All Hands/Berlin2020

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What is it? -- Multiple team meetings, happening in the same city, at the same time + some opportunity to get together as one big group as well as with other teams as it makes sense. Then, on the last day, we have a fun social event for all, Mozilla-style!

The information on this wiki primarily applies to Full time and contractor staff. If you are a volunteer contributor please inquire with your community manager/program manager about contributor nominations, interns please inquire to your coordinator. Volunteer contributors who have recieved an invitation can find relevant information here.

Contents

Dates and Location

Monday, January 27, 2020 - Friday, January 31, 2020 (travel days are Monday, Jan 27 & Saturday, Feb 1) in Berlin, Germany. Berlin is in the Central European Time Zone (CET), which is UTC+1 during the all hands.

We have guestrooms at three hotels: InterContinental Berlin, Hotel Pullman Schweizerhof, and Hotel Berlin, Berlin. View on map.

*For those countries where rest time is required on weekends (vs. work travel), Mozilla will cover a return on the next available work day, if you choose. This needs to pre-approved and pre-arranged.

Registration

This is an invite-only event. All full time and Elance/Upwork employees are expected to attend this all company event. Contractors, Vendors and seasonal employees are included on a case by case evaluation based upon team needs and upon executive review and approval.

Advance registration is required. Attendees will need to wear their event badge at all times, including to evening events. We will have security at our events who will be ensuring everyone in our space should be there. This includes facilitators, and other related business guests.

New Hires

We have a process to identify qualified regular full time new hires and Brianna will invite all new hires to register and book travel directly on their start date. No action is necessary from hiring managers other than to let them know about the event (please do not forward any links). Please work closely with your recruiting manager as they are aware of all deadlines.

All regular full time new hires must have a start date of January 6, 2020 or earlier and in workday by December 13, 2019. Final invites were extended on December 16, 2019. Contractors/vendors required executive approval and those who are hired after the approval period will not be invited, please see process/timeline here. If you have any questions, please email bmark@.

Volunteer Contributors

There are a number of policies that apply specifically to contributors that are different than for staff. Please look here for all contributor specific instructions and policies.

Local contributors:

Please note that because of the extensive nomination and screening process we apply to all contributors who attend the event - we are unable to invite local contributors or temporary participants to the event outside of the regular nomination and screening process.

Registration Changes

Everyone who registered received a confirmation email titled "Registration Confirmation to Mozilla Berlin All Hands" which shows you how you answered each question. If you didn't get the email and/or need to make changes to your registration, please email mozilla@shworldwide.com.

Immigration

If you have any questions about immigration, please email immigration@mozilla.com.

STEP

What is STEP? The Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) is a free service to allow U.S. citizens and nationals traveling abroad to enroll their trip with the nearest U.S. Embassy or Consulate. Benefits of Enrolling in STEP

  • Receive important information from the Embassy about safety conditions in your destination country, helping you make informed decisions about your travel plans.
  • Help the U.S. Embassy contact you in an emergency, whether natural disaster, civil unrest, or family emergency.
  • Help family and friends get in touch with you in an emergency.

Visas

You do not need a visa if you hold a passport issued from the EU, USA, Australia, New Zealand, Taiwan, or Canada. Please see here to confirm the entry document requirements for the country you’re from: https://www.auswaertiges-amt.de/en/einreiseundaufenthalt/visabestimmungen-node/staatenlistevisumpflicht-node

If you are from a country that requires a visa to enter Germany, please plan to obtain one as early as possible as government processing times constantly change. You can find a broad overview of the process here: https://www.auswaertiges-amt.de/en/einreiseundaufenthalt/visabestimmungen-node . For more detailed instructions regarding the visa process you will need to refer to the website of your nearest Mission/Consulate General. You will be able to learn more about the process by searching for “business visa” or “visitor visa” on the website for that German Mission.

Please keep in mind that while you are traveling for work, you are not traveling for a German based job. All Hands is a business conference/event. As you book your travel please also keep in mind that you could require a transit visa if you have a layover in a country that requires it.

If you have questions specific to your circumstances, please email immigration@mozilla.com.

Entering Germany

Your passport or identity card will be checked when you arrive at an EU port or airport to make sure you’re allowed to come into the country. The passport must be valid for the whole of your stay. You may also need a visa to come into or travel through Germany, depending on your nationality.

  • If you are from an EEA country or Switzerland, you can enter Germany with either a valid passport or a national identity card issued by a EEA country.
  • If you need a United States Passport, start here: https://travel.state.gov/content/passports/en/passports.html. Please note it can take 4-6 weeks to receive your passport. Please plan ahead.

EU Visa Waiver Program Suspension - Update

In March 2019 the EU announced that the visa free entry requirements for third country visitors to Europe would be changing. This change will not go into affect until 1 January 2021, note this is one year after our Berlin All Hands trip. After this date, citizens from certain countries, including the USA and Canada, will be required to obtain an ETIAS travel authorization before they can enter Europe.

More details:

Mission websites in popular Mozillian locations:

Travel to Berlin

Bookings to Berlin are done. The Egencia instructions were emailed to anyone approved to attend. New hires have individual deadlines based upon hire/start date. Approved contractors, vendors, seasonal, status employees were notified with an email from bmark@ with specific instructions.

