On Thu, 18 Jun 2015, Amey Abhyankar wrote:
On 17 June 2015 at 20:03, Faheem Mitha <faheem@faheem.info> wrote:
> Would that be your first time at a Debconf?
Yes. Attending DebConf14 [@Portland,USA] was an extremely expensive affair to me. Germany seems some how accessible to me. How ever, I do watch & also encourage fellow Debian users to watch recorded sessions from previous Debconf's. :-) In fact I have downloaded several recorded sessions on my HDD for showing it to enterprise business users/space where I promote Debian.
> Isn't it usually cheaper to buy an air ticket ahead of time?
Yes true. But these days it's unpredictable. I observed, once the date comes closer more flights are visible at lower prices some times. The price I mentioned is for 'Mumbai-Frankfurt-Mumbai' route.
> I see. That is quite expensive, but less than I expected. Does that > 15-20 Euro include both accomodation as well as food? If so, it seems > cheap.
24~32 Euro for accommodation at dormitory. Just saw at hostel site = http://www.jugendherberge.de/en/youth-hostels/heidelberg%20international10/Portrait . Also refer = http://lists.debconf.org/lurker/message/20150513.092832.ba8951ca.en.html
> I see. I suppose that is required for entry into Germany. You didn't > mention the cost of a German visa. How much is that?
i) You'll apply for Shengen business visa for this. VFS is the authorized agency in India to process Schengen visa's. VFS Germany Mumbai URL = http://www.vfs-germany.co.in/mumbai/index.html Schengen visa fee as of today = 4300 INR [Excluding VFS fee as what I remember. VFS charges 700+ processing fee + 500~600 courier charges if you want Passport at your door step.]
ii) You also need conference invitation letter before submitting your application for business visa to VFS Germany.
I hope this information helps.
Yes, that is indeed very informative. Especially for someone planning to go to a similar event. They certainly don't make things easy for Indians, do they?
Regards, Faheem