Invitation
12th AFE-ADB
European Chapter Meeting
Bremen, Germany
4 – 6 September 2009
Clarissa and Roland Engelbart, our hosts for the 2009-Continental European Chapter (AFE-ADB/CEC) meeting, have now firmed up the venues and a most interesting program. All members and their spouses as well as other visiting AFE/ADB friends, especially our UK and Scandinavian members are cordially invited to participate in the 12th Annual Chapter Meeting 2009 in Bremen/Germany from 4 to 6 September.
Amongst the various alternatives, negotiations with a number of hotels, the 5-star Swissôtel Bremen resulted in the most cost-effective and attractive solution. The hotel is directly located in the centre of Bremen . 30 rooms (single/ double bedroom) at a room-rate of 145 € (room type: classic room) have been reserved. Participants should make their bookings under the entry “Asian Development Bank” at Swissôtel Bremen, Hillmannplatz 20, D-28195 Bremen, Germany,
tel.no. +49 (0)421 62 000 240 , fax no. +49 (0)421 62 000 222,
e-mail: bremen@swissôtel.com; Website: www.swissotel.com (menu option: destinations).
Important: For booking, the hotel requires from the guest a copy of the credit card. 50% of the 30-rooms contingent will be reserved until Friday, 10 July 2009. The remaining 50% of the contingent will be guaranteed until Friday, 7 August 2009 and thereafter released for sale; therefore soonest booking is advisable. Cancellations are free of charge up to 7 August 2009; cancellations after 7 August 2009 will cause 80% of the room rate to be debited on the credit card.
There are four other hotels situated in the centre of Bremen , namely (i) Mercure Columbus Bremen, (ii) Ibis Centrum, (iii) Ibis Altstadt, (iv)Ramada Überseehotel Bremen .
If you arrive in Bremen by plane (Lufthansa, Air France, KLM, and Ryan Air), the airport is also very close to the centre (tram No. 6 to the Swissôtel).
There is no need for using a car within the city. Every destination is in walking distance or can conveniently be reached by tram or bus.
Our hosts’ address is:
Roland and Clarissa Engelbart
Blankenburger Str.8, D-28205 Bremen , Germany .
E-mail: Roland.Engelbart@hotmail.de
Tel.: + 49 (0)421 430 8435 ; Mobile : +49 (0)162 205 9381
After you have read the attached program in detail, you are kindly requested to respond to the following points which is necessary for the hosts’ further planning and to inform the various restaurants and the museum about the number of participants and to buy the required number of train tickets:
- Swissôtel booking yes/no
Participation in: - buffet dinner at the Ratskeller
- guided walk through the old Bremen Centre
- lunch at the Restaurant Delano
- guided tour of the Bremen City Hall
- gala dinner at the Swissôtel
- guided bus tour through Bremerhaven port area and city
- lunch at the restaurant of the German Emigration Centre
- guided tour through the German Emigration Centre
- dinner at the restaurant Jürgenshof , Bremen .
Roland and Clarissa would appreciate it very much if you could let them know about your participation and the response to the above questions latest by 1 August 2009 by e-mail, regular mail or phone with info copy to me. Please make sure that your hotel booking at the Swissôtel will be carried out until 10 July respectively 7 August 2009 at the latest. It would be most helpful I you filled the Excel-Participation Sheet, given as an attachment and have this returned as your confirmation. For those who do not possess the Excel program, the ten points above ought to be mentioned in the e-mail addressed to the hosts.
In case you should need a tourist visa for Germany, please note that it may take up to two months for obtaining a visa granted by the German authorities (in Berlin) during the summer travel season as all requests for such visas have to be centrally approved in Berlin. Embassies or Consulates will only interview/assist you in filling out the forms and then forward them to Berlin for approval.
We would be very happy seeing you Bremen and thanks to Clarissa and Roland for the very professional advance planning
All the best
_____________________________
Gunter Hecker
AFE-ADB Coordinator
Continental Europe Chapter (CEC)
Glockenzehnten 47
D-69124 Heidelberg , Germany
Tel: +49 6221 715 039
Fax: +49 6221 715 040
Mobile: +49 160 1129724