Specific instructions were about how to book, as we have a new process for anyone based outside the US, Canada & Central/South America. APAC employees will NOT be booking your All Hands travel in country based site, and will be using Egencia Americas. European employees WILL be booking in your country based site to allow access to trains and low cost airlines.

Should you need to reach someone at Egencia Americas for special circumstances or changes that can't be done online:

  • Call+1 (800) 361-1120 or +1(702)939-2533; Hours of operations are Monday – Friday (except holidays) 5:00 AM– 6:00 PM PT or 8:00 AM – 9:00 PM ET or 12:00 PM - 1:00 AM UTC. If you call outside these hours, you will get an after-hours agent (not a meeting agent, who may not be as helpful)
. Please ensure the agent you speak with knows you are booking for a meeting.
  • Email: groupagents@customercare.egencia.com. The email is monitored Monday - Friday.

Other Egencia contact details:

  • Egencia UK+EMEA - Email: customer_service@egencia.co.uk; UK Local #: +44 203 077 2536 (charged at local rate). For calls made outside the UK, please dial +00 44 161 233 5525. (From anywhere outside the EU, please dial +011 44...)
  • Egencia FR - Email: service_client@egencia.fr; France Local #: +33 8 11 65 66 53. For calls made outside France, please dial +33 4 86 06 15 18 (From anywhere outside the EU, please dial +011 33)

Important Details: Everyone should plan to arrive in Berlin Tegel Airport (TXL) on Monday, January 27 and leave on Saturday, February 1. Anyone who plans to arrive ahead of that or to stay longer, regardless of the reason, must follow the "arriving early/departing late guidelines." These guidelines also apply if you want to fly in or out of airports other than your home airport and Berlin Tegel (anything custom). A few notes:

  • If you are a vendor (paid by a company other than Mozilla or Upwork), contractor, or seasonal staff, those approved will be sent separate email.
  • Volunteers will be handled separate from this process.
  • We work closely with Recruiting to ensure new hires are invited after their start date. No need to let us know about these.
  • If you would like to invite someone who is a business partner, facilitator or some other category that isn't an employee or volunteer (not a personal guest/family), email bmark@.
  • Change fees and changes in airfare will be covered by Mozilla for business reasons only. Please email bmark@ ahead of calling Egencia to make the change. If the change is specific for all hands, payment can be made centrally. If a change is due to a team specific need, you will need to provide payment over the phone and submit for reimbursement with manager approval. Any changes for personal reasons must be paid by the employee directly to Egencia over the phone (see next point)
  • If you'd like to change your itinerary for personal reasons, please call Egencia directly (numbers above( and be prepared to provide payment for the change fee and any change in airfare over the phone.

Arriving Early/Departing Late Guidelines

Our standard travel guidelines apply (pre-populated in Egencia) when booking with a few additional budget constraints. Anything booked outside of them will require approval. Most people will arrive on Monday, January 27 and leave on Saturday, February 1. Here are some exceptions:

  1. If you plan to spend some extra personal time in Berlin/Europe or nearby (choosing to arrive before Monday, Jan 27 or depart after Saturday, Feb 1), you'll need to create a itinerary in Egencia for standard dates/locations within the Egencia Portal and compare to the custom dates/locations you'd like. Pricing for the standard dates should be Round Trip only. Pricing for custom dates/locations should be for Round trip or Multi city trips only. Please share the difference via email to bmark@ and receive approval ahead of submission in Egencia. You can sway up to +$100 over and Mozilla will cover it. Otherwise you'll need to come with an alternate itinerary that fits within the pricing (like a round trip in and out of TXL w/ longer dates, and you personally book & cover the rest). Please note that one way trips are only approved on a case by case basis. Do not book one ways without prior approval. We do not have the ability for employees to reimburse Mozilla for any overage. This scenario also applies for routing through different airports to/from Berlin Tegel than your home airport (ex. a layover in London for a few days, or flying out of something other than TXL).
  2. If you are attending the Sunday/Monday CI event (by invite), you can arrive on Sunday, January 26.
  3. If you would like to arrive early to recover from jetlag, you will need manager approval for any additional costs associated with the extension. There is no unilateral "All Hands" approval based upon timezone to arrive early. For hotel, you will book and pay on your own, and expense the manager approved amount (which is coded to your cost center). This policy does not apply to volunteer contributors, any jetlag recovery costs must be self funded.
  4. If you are celebrating the Lunar New Year, see here.
  5. If you live in a country where work travel is prohibited on weekends, you may travel on Friday, Jan 24 and Monday, Feb 3, if you’d prefer (not required). For hotel, you will book and pay on your own, and expense the manager approved amount (which is coded to your cost center). You must have approval from our benefits team in writing (and send to bmark@) prior to booking any travel. Approvals and expenses will not be applied retroactively.
  6. If you live in a country where work travel is prohibited on Sunday, you may travel on Saturday, Jan 25, if you’d prefer (not required). For hotel, you will book and pay on your own, and expense the manager approved amount (which is coded to your cost center). You must have approval from our benefits team in writing (and send to bmark@) prior to booking any travel. Approvals and expenses will not be applied retroactively.
  7. If you'd like to make changes to extend your stay on either side after booking, you will be responsible for all change fees and change in airfare.

