro; depending on how frugal you are, you can perhaps have a good time with only 500 Euro, but that is by being disciplined and not allowing for any "cushion", or for unexpected opportunities or incurred expense.

   2,800 Euro - or even 1,000 Euro - is a lot of serious scratch to be carrying around, and a tragedy to lose, or to be robbed of; there are ATM machines within a block of the Maritim hotel, from a number of Banks; see if your own bank has an agreement with DeutscheBank, for example, to minimise cross-bank fees.  They have a room of ATMs and banking terminals across the street, at the street corner.  And the hotel rooms are equipped with a mini-safe, for storing valuables; take advantage of it.

[Santa fox]

Thanks for the greetings :> and thank you for responding.

My flight and so on will be paid by bank transfer, once the registration opens, of course. I am merely wondering how much actual cash to bring with me to the con, the cash I mentioned isn't included in that sum, so cost for such is no worries and will be handled separately. Though, I do sincerely hope there is a bus pickup this year, seems a lot more simple than going by train, maybe it's just me though :x

At any rate, I guess I might as well take some more questions while I have this thread going. I assume arriving a day early and leaving a day later is what is referred to as late/early arrival/departure? Food slipped my mind, though I can only suspect the easiest is to eat at the hotel, rather than poking around outside of the con and so on, even if it is a bit more expensive to do so. I also guess it's a bit more sociable.

Auction isn't really something that seems to appeal to me too much, so I suspect the dealers room will be where I spend most of the cash on things to buy, though here is where I am a bit uncertain if the cash I bring will be enough, while spending all of the cash on things is a bit extreme, i'd rather bring more than I need. Reason i'd rather bring hard cash than my card is because it sometimes simply refuses to work, even after ordering a new one. Being robbed or loosing it is not something that I am too worried about, to be honest. I did hear that the rooms have safes, so I guess they will be even more protected once I arrive. I suspect carrying a bit extra cash in case anything should screw up should also be advisable?

Though, thanks for the input :> I'll certainly take it into consideration. Ah well, at least it's nice to know I will have a good margin of error.

[VulpesRex]

   Well, I was hoping that in the interval of a day or two, someone in a position of authority would have posted more specific information, but it seems that You are stuck with my own impressions, from my own meager experience.

   I understand that there was a bus this last year, but it wasn't an "official" EuroFURence offering.  It is a fan-organised thing, which this year was organised by some Russian furry fans for anyone arriving via air in Berlin (a day early, I think), which picked up people at the two major airports in that city and delivered them to Magdeburg, and returned those who wished to travel back the same way, the day after the convention ended.  I believe that the result was enjoyed by all - sort of a bus-based "mini-convention", as it were - and as I read no complaints about it, is likely to be repeated this year, if enough foreign furries express interest.  The cost was dependent on how many people actually used the bus, the more furs making it cheaper.  But since it was all-furry-no-mundanes, and was essentially airport-to-hotel service, it had to be a lot less hassle and stress (once everyone was actually on the bus) than a train trip would have been.

   Not to say that the train trip is a bad thing!  Well, for me, this year it was, but then the whole trip out seemed to be cursed, what with the delay due to mechanical troubles of a timely connecting flight, the unexpected reroute via British Airways to London in "Chicken Class" (I had paid for US Airways First- and Envoy-Class passage, from Phoenix to Philadelphia and on to Frankfurt), missing my preferred train and my "Plan B" train and having to get the last connection of the night ("Plan C"), having the computer freeze up on the ticket clerk, being double-billed for the ticket, being accosted by a Gypsy woman, and arriving at 0300 on Thursday instead of 1100 on Wednesday, hot, dirty, hungry and tired.

   Generally, I've found the DeutscheBahn Service to be clean, efficient and reliable, the staff helpful and competent and accommodating (and patient!), and the Magdeburg Hbf is only a three-minute walk from the hotel, it is very hard to beat the convenience from the station at the Frankfurt air terminal, and probably essentially the same level of service from Berlin (I know it is from Hannover).  And normally (see above), if you miss a train, there is another within a reasonable time, whereas if your flight is delayed into Berlin, you run the risk of missing the one and only furry-chartered bus.

********

   As far as meals go - the hotel maintains two dining rooms with different hours and types of service for "sit down" type meals, but the hotel has also arranged for serving stations within the lobby for light entrees and snacks at various times of the day, including bockwurst, rolls and croissants, chicken "nuggets", steak cutlets at one point, and a rather large and quite-filling hamburger - the "Maritim Burger" - for pocket-money prices.  The Burger is a good bet.

