Floriade Garden Festival, 1-2nd September 2012
Following last year's successful initiative by the Dutch branch of the Oxford and Cambridge Society with the weekend in Maastricht, we have found a suitable opportunity for another edition this year:
The FLORIADE (for more information see www.floriade.com) is much more than just a garden show. It takes places only once every 10 years, and this year it is in Venlo in the South-East of the Netherlands.
The Committee of the Belgian Branch thinks that this is a good occasion for a cross-border meeting of Oxbridge people from Belgium, Germany, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. The following plan is on offer:
Floriade visit date : Sunday, September 2nd 2012.
Transport to Venlo: organised by yourself (car, train).
Accommodation near Floriade before/after visit: organised by yourself, however see below for a recommended offer from one particular hotel. There are a number of hotels offering "Floriade packages". Please check the cancellation conditions of your hotel or package. Alternatively, if you live close to Venlo, you can make it a day trip without accommodation.
Meeting points and times: on Sunday 02.09 2012
- at 11hrs. by the entrance to Floriade - not the car park - (mainly for the purpose of buying entrance tickets in case you do not already have them),
- at 18hrs. for High Tea.
During the day it is completely flexible whether some people stay as a group or explore individually.
Registration: please register with the President of the Oxford Society of Belgium at the address: timm.rentrop@ec.europa.eu giving the following details: name(s) of participant(s), which society, which accommodation or package has been booked (if any). We will assume that everyone would like to have the High Tea (€17 p.p.).
Deadline for registration: August 18th - this is because the number of high teas needs to be committed in advance. Later registration is possible, without a guarantee of high tea.
Costs: all payable by yourself during the weekend.
-----------------------------------------------------------------Details and specific costs
For those from further afield (and those who want to welcome them over dinner on Saturday evening):
The Van der Valk Hotel Venlo, Nijmeegseweg 90, 5916 PT Venlo (T. +31 (0)77 354 41 41 ; F. +31 (0)77 354 31 33 ; venlo@valk.com , http://www.hotelvenlo.nl/nl) offers an interesting package:
2 days Floriade 2012 package price per person € 116.00 (single supplement € 25.00 p.r.p.n.) – Arriving on Saturday, September 1st, this would offer you:
• 1 x overnight stay in a Comfort room
• 1 x breakfast buffet
• 1 x 3-course dinner, excluding drinks
• 1 x voucher for a World Expo cocktail
• 1x World Expo souvenir
• 1x World Expo entrance ticket
• 1x World Expo cable car entrance ticket
• 1x World Expo audio guide by arrival at the park
For those who want to take it easy on Saturday, there is the 3 days Floriade 2012 package price per person € 169.00 (single supplement € 25.00 p.r.p.n.), which includes:
• 2 x overnight stay in a Comfort room
• 2 x breakfast buffet
• 1 x 3-course dinner, excluding drinks
• 1 x voucher for a free bottle of wine by a dinner at the second evening in the hotel (1 per room)
• 1 x voucher for a World Expo cocktail
• 1 x World Expo souvenir
• 1 x World Expo entrance ticket
• 1 x World Expo cable car entrance ticket
• 1 x World Expo audio guide by arrival at the park.
The 'real' meeting would then be on Sunday, 02.09.2012 at 11am at the entrance of Floriade – NOT the car park.
For those not staying at the hotel and getting their ticket there, the cost is €25 for the entry, €5 for the Cable Car and €3 for the audio-guide – if there are more than 20 of you, a group discount applies.
Those who stay at the hotel can either car-pool (car parking at Floriade costs €10.00) or take a taxi (about €20.00 for both car or taxi-minibus).
http://www.floriade.com/visit-floriade/how-do-i-get-to-the-floriade-2012
With the flexibility of the audio-guide everyone can decide whether we tour the venue together or explore it individually.
We then all meet for High Tea at 18hrs (it costs €17 per person and includes unlimited fair-trade coffee or tea for 1 hour, served with sandwiches, muffins, brownies and various cakes).
The Financial details of the options in a nutshell:
· Arrival Saturday: dinner, hotel-accommodation, entrance and high-tea: €116+€17 = €133 per person, excluding a single supplement (if applicable), drinks during dinner and the costs of getting from the hotel to Floriade (taxi-ride or car-parking costs)
· Arrival Sunday: entrance and high tea: €33+€17 = €50 per person, excluding parking
Enjoy the summer!