Booking Family Travel

Whether your family will accompany you on your flight or join us later; and you have two options: direct with the airline (recommended) or through Egencia.

Direct (recommended):

First, figure out which flights you want to be on as an employee in Egencia. Hold them in Egencia. Find the flights you want for your family on the airline site and book them. Go back to Egencia and book your flights. Once you have both sets of confirmation numbers, call the airline and ask them to LINK your two reservations. This shows that you are traveling together and shouldn't be moved. When you call, you can also ask the airline agent to assign seats together. By booking your family direct on the airline, it gives them "priority" with the airline over people who book via a third party (expedia, booking.com, kayak, etc). These aren't guarantees, but they do help.

Via Egencia:

We do not recommend booking family through Egencia. If you'd like details about how to do it, please email bmark@

Notes:

  • If your family is arriving on a different flights than you but would like to take advantage of the airport shuttles on Sunday/Monday and/or Saturday, please email their itinerary to mozilla@shworldwide.com.
  • We are unable to accommodate volunteer contributor families/guests.
  • As of 20 November, we only have rooms that can accommodate 2 adults. If a larger room is needed, it will need to be booked and paid for on your own.

Not Flying

Mozilla will reimburse U-Bahn tickets for those based in the Berlin area for getting to/from hotels. For more information on the U-Bahn, please see the Berlin office guide on mana.

For those outside of the Berlin area who are taking the train, please book by November 10. Instructions were emailed to everyone.

Parking is not reimbursable.

Travel Insurance

Mozilla provides emergency medical accident and illness cover for all global MoCo employees/interns and their dependents. You can view more information on Mana. This coverage begins at the time the you leave home to start your business trip. It also has a provision for a 14 day extension for leisure travel outside of the business travel. If you have additional questions, please email benefits@mozilla.com.

Mozilla does not cover travel insurance for elancers, upworkers, contractors, vendors, or volunteers/community members (unless required for visa application).

Air Travel Fine Print

  • Change fees will be covered by Mozilla for business reasons only. If you need a change and have manager approval, email bmark@ prior to requesting the change with Egencia. Once you have approval, call Egencia to make the change at 1-877-255-1090 (note this will not be possible without prior approval so be sure to get that by way of an email from your manager to Brianna Mark). If you are changing for personal reasons, the change in airfare, change fee and Egencia fee is your responsibility.
  • Mozilla will not reimburse for Business/First class upgrades, tickets or seat reservations.
  • Mozilla will reimburse for one checked bag each way.
  • Mozilla Frequent Flyer perks do not apply for All Hands.
  • Flights booked outside of Egencia will not be an approved expense unless email approval by Brianna is obtained prior to booking.
  • Any submitted expenses needs to have an itinerary attached to ensure it is employee expenses only and within policy.

Ground Transportation

Shuttles to hotels

Berlin Tegel airport is open from 4:00 - 0:00. Shuttles will be provided from Berlin Tegel Airport (TXL) to our 3 hotels:

  • Sunday, Jan 26 from 8:30 - 22:00, for flights landing between 7:45 and 21:45.
  • Monday, Jan 27 from 8:00 - 23:00, for flights landing between 7:15 and 22:55.

Shuttles will drop at Hotel Berlin, Berlin and InterCon Berlin. Those staying at Pullman will get off at InterCon and walk across the street.

Arrival at Terminal A: Once you have arrived at Terminal A, you will pick up any checked luggage at baggage claim located near your arrival gate. Once you have your checked luggage you can exit the secure area of Terminal A. There will be staff holding Mozilla signs & wearing bright blue Mozilla shirts directing you to the shuttle. You will exit the main hall of TXL and walk past the public buses to the bus parking area where the Mozilla shuttle will be. The shuttle will depart every 30 minutes (approx on the :00 and :30 each hour).

Terminal A Airlines: Aegean, Air Canada, Air France, All Nippon Airways, American Airlines, Austrian Airlines, British Airways, Brussels Airlines, China Southern Airlines, Delta, Etihad Airways, Finnair, Iberia 3672, Icelandair, KLM, LOT-Polish Airlines, Lufthansa, Qantas Airways, SAS, Scandinavian Airlines, Singapore Airlines, Swiss, TAP Portugal, Turkish Airlines, United

Arrival at Terminal C: Once you have arrived at Terminal C, you will pick up any checked luggage at baggage claim located near your arrival gate. Once you have your checked luggage exit the secure area of Terminal C and turn right. There will be staff holding Mozilla signs & wearing bright blue Mozilla shirts directing you to the shuttle. After exiting Terminal C you will walk down an alley that leads to an elevator & staircase, take this to the upper level and cross over the covered bridge. At the end of the bridge you will be in front of the main TXL terminal. Walk past the public buses to the bus parking area where the Mozilla shuttle will be. The shuttle will depart every 30 minutes (approx on the :00 and :30 each hour).

