University of Hong Kong * Department of Geography
FIELD TRIP TO EUROPE
31. July - 14. August 2004
Germany,
France and Switzerland (Rhine Valley)
Co-ordinator: Dr. Werner Breitung
Welcome to the website of the 2004 field trip to Europe. This website will not be updated anymore. It will soon be replaced by the website of the 2005 field trip to Berlin and North East Germany. Regarding the 2004 field trip reports and another meeting, I will contact you per email.
I want to take the opportunity to thank the students of the 2004 trip and, in the name of everyone, Steffen Grabisna and all others who have contributed to the success of the trip.
Werner Breitung
| day | date | place | subjects | themes | accomodation |
| Sat | 31.7. | Mannheim | 12:00 Arrival
14:00 Discover Mannheim game 16:30 General briefing 19:00 Barbecue |
C, E | Mannheim |
| Sun | 1.8. | Upper Rhine | 10:00 Bus trip to
the Upper Rhine at Germersheim
12:00 Canoeing on the old Rhine at Insel Grün 15:30 Nuclear power plant Philippsburg 16:30 Speyer |
A, B | Mannheim |
| Mon | 2.8. | Heidelberg | 10:00 Knowledge
based industries (visit at SAS Systems)
Presentations Ms. Kerstin Lambert, Mr. Frank Leistner (SAS) 14:00 International tourism (field work) |
E, D | Mannheim |
| Tue | 3.8. | Iffezheim | 11:00 Rastatt (lunch
break)
14:00 Bi-national hydroenergy plant Iffezheim at the German-French border Guided tour Mr. Karl Krös (EnBW) 18:00 Arrival Strasbourg |
E, F, B | Strasbourg |
| Wed | 4.8. | Strasbourg | 10:00 Garden exhibition
Strasbourg/Kehl
15:00 European institutions in Strasbourg |
F, D | Strasbourg |
| Thu | 5.8. | Strasbourg | 10:00 Strasbourg:
Historical development of a city between two nations
Guided tour by Dr. Bernard Reitel (Univerity Mulhouse) |
C, F | Strasbourg |
| Fri | 6.8. | Vosges | 08:30 Bus departure
to Vosges mountains
09:30 Hiking from Champs du Feu to Natzviller (landscape) 11:30 Haut Koenigsbourg (castle) 13:00 Lunch at Le Haycot 14:30 Lac Noir (glacial morphology, power plant) 15:30 WWI memorial at La Linge 17:00 Neuf-Brisach (fortified town) and Vogelgrun (info centre "Infobest") 18:30 Kaiserstuhl (wine cultivation, volcano) 20:30 Dinner at "Macau Inn" in Freiburg |
A, D | Freiburg |
| Sat | 7.8. | Freiburg | 08:30 Old town (guided
tour Steffen Grabisna), observation: eco-city features
14:30 Quartier Vauban (eco-city development) Guided tour Mr. Andreas Delleske (Forum Vauban) |
B, C | Freiburg |
| Sun | 8.8. | Black Forest | 09:00 Cable car
to Schauinsland mountain (Black Forest)
11:00 Visit at former silver mine 15:00 Walk to the peak of the montain (highest point of the field trip) 16:30 Black Forest Cake |
D, E, B | Freiburg |
| Mon | 9.8. | Basel | 10:30 Tri-national
airport (Euroairport Basel-Freiburg-Mulhouse)
Guided tour Ms. Vivienne Gaskell (Euroairport) 16:00 Basel old town (guided tour W. Breitung) |
C, F, E | Basel |
| Tue | 10.8. | Basel | 09:00 Visit at Novartis
(industrial location Basel)
Presentation Mr. Stefan Mumenthaler (Novartis) 14:00 Inland ports Basel and Weil/Rhein (boat tour between both ports) Presentation Mr. Urs Vogelbacher (Basel), Mr. ... (Weil/Rh.) |
E, F, C | Basel |
| Wed | 11.8. | Basel | 09:30 Railways in
the Three-country Region (visit DB Badischer Bahnhof)
Presentation Mr. Wolfgang Hildebrandt, Mr. Jürgen Lange, Mr. Bressmer 14:30 High Rhine Valley, Schaffhausen |
C, F | Schaffhausen |
| Thu | 12.8. | Lake Constance | 09:00 High Rhine
and Lake Constance (boat tour)
16:00 Discussion: cross-border co-operation (Dr. J. Blatter, Univ. of Constance) 18:00 Farewell dinner (Baden cuisine) |
D, A, F | Schaffhausen |
| Fri | 13.8. | Schaffhausen | 09:00 Bicycle tour
11:00 Rhine water-fall 14:00 Rheinau (still bicycle tour) 19:00 Farewell Party |
A, D | Schaffhausen |
| Sat | 14.8. | Schaffhausen | 09:00 De-briefing, departure | - | - |
As you know, your field trip fees were to include all accomodation and public transport costs (as long as part of the field trip), but not the meals. However, we luckily could save some money on discounts and had actually quite a number of meals covered by your contributions. According to tentative calculation the money paid in by you was sufficient, but differently from what I first thought, I do not expect much of a surplus anymore. Once the final calculation and currency conversion is done by the Finance Department I will let you know.
