Fundamentals and Frequently Asked Questions

Photos / Videos

Ask everybody in the picture whether they agree to be photographed or filmed. Inform them if you want to publish the picture anywhere. It follows that shots from the stage towards the audience and long shots in the hackcenters, assemblies and the other public areas are not possible! Please note that we might ask photographers and film teams to leave if they don’t respect this.

Tickets and Check-in

For information about getting and using your Congress ticket, have a look at our ticket FAQ.

Basic Provisions

Where can I find something to eat and drink?

There will be bars, and most likely also commercial food vendors. In addition, CCH is located quite centrally within Hamburg, so you will have no trouble finding restaurants and supermarkets within walking distance or a few public transport stops away.

There will be food for volunteers at the Heaven kitchen.

Which methods of payment are available?

Please expect that most services will only accept payment in cash.
Also, keep in mind that local ATMs are likely to be overloaded by the number of Congress participants, so make sure to bring enough cash.

Where is the next ATM?

  • The nearest “Volksbank” ATM is 5 minutes by foot from the CCH entrance.
    1. Follow the park fence heading to the train station
    2. Continue to Stephansplatz
    3. Enter the subway station across Stephansplatz to find the underground ATM.
  • The second-nearest “Sparkasse” ATM is 12 minutes by foot.
    1. Walk to the other side of the railway tracks, via the passage next to Radisson hotel or through Dammtor station
    2. Cross the street (Edmund-Siemens-Allee), then turn left and walk along the same street (Edmund-Siemens-Allee) towards Uni(versity of) Hamburg.
    3. Where the road splits into Bundesstraße (half-right) and Grindelallee (half-right), follow Grindelallee. You will need to cross to other side of Grindelallee though, which you can do now or later.
    4. The ATM is under the roof of the HaSpa (Hamburger Sparkasse) building at the 3rd intersection to the left. (Intersection Grindeallee/Rentzelstraße/Grindelhof)
  • The nearest “Sparkasse” ATM is 10 minutes away, but repeatedly runs out of money even when outside Congress. The one described here is part of a HaSpa branch, so it gets restocked more frequently.

Where can I store my valuables?

You will need to take care of your valuables yourself. Up to now very few things have been stolen at CCC events, but as our events grow bigger the number of jerks probably rises proportionally.

As far as we currently know, there won’t be any lockers at CCH. The nearest publicly usable lockers are at Dammtor railway station.

While at Congress, you can ask your friendly neighbour to watch out for your stuff, lock it in a car, or carry it with you.

Getting things to Congress (and back)

Ideally, carry your items with you when you travel, or arrange for them to be transported by your friends or other helpful beings.

If you need to receive or send something by mail, please have it delivered to a post office or drop-off station (e.g. Packstation or similar offers) – keep in mind that locations close to CCH are likely to be overloaded (which may cause your mail to be re-routed to a location further away).

Important: We cannot accept your post or parcels at CCH!

For organizing-related items and larger freight, please contact the logistics team before arranging any deliveries.

Can I come with a campervan/caravan?

Please expect that there will be no camping locations at CCH, and look for a suitable camping area instead.

Where can I sleep?

CCH does not provide space for sleeping, so please make sure to organize suitable accomodation at a hotel, hostel, friendly person’s couch, or similar, in advance.

We have secured a limited amount of affordable options for sleeping at gyms at a nearby school, see Affordable sleeping accomodation for details.

Soldering and (unintentional) smoke machines

The CCH has a state-of-the-art smoke detection system that we do not want to set off. So be careful with anything that could cause smoke. (And try to not use your devices in a manner that would cause them to become unintentional smoke machines.) If you want to do anything that causes smoke, ask the Assembly team if arrangements can be made.

Dogs and other pets

Can I bring my dog?

No (exception: service dogs). We ask everybody not to bring dogs. There are at least three problems we had with dogs at events in the past:

  1. Dogs mark their territory by peeing.
  2. Attendees have problems with dogs – be it allergy or phobia.
  3. Dogs can have problems with people. They get scared in a crowd or by some odours.

Congress is not a good place for pets. Leave your pets at home.

Service dogs are of course allowed and welcomed together with their human companion.

Driving objects

Can I bring a scooter, bicycle, or motorized Mate crate?

Please be sensible and be excellent to each other.

At CCH, space is significantly tighter compared to the halls in Leipzig.

This means that 38C3 will require us to be particularly considerate and careful around each other. Using vehicles will be more cumbersome, and also a lot less necessary than you might remember from 34C3–36C3. So please consider simply leaving your personal vehicle at home.

Your means of getting around Congress must always be safe first, and joyful second.

Where can I park my bicycle?

There are two areas with bicycle stands/hooks (approximately 80 in total) in the CCH parking garage. Since those are not operated by us, it is currently unclear whether using them will cost a fee.

Also note that there might not be enough spots for everyone to arrive by bicycle, so be prepared to look for (non-obstructive) parking options in the vicinity just in case.

Where can I park my car?

CCH provides a number of parking spaces for a fee.

Note that the carpark is underground and is only suitable for vehicles up to a maximum height of 1.90 metres.

Also note that there might not be enough spots for everyone to arrive by car, so be prepared to look for (non-obstructive) parking options in the vicinity just in case.

Flying objects

No flying objects are allowed in the area of the event.

Phones

Will there be a DECT network?

Yes, see Facilities.

Will there be a GSM network?

Yes, see Facilities.

Network

See Facilities.

Social Media

Please use the hashtag #38C3 to tag all things related to the “38th Chaos Communication Congress”.

Please do not post any information about or pictures of other people anywhere online unless they have agreed before. Respect our photo policy while taking pictures and inform the people in the picture where you want to publish it.

Preparations

How can I prepare for Congress?

WIP

This section is work in progress

Besides making a backup of your data, nice people compiled a guide [not updated for 38C3 yet] with lots of ideas on preparing yourself and your hardware for Congress.

What should I bring to Congress?

See for example MacLemon’s congress checklist.

CCTV

There are a lot of surveillance cameras in the house. The entire system is deactivated, no recordings or streams are made.

I have another question

If you’re missing an answer to your question, the Infodesk is happy to help!