Terminal C Airlines: Aer Lingus, easyJet, Iberia, Ryan Air, Vueling Airlines

Arrivals at other terminals should follow directions to terminal A/public bus locations and will see staff in bright blue shirts. Terminal D & E: Eurowings Map of Airport: File:MOZ MAH TXL map v1.pdf

Shuttles to airport

Shuttles from our 3 hotels to Berlin Tegel will be provided:

  • Saturday, Feb 1 from 3:30 - 18:00, for flights departing 6:00 - 20:30.
  • Sunday, Feb 2 from 3:30 - 12:00, for flights departing 6:00 - 14:00. If you are on a later flight, you can take the last shuttle at 12:00 but must sign up in advance.

Note: Berlin-Tegel Airport opens at 4:00, and most gates do not open until 4:30. It is a small airport, and for most airlines you check in and go through security right at the gate.

Those staying at Pullman will walk to InterCon hotel for shuttles to airport.

Self organized transportation

If you are arriving outside of shuttle hours, transportation is on your own (both in booking and paying) and is not reimbursable. Taxis and Addison Lee are not reimbursable.

Train

If you are arriving by train to Hauptbahnhof: To Hotel Berlin Berlin

  • FROM HAUPTBAHNHOF STATION: Take the S-Bahn metro lines S5, S9 or S75 to the station “Zoologischer Garten” (20 min.). From there, take the bus 100 to the stop Lützowplatz.
  • Via U-BAHN: Take the U-Bahn metro lines U2, U3 and U1 to the station “U-Nollendorfplatz”. Exit the station in the direction of “Karl-Heinrich-Ulrichs-Straße." The road leads directly to the hotel (approx 5 mins).
  • Map

To InterCon Berlin and Pullman

  • FROM HAUPTBAHNHOF STATION: Take the S-Bahn metro lines S3, S5, S7, or S9 to the station “Zoologischer Garten”. From there, walk 10 mins to hotel.

Berlin's integrated public transport is divided in 3 tariff zones (ABC). To travel within the city, including from Tegel airport to the hotels, you only need an AB ticket. Tickets can be bought at automated booths in most stations (accept credit cards), and on Metro (need coins). You can use the same ticket to travel on buses, metro, S-Bahn, U-Bahn. More information, including PDF maps, are available on this website. A mobile app is available on stores ("BVG FahrInfo Plus") and allows to create routes between stations, or you can use directly the BVG website.

Getting around Berlin

You’ll rarely hear from your Berlin-based colleagues (or anyone else actually living in the city instead of the suburbs) that they prefer or even enjoy taking the car anywhere. Many don’t even own a car unless they truly need it because driving in Berlin is not a lot of fun with busy traffic, lots (looooots!) of construction sites, a bunch of one-way streets and barely any free parking spaces. When exploring the city, we recommend that you use public transportation instead, which takes you everywhere and is pretty reliable. Or you rent bikes and even add some exercise to your city tour.

In order to make sure that you know your transportation options, here’s an overview of what you may use — and how.

Buying tickets

Most types of public transport require you to buy and validate your ticket before entering the respective vehicle. You can find ticket machines at the stations or buy a ticket at shops in one of the larger train stations. The machines usually inform you in German and in English, which makes them easy to use.

You’ll be able to buy different types of tickets depending on where you go and duration of their validity, from just one ride up to 6 days. If you plan to use public transportation for several days in a row it’s definitely recommended to get a multi-day ticket because the relative price will be lower.

Of course, there are also some peculiarities to each type of transportation when it comes to paying the fees: U-Bahn & S-Bahn: After buying a ticket at the machine, which you’ll most likely find on the platform or, if it’s a larger train station, in the entry area, you may need to validate it at an extra machine. They’re usually located on the platform, as well. Here's a picture of a ticket machine with the ticket validation machine to its left. Bus: Most bus stations don’t have ticket machines but you can buy one from the driver. Tram: Some trains have ticket machines inside; however, they don’t always work.

Please also take into account where you’re actually planning to go when buying a ticket. Berlin has 3 fare zones: A (city center), B (wider Berlin city area) and C (outside of the actual Berlin city area; Brandenburg). Unless you’re only exploring the area around the All Hands site, you’ll probably want to get “AB” tickets. If you need to go to or from Berlin Schönefeld Airport (SXF), it is located in fare zone C, so you'll need a ticket that covers area “C”. If you have an “AB” ticket you can buy an extension ticket for a single trip.

U-Bahn (the subway)

The “U-Bahn” is our local subway system, which connects the entire city area, taking you almost everywhere within just a few minutes. There are 10 lines overall, named U1 to U9 (plus the kind of odd U55 that only connects very few stations). Big “U” signs all over Berlin help you spot the next station.

The BVG (Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe, the Berlin transport company) offer a fully interactive route map on their website. If you prefer a printed version, you can pick one up for free at one of their customer centers; the main office is located in the subway station “Alexanderplatz” in the city center. Or you just download their app, which is available for all major OS. You can also buy tickets via the app.