If you are SAR
passport holder, no visa is required for any of the three countries
involved.
If you are BNO
passport holder, no visa is required for Switzerland, but you need
a Schengen visa for Germany and France.
The Schengen visa
will be valid for most E.U. countries (plus Norway and Iceland). You are
supposed to apply with the consulate of your main destination country.
If there is no such country, the country of first entry should be considered
main destination country. For our trip, you should normally apply with
the German consulate general. Since we may re-enter Germany from Switzerland,
you will need a multiple entry visa.
Swiss consulate (no visa required, just for information)For your visa application, you will need to present a round trip air ticket, your latest bank statement, a confirmation letter from me, a health insurance, a photo and your passport and ID card (for authoritative information, please refer to the German consulate general).
German consulate (visa information, application form)
French consulate (the Germany visa is valid for France as well, just for information)
Starting
day, transport
anddeparture
day (not updated)
We will meet on Saturday, 31 July 2003 at Mannheim Youth Hostel. You shall try to arrive between 12 h and 14 h if possible, since the first meeting is scheduled at 14 h. If you cannot make it within this time, please let me know your approximate arrival time. As our meeting day is a Saturday, some shops may close earlier than usual and some local trains may not run. In most cases, it should not be a problem, but better be sure your train connection is a daily one.
Address:
Jugendherberge Mannheim
Rheinpromenade 21
D-68163 Mannheim
Tel.: +49-621-822718 (from within Germany: 0621-822718, from within Mannheim: 822718)
Mannheim is conveniently located in the German rail network. You can reach it by IC- or ICE-trains from most major German cities, such as Berlin, Hamburg, Munich (München), Frankfurt, Stuttgart, Cologne (Köln) and from other Places in Europe, such as Zürich, Paris, Amsterdam. There is especially a direct rail connection to Frankfurt Airport . Frankfurt is the closest international airport to the starting point of our field trip, whereas Zürich is closest to the ending point.
The hostel is nicely located at the river Rhine, our main field trip topic. It is also very close to the railway station. Upon your arrival you leave the station towards the southern exit to Lindenhof (not through the main station hall, which is the northern exit). From the southern exit, you walk straight via Lindenhofplatz to the park at the Rhine river. You will see the signs for youth hostel ("Jugendherberge"/"DJH"). It's really not far, and you do not have to take a taxi.
Air transport: There are many airlines connecting Hong Kong with the field trip region. You may want to check the details, especially the prices with your travel agent. Generally speaking the most convenient way is to take a direct flight with Lufthansa (to Frankfurt), Swiss (to Zurich) or Cathay Pacific (to both). Lufthansa and Swiss fly to the other airports as well, but you would have to change at their hub. You may check the special offers of these three airlines, but most likely your agent will suggest cheaper options with one stopover. This could be European airlines, such as Air France , British Airways , Finnair , Aeroflot , KLM but in my experience some Asian airlines, such as Thai Airways , Singapore Airlines , Malaysia Airlines and Korean Air are cheaper. They may however take longer time, due to routing and stopovers. Airlines from the Middle East, such as Gulf Air or Emirates are also cheaper, but you have to change flights in the middle of the night. For a complete list of airlines, please contact your travel agent. I would not recommend any specific airline. By the way, some airlines allow you to fly to Frankfurt and return from Zürich. Some airlines also offer free connecting flights to Euroairport Basel-Mulhouse or to Stuttgart, which are both between Mannheim and Schaffhausen. You would have to change in Frankfurt, Zürich, Amsterdam or Paris (not sure London...), but I think it's not worth the trouble of changing. You'll be faster taking the train from Frankfurt or Zürich.
Rail transport: Within Europe rail transport is very convenient.You might want to check offers like EurailPass , German Railpass or Swiss Travel System for your own trips before and after the field trip. Most of these tickets have to be purchased before going to Europe. If you have such a ticket, which includes part of the duration of our field trip, please let me know. This could save you some money (no guarantee!).
You can reach Mannheim by Deutsche Bahn (German Railways) directly from most major cities (map). If you travel from Frankfurt Airport to Mannheim on the starting day, you can take the direct and comfortable ICE train taking about 30 min and costing about 20 EUR, or you can take RE and RB trains taking about 1 h 30 min and costing about 15 EUR. With RE/RB trains you will have to change trains. You can check any connections and fares inside Germany at Deutsche Bahn. When selecting your trains, please keep in mind that IC/EC (map) and ICE (map) trains are fast and RE or RB trains are cheaper. Night trains with sleeping cars are convenient but cost more (find more about types of trains). You may also want to check the various national and international special offers, such as "Schönes-Wochenende-Ticket" (Happy Weekend).
