So... Do we have any dates?

June 11th?

4 months away then

Sounds like some people have been beavering away behind the scenes...

Unfortunately that weekend is already taken

Say it isn't so

Edit:

Which date are you looking at by the way, Rob updated it from June to 8/9/10/11 July.

Linked the actual announcement thread.

Date on the web site needs correcting.

http://theultimateempegmeet.info/

Unfortunately the updated date. Elaine's nephew from New Jersey is visiting us here in Amsterdam

Sounds like someone who needs a weekend in Dorset.

Not sure I would subject a 16-year-old to that...

So... July then? I might be able to pull this off. How exactly does one get from London to Wareham? I see it's a 100 mile drive. Are there reasonable train connections?

It is just under 2.5 hours from London Waterloo by train, often with no changes.

http://traintimes.org.uk/london/wareham/10:45/2011-03-22

N.B. I haven't checked to see whether Wareham is the closest station to the hotel


Wareham is the closest, not much over a mile from the hotel.

I'm pleased to say that Rob has picked a venue a mere 8 miles away from possibly the best pub in the world.

http://www.squareandcompasspub.co.uk/

Though if it is a sunny weekend there is no way to get any where near it, far too popular nowadays

I'll be there. Still deciding whether to bring the kids (and, by implication, the wife).

I really want to be there, but its one week before I'm flying out for my wedding!

Hey, congrat's on getting hitched (soon)!
Where are the nuptials being held?

Thanks Mark! My fiancée is from Calgary so most of the ceremonies and the wedding itself will be over there.

Well, that's the second high-profile Brit I can recall from recent years that's found a suitable bride in Canada!

Umh... All I get from those links is a static logo (from a redirection to xs4all.nl)

Darn! That's the North Sea Jazz weekend, for which I already have 3-day tickets ...

Pim

Above the logo it says "June 11th, 2011: Where will YOU be? "

If I recall correctly, it's not the first time that Jazz festival gets in the way of the Empeg meet for you!

Coincidence: I've been invited to a workshop in Germany that's July 10-15. This is fortuitous because it means my transatlantic flight can now be a business travel expense. It also means I may not be able to make all four days of the empeg meet, but some is certainly better than none.

(Non-trivial travel question: my post-empeg German destination would be Schloss Dagstuhl, which is vaguely near Wadern. From the U.S., you fly to Frankfurt and spend hours on a train. From London, it appears that I can fly to either Zweibrücken or Luxembourg. Anybody done anything like this?)

You can fly from London Stansted (STN) to Hahn (HHN) (which is just 70km away from Dagstuhl) via Ryan Air. Have a look at Ryan Air's website - you can get good deals on flights for as low as € 19,- or so at times. Be aware of their hidden costs though...

Cheers,

Peter

But you won't be at Stansted if you've just arrived from the US -- you'll be at LGW or LHR. It's not worth transferring between London airports -- especially not to/from Stansted -- just to shave a couple of hours off the train journey at the destination.

Peter

I thought he'd be in Wareham...

Well, I was under the impression he would be at the empeg meet after he arrived from the US and would travel to Germany after that. But still - he would have to get from STN to either LGW or LHR upon his return from Germany...

Peter

or:
* US -> LHR/LGW
* empeg meet
* Stansted -> Hahn
* work event
* Frankfurt -> US

Not always do-able but worth investigating.

Right, that would be the best solution.

Peter

That's right. But the last time, the Empeg Meet was in Amersfoort, and I managed to attend both events. That's going to be hard this time.

Pim