Pro tip: You may want to download the Berlin map in your favorite navigation app. Given that your phone plan may not apply to Europe (or it’s ridiculously expensive to go online), this can actually save your day because public WiFi isn’t as widely available in Germany as e.g. in North America.

Tram/Straßenbahn

The tram is Berlin’s overground train service within the city. There are 22 lines overall: 9 so-called MetroTram lines (names consist of “M” plus a line number) and 13 streetcar lines (where the name is a simple number). They complement the U-Bahn and S-Bahn system by running on important routes that are not covered otherwise.

Given the size of the Berlin city area, you’ll most likely need to switch between trains and types of public transport, which includes the trams. They’re usually easy to find since they’re comparatively loud, painted in shining yellow and, well, run on overground tracks through pedestrian zones and next to roads used by cars. Also, big red signs with the word “tram” on them guide the way.

S-Bahn

The S-Bahn is another overground train but covers longer distances than the tram (and doesn't run in or cross streets).

You’ll probably want to take the S-Bahn when visiting the neighbourhoods that are further out, doing a day trip to Potsdam or going to Schoenefeld Airport. If Berlin’s 3rd airport, BER, ever happens to open, transport from the city will also be covered by S-Bahn. It's also good for some trips within the city center.

Other trains

Are you planning a trip through Germany or even beyond? Then you may want to consider taking one of the trains of the Deutsche Bahn (German railway company).

Trains leave from the 7 long-distance train stations in Berlin. You can buy tickets online (bahn.de) or at the machines in each of the stations. If you’re planning a longer trip or want to travel during peak times, it’s recommended to buy your ticket in advance, add a seat reservation and take sufficient provisions for the trip since food and drinks at the “Bord-Bistro” are ridiculously expensive.

Pro tip: If you bought a seat reservation in advance and there’s someone sitting in your spot, don’t be shy and ask them to get up. It may be awkward but it’s totally normal. Also, the reservation goes away if you don’t claim your seat within a certain amount of time after getting on the train.

Even though it carries about two billion passengers annually, it’s unlikely that you’ll experience amazing service or punctuality on your Deutsche Bahn trip — which is at least a little bit funny given that it used to be owned by the government of a country that’s mostly known for its efficiency. Just kidding ;) German trains are quite comfortable to use, prices are okay and from Berlin, you’ll arrive in most other larger cities in Germany and the neighbouring countries within comparatively short times as the trains can go up to 300 km/h.

Busses

Just like in any other country, busses combine all of the inconveniences of public transportation and driving a car in the city: it’s crowded, you may need to stand for a pretty long time and it takes forever to get to your destination. Still, busses are used a lot (at least in Berlin) because they cover many short routes where there’s not S-Bahn, U-Bahn or Tram service.

When entering a bus in Berlin, operated by the aforementioned BVG, you’re theoretically required to show your ticket to the diver; some don’t really care while others are quite strict about it. Beyond that, there are a couple of additional rules you should be aware of before stepping into a BVG bus:

  • Don’t stand anywhere close to a door unless you feel prepared to deal with the rage of the bus driver. They don’t mind yelling at someone in the very back of the bus or even interrupt their route until the respective person behaves as they’re expected to.
  • This applies to your luggage just as much as to you as a person.
  • Make sure to monitor the route closely. If you want to get off the bus you need to push the button to request a stop soon enough or stay on the bus until the driver finishes their tour.

Pro tip: If you get on a bus that isn’t too crowded let the driver know where you want to go and take a seat nearby. They’re not all grumpy. Some of them are actually quite friendly and helpful when you approach them directly.

Taxi & Uber

Uber has grown to become the most successful driving services in many countries but it is currently banned in Germany after its UberX service has been found in violation of German federal law prohibiting private citizens (e.g. without background checks) to offer transport services. Instead use one of the many (7500 in total) regular yellow licensed taxis. When calling a driver in Berlin you have several choices:

  • Get a regular taxi by calling one over the phone (+49 30 20 20 20 OR +49 30 26 10 26), find a taxi stop, or stop a taxi on the street. Just make sure to have some cash on you as some of them don’t take credit cards. Remember, licensed Taxis are a light yellow ("light ivory", picture).
  • Call a regular taxi via the taxi.eu app. This app (download: Apple iOS, Android) offers a similar service as Uber but gives access to the majority of Berlin's regular (and regulated) taxis (7200 of the 7500 total). The main difference is that you can either pay cash or need to be connected to the internet in order to pay through the app at the end of your ride: while you agree on a price with your Uber driver before getting into their car, taxi.eu will charge you for the actual distance/time it took to get you to your destination, which isn’t clearly determined before your arrival and only an estimate is shown during booking.

Hotels

Your hotel assignments/confirmations have been emailed coming from bmark@, not the hotel directly. Please make sure to read and check for accuracy.