   Failing that - there is a pizza restaurant on one side of the hotel, a sports bar on the other, with an asian-themed diner next to that; there is a Greek restaurant off a plaza just a little ways from the rear entrance of the hotel; a well-regarded steakhouse down the block and across the street; a Pizza-Hut a block away; and an underground mall with supermarket, and mall-type food court stalls under the office building complex just across the street.  There is a McDonald's in the train station, and I would be very surprised if there isn't a Donner-Kabob stand somewhere close by.  And headed south on Otto-von- Guericke-Strasse about 5 blocks takes you to the Hasselbachplatz, where there are several Cafes and Bars in the vicinity.

   So you can eat cheaper than what the hotel offers, though I believe that it is only just and proper to have at least one "sit down" meal in the host hotel dining facility, over-priced or not.  I think the Maritim Burger was 8 or 9 Euro - which is a lot, even for a giant burger like that one was.

   If someone has better recollections or can recommend other dining options, I'm sure that they will respond soon...

   

[Cheetah]

  Well, I was hoping that in the interval of a day or two, someone in a position of authority would have posted more specific information, but it seems that You are stuck with my own impressions, from my own meager experience.

*giggles*

I'm sorry, I might have some authority on the con pricing itself ... but I have absolutely no authority about how people spend their money at the convention Theoretically, you could spend four days at the con and not spend more than €50. Now, that probably wouldn't be much fun, as that would mean you'll be living from sandwiches and bottled water from the supermarket across the street. If you plan on eating out at the hotel or the nearby restaurants, I would say, plan about 50€ per day for food and "non recreational" drinks

Pretty much the same goes for alcoholic beverages. The hotel really doesn't like people bringing in their own drinks (and theoretically their own terms of service disallow it completely), but as long as our bar sales stay as good as they are now, they are not going to complain. So there's your chance to save - have a room party with your own booze, and you can get away with spending less than 10€ a night. If you are planning to party all night at the hotel bar (which is what most of the people do, and I can only recommend it, because the atmosphere is usually fantastic down there), a large Weizenbier will cost you 4,50€ cocktails starting 7,50€. My personal strategy is to mainly drink beer, not more than 1-2 cocktails, and don't do shots (unless I happen to snag one of those feee jäger giveaway cards.). I usually get away with less than 50€ per evening. Your mileage may vary.

So what other costs are there? Now, it entirely depends on what you want to get. There's the dealers room and the art show, and certain charity events that will ask for a donation. I really can't help you there What you absolutely should know though, is that the art auction accepts CASH ONLY. We know this is terribly inconvenient for guests from overseas, but it is the only way we can provide our art show free of charge - and without conjuring up a tax nightmare for our accountant. On the plus side, this measure ensures that 100% of the money you pay goes directly to the artists - we literally take your cash and hand it over on Sunday. Artists love this

So, if you're coming from overseas, make sure to either get an ATM card that works in germany (look for the "Maestro" logo) or a Credit Card that has a PIN number so you can withdraw money.

[Quincy the Raccoon]

I would say, plan about 50€ per day for food and "non recreational" drinks

I did the very same thing, and I must say that this is certainly the way to go. (I had for each conday envelopes marked for each day containing bills of €50,- and this system works like a charm. I can only recomment it and agree with Cheetah!  )

[Huskyboy]

The hotel really doesn't like people bringing in their own drinks (and theoretically their own terms of service disallow it completely), but as long as our bar sales stay as good as they are now, they are not going to complain.

even if they wanted, they could not do much about it when people drink they own stuff at their hotel room. In fact they could do nothing, the same is with food. No Hotel like it when people bring their own stuff.

But yeah drinking at the Bar is truely more fun, but it can be rather expensive, so drink careful...

[Cheetah]

The hotel really doesn't like people bringing in their own drinks (and theoretically their own terms of service disallow it completely), but as long as our bar sales stay as good as they are now, they are not going to complain.

even if they wanted, they could not do much about it when people drink they own stuff at their hotel room.

Of course they could. It's a contract violation. They can throw you out. Technically. As I said, it's not going to happen during EF, but I would really like everyone to be aware that this is pure courtesy. A privilege. Not a right. So let's all be nice to the hotel okay? End of discussion.

[DarkFoxDK]

For EF17,  I brought 400€ for food and fun.

Most of that ended up going towards the hotel bar. Some for food at nearby restaurants and Kaufland (I don't think I spent more than 10€ per meal. At least not at the nearby italian place).
A bit in the dealers den and charity, and I still came out with about 50€ to spare.

Of course, you could do a lot cheaper than that, if you only get food from Kaufland and don't get drunk in the hotel bar every night. ;-)