"Schönes-Wochenende-" (Happy Weekend) Ticket: In Germany, up to 5 persons travelling together on Saturdays or Sundays on local trains (e.g. RB, RE) can travel on a very cheap ticket. In principle, you can travel the whole day (until 3 a.m. of the following day) throughout Germany, but it may be tiring as local trains are a bit slow and less comfortable. The ticket costs EUR 30,- at the counter, or EUR 28,- at vending machines and is valid for 1-5 persons. Since our first and last days are Saturdays, it may be an interesting option for some of you, especially if you come from places such as Stuttgart, Frankfurt city or Frankfurt airport.
Local transport: In most cities on our route public transport is very convenient. Compared to Hong Kong, the fares might be higher and the payment procedures more complicated. Since they differ from place to place, there is no point explaining them here. Be warned that taxis are much more expensive than in Hong Kong, especially in Switzerland but in principle in all three countries. So, unless you are rich, better avoid taxis or at least check the approximate fare beforehand.
Departure date: The field trip ends on 14 August in Schaffhausen - officially 23:59 h, but in fact in the late morning. We will have a de-briefing after breakfast and leave after that. From Schaffhausen to Zürich Airport, you will need about 1 hour by train, to Frankfurt Airport about 4 hours.
Rhine Valley (only in German)
Study
on Restrhein renaturation
excerpts for download
at the bottom of the page (summary
here)
SAS Germany (only in German)
Map
on competitiveness of regions in Germany by prognos
(red colour: highest
competitivity, full explanations
unfortunately only in German)
Garden exhibition Kehl/Strasbourg
Schauinsland silver mine (only in German)
Central Commission for Navigation on the Rhine
Transalpine
Rail Project (NEAT) (only
in French, German and Italian)
related sites in
English:
Brief
introduction
Gotthard
Project
Loetschberg
Project
The assessment of this course consists of 20% active fieldtrip participation (fieldwork, discussions, asking questions, taking notes etc.) and 80% field trip report. Everyone has to contribute four things to the report:
A. Landscapes
and physical geography (geomorphology, climate, hydrology, vegetation,
natural and cultural landscapes)
B. Environment
and sustainability (sustainable urban development and transport, environmental
impact of economic activities)
C. Transport
(airports,
railways, ports, road pricing, logistics centres, cross-border traffic,
urban transport, cycling)
D. Tourism (international
city tourism, recreation, winter sports, spa, economic and environmental
impact)
E. Resources
and economy (economic sectors, location factors, energy, resources,
economic potential, regional/city marketing)
F. Borders and
integration (impact of borders, cross-border traffic, planning of border
regions, history, European integration)
Specialty subjects
Every student is
responsible for one of the following 19 subjects. This includes, preparing
this topic beforehand, following it throughout the fieldtrip to become
our expert on the topic, doing deeper research in the process of wiriting
up the final report and finally do the chapter on this topic for the field
trip report.
The 19 subjects
are:
01
Geology and landforms (Josephine)
02
Landscapes in the field trip area (Sandy)
03
Rivers and water bodies (Jodie)
04
The climate in the valley (Trista)
05
Environmental quality (Cirrus)
06
Agriculture and wine (Carrie)
07
The history of the field trip region (Penny)
08
Settlements and urban structures (Sancia)
09
Energy production and consumption (Peggy)
10
Sustainable urban transport (Daniel)
11
Competing transport modes in the Rhine river axis (Chris)
12
Transport networks and borders (Ivan)
13
Cross-border contacts and co-operation (Lydia)
14
The impact of the European Union (Michelle)
15
Location for business and industries (Judy)
16
International linkages of the region (Louisa)
17
International tourism (Ling)
18
Leisure and countryside recreation (Debby)
19
The people in the valley (Stella)
(You
may have noted that the numbers have changed)
The formalities
for the report
Your topical chapter,
the short summeries of the days/cities and the personal notes should be
written in Times New Roman, 12 pt, single spaced. The titles should be
in Arial, bold, 12 pt and follow the above wording (including the number).
If you have sub-headlines, you should number them for example as "9.1 Energy
production" and write them in Times New Roman, bold, 12 pt. Any further
sub-divisions should be without numbering, even if they have titles. The
length of your chapters will vary according to your writing style and number
of photos. As a rough estimate you would probably not write much less than
1 page each for your day summary and personal notes and 10 pages for the
topical chapter. Please do not write too long, especially too longwinded,
either.
For the literature, Internet sources, oral and written communication from experts used in your contributions, make sure you acknowledge the sources properly by adding them in the text (not in footnotes, please) like for example "... (Kuhn 2001)" or "... (Novartis International 2002)". Make sure you give a list of sources at the end of your chapter. The list should include exactly the sources quotedin the text - no more, no less.
The contributions to the fieldtrip report are due on October 31st, 2004 as a hard copy to the General Office and as a softcopy on CD or floppy disc, or to my email gmx-address (not the Hotmail one, please). The hard copies will be the ones for grading. The soft copies will be revised and shortened by me (subject to your approval) for the printed report. Your support will b needed for the preparation of the report afterwards. Regarding your website or Powerpoint presentation: please also print it out, but I will still look at the softcopy verion for grading.