In each email, you will find:

  • Your assigned hotel
  • The dates that have been booked for you
  • Links to book extra nights beyond what has been booked for you (links expired Dec 20, 2019)

A few things to note:

  1. If you have any changes or questions about your reservation, email mozilla@shworldwide.com. The hotel cannot make changes to All Hands reservations so we’d like very much if you didn’t try (it complicates things).
  2. If you registered that you have guests joining you for all or part of the week:
  • You will be responsible for covering all additional fees at the hotel.
  • All hotel rooms have a maximum capacity of 2 adults (with some exceptions limited to very small children)
  • If you registered by October 13:
  • Guests have already been added to your hotel reservation on your behalf. You have been assigned a room that can accommodate you and your guests. Please refer to the total occupants listed in your hotel confirmation.
  • If you need to add a guest, please email mozilla@shworldwide.com. Please note: all hotel rooms that can accommodate more than 2 adults have been alloted. If a larger room is needed, it will need to be booked and paid for on your own.

If you are planning to book pre/post stays and didn't complete by the deadline of Dec 20, you can book directly with the hotel online. We can not guarantee any rates or room type availability. Please use your legal name and use LDAP email so the hotel can try to match reservations and room types. Reservations booked through third party sites (hotels.com,. etc) can not be linked to all hands reservations.

Everyone will be required to present a form of payment on check-in for incidentals. For your own sanity, please do not provide a debit/cash card. If you are unable to provide a credit card, please email mozilla@shworldwide.com and we can request special accommodations.

Families/Guests

Of course our focus, for the majority of the week, will be on Mozilla. Everyone is expected to be present and engaged each day, during work hours (as your schedule dictates). Please do what you can to make sure your loved ones understand the kind of commitment you’ve made. Please note that what are able to do for families varies by each location. We are unable to accommodate volunteer contributor or intern families/guests at our All Hands.

Quick summary logistics

  • Air Travel: Employees do need to book via Egencia regardless of how families are booked.
  • Hotel: Family/friends are welcome to stay with you. All room rates are based upon single occupancy and include breakfast. Guests must be added to reservations in advance and any additional room expenses will be yours to cover. Most of our hotel rooms have a maximum of double occupancy (2 adults), with very limited availability of rooms for higher occupancy. Higher occupancy rooms will be assigned in the order that you register. As of 20 November, we only have rooms that can accommodate 2 adults. If a larger room is needed, it will need to be booked and paid for on your own.

Additional Guest fees

Hotel Hotel Berlin InterCon Pullman
2nd guest fee (incl bfast) 20,00 € 25,00 € 24,00 €
3rd guest fee (incl bfast) 50,00 € N/A N/A
4th guest fee (incl bfast) 50,00 € N/A N/A
Age applicable 6+ All All
  • Lunch & Dinner: Family will be on their own for lunch daily and dinner on Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday.
  • Monday & Friday Night Events: Family members who are registered for the event and registered with the hotel, are invited to join us for our evening events.
  • Childcare Services: We will not provide centralized childcare services. We have found that every family has different needs and centralized childcare does not deliver on those needs. If you are in need of help finding options for your family, we are happy to connect you with staff whose families who are coming (#allhands-childcare and #parents are great places to start), as well we are happy to help support finding of resources (although you are likely better at it than us). Given every circumstance is unique, we defer to your manager to determine what Mozilla can support you with financially.

On demand babysitting services in Berlin:

Exploring Berlin with Kids

Berlin is a great city to explore with kids as it offers lots of fun, interesting and educational activities that are even suitable for the cold weeks of January. Which brings us to a very important recommendation we want to share right at the beginning of this section: dress your kids up appropriately to the weather but focus on layers. The onion look may not always be super fancy but both you and your kids will appreciate it: Since it can get unpleasantly cold in the Berlin winter, public places and attractions tend to heat up their indoor offers. Wearing layers makes sure that your kids neither get cold outside nor sweaty when going inside.

Inside activities
  • The Deutsches Technikmuseum (German Technical Museum) is a great place to spend time on a cold January day. It’s exciting for both adults and kids and offers a lot to explore. Discover the cultural history of technology by yourself! Also, you can get there from the All Hands location in just 20 minutes by public transport.

Deutsches Technikmuseum, Trebbiner Straße 9, 10963 Berlin-Kreuzberg Opening hours: TUE-FRI 9am-5:30pm, SAT+SUN 10am-6pm

  • MACHmit! museum für Kinder is a museum like no other: Endless opportunities to discover and try new things encourage children to learn through play, whilst also gaining new and exciting experiences that they would not come across in an average day. Arts and crafts activities, lots of running and being loud and for parents a nice area where you can get coffee and snacks.

MACHmit! Museum für Kinder, Senefelderstraße 5, 10437 Berlin Opening hours: TUE-SUN 10am-6pm

  • The Aquarium Berlin in the center of Berlin is one of Europe’s best-known and most notable aquariums. Behind the building’s historic façade awaits an impressive diversity of species that few facilities in the world can rival. The Aquarium not only houses numerous extraordinary fish, it is also home to hundreds of impressive reptiles and insects. Also, it’s just a 5 minutes walk from the All Hands location.

Aquarium Berlin, Budapester Str. 32, 10787 Berlin Opening hours: Daily 9am-6pm

  • View the night sky without any clouds disrupting your view at the Zeiss-Großplanetarium! The largest planetarium in Central Europe was inaugurated in 1987. The Planetarium offers lots of events for young and older kids and is just impressive to be in. You should check it out!

