Zürich Hackathon 2014/FAQ

On April 24th we had a Google Hangout Info session: Wikimedia Hackathon 2014 which you can watch in this video:
 * http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TrITBYfBtOk

Emergency Phone Number: +41 79 8646121 (Manuel)

Public Transport Tickets
We will provide all of you with public transport tickets for the City of Zürich. They are valid in all public tansport (ZVV and SBB): The ticket will be provided on a personalised letter which needs to be printed and brought along. Therefore we will send it as a PDF before you leave, so you print it at home and don't need to buy any tickets when you arrive in Zürich Airport.
 * train
 * tramway
 * bus
 * ship (only public transport by ZVV)

The ticket is only valid with a passport or ID card having the same name as indicated on the ticket.

Timetables
Trains are also in Google Maps but to calculate the easiest way from one point to another use these websites. They both incorporate the data of each other, so just choose whichever site you like better: Android: Öffi is the must-have app for almost all public transport networks in the world - SBB Mobile
 * SBB - Swiss Federal Railway
 * http://www.sbb.ch/en/ (EN)
 * http://www.sbb.ch/de/ (DE)
 * http://www.sbb.ch/fr/ (FR)
 * http://www.sbb.ch/it/ (IT)
 * ZVV - Zürich Public Transport Cooperation
 * http://www.zvv.ch/en/ (EN)
 * http://www.zvv.ch/de/ (DE)
 * ZVV Public Transport Map (PDF)

iPhone: SBB Mobile

Windows Phone: SBB Mobile

Bicycles

 * free rental in the city centre: http://www.zuerich.com/en/zuerich/naturaleza/Zueri-rollt.html
 * Rent A Bike has a station at the Zürich main station: http://www.rentabike.ch/ (commercial, only german and french website)

Youth Hostel
see http://www.youthhostel.ch/en/hostels/zurich

Facilities

 * court yard with wifi
 * Billiard table
 * bar
 * dining area - can also be used outside dining times for meetings etc.
 * lounge
 * three workshop rooms
 * one big hall with pin boards and flip charts - can be used with several groups at the same time
 * washing machine and tumble dryer
 * TV
 * power plug adapters (deposit needed)

Lockers
All rooms have lockers for every guest. You need a 2 SFR coin as a deposit - insert on the inside - close and lock and take off the key. When opening the locker again the 2 SFR coin will be released.

All rooms have individual keys (magnetic cards) which we will hand out to each guest, so the rooms should be reasonably safe as well. Not to mention that crime rates in Switzerland are low in general.

Is there beer on tap?
Yes, at the bar next to the dining / lounge area, available all day.

Laundry
The Youth Hostel has a washing machine and a tumble dryer.

English
English is widely spoken in Switzerland. Every student learns English in school and especially in the cities you can get along with english everywhere.

As Switzerland has four official languages and areas where these languages are spoken exclusively (German / Alemannic, French, Italian, Rumantsch) English often serves as the Lingua Franca in swiss coporations or associations (eg. Wikimedia CH).

French
French is one of the official languages of Switzerland, 23% of the population are native french speakers. Zürich is centered in the german-speaking area of Switzerland though, so not everyone is able to speak french there but the odds are good to find people on the street being able to help.

Swiss french has some particularities:
 * Wikipedia: Swiss French
 * Wikipedia: Français de Suisse

German
German is one of the official languages of Switzerland, 65% of the population are native german speakers. Zürich is centered in the german-speaking area of Switzerland, so german is the main language used there.

Beware that spoken swiss German is actually Alemannic, so even german native speakers often don't understand it, if they are not from Switzerland or the bordering areas. Written swiss German is standard German.
 * Wikipedia: Swiss German
 * Wikipedia: Schweizerdeutsch

Italian
Italian is one of the official languages of Switzerland, 8% of the population are native italian speakers. Zürich is centered in the german-speaking area of Switzerland though and given the overall low number of italian-speakers it is possible but not very likely to find italian-speakers on the streets.
 * Wikipedia: Swiss Italian
 * Wikipedia: Lingua italiana in Svizzera

Can I pay with my credit card?
Credit cards or electronic cash cards (Maestro / VPay) are common in Switzerland. Not all small shops or restaurants have a card terminal, though. As long as you go to big shops or restaurant you should be safe. The restaurants normally put stickers on their front door indicating the cards they accept.

In Europe the cards use cryptographic chips and PIN. US cards instead mostly still rely on the magnetic stripe and signature.

Can I pay with Euros?
This is mostly possible but at a bad conversion rate. The recommended way is to withdraw some money from the ATM once you arrived in Switzerland - it is normally the most convenient and cheaper way to get local currency.

Where can I get groceries and supplies?
The main chains in Switzerland are MIGROS and coop, both visible with their orange logos. The quality is high but also the costs. The price level in Switzerland is generally much higher than in the rest of Europe. Both MIGROS and COOP are cooperatives, originally established to supply the farmers and workers in the villages. Therefore they do not sell any alcoholic beverages, as part of their mission was to help to curtail alcoholism.

If you want to buy chocolate get Frey chocolate from MIGROS. It is their own brand, really good and reasonably priced.

There are three types (sizes) of MIGROS shops: M (small grocery store with mainly food), MM (food and household-supplies) and MMM (food, non-food, clothing, sport equipment).

Can I drink my beer outside on the street?
Sure, why not, as long as you behave.

Local SIM Cards
The most spread mobile phone radio standard is 3G / UMTS. Fallback is GSM / EDGE on 900 MHz / 1.800 MHz. Mobile prices are (as everything else) quite high in Switzerland but quality and coverage are excellent. Train tunnels are equipped with nano cells which allows a seamless use of streaming services throughout train trips.

SIM Card: 19,90 CHF incl. 20 CHF credit
 * Swisscom NATEL easy smart


 * SMS: 0,15 CHF - max 2 CHF / day
 * Data: 2 CHF / day
 * Swisscom Product Page
 * (EN)
 * (DE)
 * (FR)
 * (IT)