Zeiss-Großplanetarium, Prenzlauer Allee 80, 10405 Berlin Opening hours: TUE+SUN 9:30am-6pm, WED+THU 9:30am-9pm, FRI+SAT 9:30am-10:30pm

  • Tropical Island: Taking a break at Tropical Island means swimming, diving or just relaxing by the Tropical Sea or Lagoon, exploring the world's largest indoor rainforest or getting your adrenaline pumping on Germany's highest water slide tower -- plus lots of other great attractions. Disclaimer: It’s crowded, so if you are not so much into big groups of people, this might not be for you -- but kids LOVE IT. You can easily reach Tropical Island within a one-hour train ride.
Outside activities

You and your kids don’t mind the cold too much? Great! There are plenty of nice things to do outside even the winter. As the train services run pretty well and Berlin is well connected even to the rural areas, you have a lot to choose from and it’s pretty easy as well as inexpensive to get there.

  • Just a few minutes outside of Berlin you’ll find Karls Erlebnis-Dorf (Karl’s Adventure Village) in Elstal. In addition to offering a spacious farmers market, many attractions for children are waiting for you, including a big wooden roller coaster. Admission is free. You can get there by car, bus and train.

Karls Erlebnis-Dorf, Döberitzer Heide 1, 14641 Elstal Opening hours: Daily 8am-7pm

  • Tempelhofer Feld is a big recreation area in the Berlin districts Neukölln and Tempelhof. It’s actually the largest inner-city open space worldwide, Berlin’s most spacious urban park as well as part of larger historical project. Throughout the year, the park is used for outdoor sports like jogging, biking, roller-blading, and kiting, but is also a popular spot for wild gardening and barbecues. The Mozilla Berlin Family Day 2017 took place right there.

Accessible via 10 entrances Opening hours: From sunrise to sunset

Lunar New Year

We are aware of the overlap in the Lunar New Year celebrations with the Berlin All Hands. To help folks who decide to attend the Berlin All Hands and who also celebrate Chinese New Year, we will offer the following:

  • A higher airfare caps for air travel to allow for fewer layovers on Monday, January 27
  • Assurance that Berlin is optional but if employee wants to attend they can shift their holiday days to another time.
  • Live Airmo Feeds of Plenary (+ relevant team all hands meetings) + quick posting of recording to accommodate those who choose not to travel.
  • Potentially shifting any main plenary session date/time

We are working with leadership and representatives of those most affected and will update wiki regularly with updates. Feel free to reach out to Brianna with questions.

Week at a Glance

View Week at a glance

Scheduled recordings/AirMo streams here

Monday

  • Monday is travel/arrival day
  • Registration
  • Welcome Reception from 6:00 pm - 9:00 pm

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

  • Breakfast in hotel restaurants
  • Departure day only. No scheduled activities.

Berlin All Hands Event Calendar

Here: https://berlinallhandsjanuary2020.sched.com/.

Don't see stuff for your org yet? Don't fret! The schedule changes regularly as meetings and events are confirmed. Keep checking back. Team specific events are managed by team EAs.

Create an account

We don’t recommend using the same email & password as anything like bank accounts, etc. We care about your security! If you already have a Sched account from past All Hands, it still works, log in with that.

Add items to your calendar

Select the circle on any agenda item to add it to your calendar (you do need to have an account & be logged in to do this)

You can also share a link to meetings to invite others. Go into the meeting and copy the short link. You can email that out to anyone and they can quickly add it to their calendar.

Subscribe to GCal Calendar Link

Click on the mobile phone on the right hand side of the screen. All the calendar options are available here. You have the option to choose ALL meetings or YOUR meetings. Unless you have 400 items on your calendar, just select your calendar. It will add anything on your calendar to your GCal (also an option for Outlook and iCal). It syncs once per day.

The "only syncs once per day" only applies to Google Calendar. With almost all other clients (like Apple Calendar, Outlook, or the calendar app on your phone) you can set the refresh interval, and Sched's instructions recommend 1 hour. Note - the gcal function has been buggy for some users in the past. If it doesn't update with new items, delete the calendar and download again.

Warning: This is a link that utilizes your username for the .ics file.

From Mobile

Visit from any mobile device (https://berlinallhandsjanuary2020.sched.com/mobile-site) - bookmark or add to your homescreen for quick access. There is a bonus icon you get by doing this. It caches the last time you opened the page offline and refreshes anytime you are connected.

Filters

Filters

We have filtering functionality. You can filter by: Departments (ex: People) AND Functional Teams (ex: People & Capabilities)

  • Search by Room, Speaker/Leader

Further Filtering

  • Audience - who should be there (ex: Team only or Invite)
  • Homerooms (you can quickly see what is happening in homerooms, by team) - why do you care? If you have a cross team meeting in their room, its a quick way to search
  • Views - Lots of view options. It defaults to the simple view, but there are quite a few options.

Have a tip? Feel free to add it!

Food, Drink & Events

Breakfast

Breakfast is provided Tuesday - Saturday as part of your guestroom reservation - you *must* eat breakfast in the hotel you sleep in. Breakfast is tied to your guest room reservation, so you'll eat in your hotel's normal breakfast restaurant each morning (as well as your registered guests). It is operated by them and while we have communicated about our preferences and allergies, we don't have control of the actual menus. You will not be reimbursed if you go to another hotel and pay to eat there.

InterContinental: LA Cafe (M-F 6:30 to 9:00*, weekends 7:00 to 11:00) Pullman: Le Bouveret (M - F: 6:30to 11:00, weekends 6:30 to noon) Hotel Berlin: Seasons Restaurant (M-F: 6:30 to 10:00, weekends 6:30 to 11:00)

  • LA Cafe normally operates 6:30am to 10:30am. It will close at 9:00 am, Tuesday - Friday during the mainstage plenary sessions. Please ensure your registered guests know about this change so they don’t miss breakfast.

Lunch & Snacks

Lunch & snacks will be provided and paid for centrally for attendees. Lunch is determined by homeroom location (guests are on their own for lunch). Please help us keep costs down by eating at your assigned hotel (as we have already paid for your lunch there). Coffee and soft drinks will be available all day in each hotel. Coffee break style snacks will be available 10:15 am - 11:00 am and 2:30 pm - 3:15 pm.

Menus for the week are posted (lunch & evening events) here. Lunch is determined by homeroom location (guests are on their own for lunch). The labeling is different for each hotel/venue. Please look at the beginning for identifiers.

Allergies/preferences: We have done our best to ensure that all food/environmental allergies are taken into consideration and will always have gluten-free and vegan options. If you have severe allergies that we need to know about; you can indicate in registration. Our menus are nut free unless explicitly listed, however the hotel kitchens are not 100% nut free.

Hosted Evening Events

We have evening events on the Monday and Friday nights.

Monday Night Welcome Reception

6 pm - 9 pm, InterCon hotel

Friday Night at Motorwerk

6:00 pm - 11:00 pm


Our closing party for the Berlin All Hands is at Motorwerk in the Weissensee district of Berlin, from 18:00 - 23:00. Now an event venue, Motorwerk was originally built as a factory for the production of electric motors. Special electric motors (external rotors) were pioneered and manufactured in the building until World War II. These give today's engine its name. In addition, converters were manufactured with which the first airships that crossed the Atlantic were equipped. Later on, the T.T. generators, also developed at Ziehl-Abegg, worked in all Zeppelin airships and Lufthansa aircraft. While we won’t be building motors, we will be able to enjoy some traditional Berlin and German food in the markthalle, a traditional Späti, some fun games, graffiti art, a local DJ and more.

Getting to/from the event

Getting there (and back)Shuttles will depart from the InterCon and Hotel Berlin, Berlin. Those at Pullman should walk to InterCon. Shuttles will start departing at 5:00 pm. Last Shuttle will depart at 6:15 pm. Shuttles will return beginning at 7:30 pm, and the last shuttle will depart at 11:00 pm. The only way to access the event is via shuttle, including your guests.

Coat Check

Coat check will be available for clothing only, no bags. If you don’t need to bring it, please don’t.   

What to wear

Your badge, and whatever you want (within reason). Your event badge is required to board the shuttles and to enter the event. No badge = no bus, no bier.  

Guests

Pre-registered guests will require a guest badge, and the badges must be picked up at the InterCon by 15:00. We will not have badges available at the event and they must arrive with you to Motorwerk. Badges are required to board the shuttles and access the venue.

Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday Night Dinners

You'll be on your own for Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday and will have a similar expense policy from past all hands (50EUR/night - 150EUR total to include food, beverage, transportation, exchange fees, etc).

Here is how this will work:

For all evenings, once your meetings have concluded, you and your team, friends, new acquaintances, are free to explore and to find somewhere great to eat that suits you. Each of you can expense a total of 150EUR (with receipts) over the three days (or 50EUR/night).

This amount includes:

  • Meal cost, including tax & gratuity
  • Any beverages
  • Transportation to/from the restaurant
  • Conversion fees (for credit cards) or cash withdrawal fees

Anything over the 150EUR for the three evenings will be your own expense. The fine print:

  • If your team is hosting an evening event 1 of the nights and the payment is coordinated (meaning, you don’t have to open your wallet and pay), you can expense up to 100EUR for the other nights.
  • You will be asked (later) to submit a Berlin All Hands only expense report. You can submit ONE report for Berlin only and must be submitted no later than February 28, 2020.
  • No expenses over 150 EUR will be approved.
  • In no case should employees expense or use MoCo corporate cards to cover purchases of alcohol outside of team dinners or the 50EUR individual per diem.

Volunteer Contributors will have a separate process that will be communicated directly.

Groups, Restaurants & Reservations
  • Group dinners - All large (eight or more people) reservations must go through Lisa Carlson (email lcarlson@mozilla.com) and dinners must stay within the per diem per night (50EURpp including, food, beverage, tax, gratuity and transportation), and employees attending must not also expense their per diem for that night.

In no case should employees expense or use MoCo corporate cards to cover purchases of alcohol outside of team dinners or the 50EUR individual per diem.

Safety & Security

Alcohol at Events

To better support and sustain an environment (and workplace culture) where people feel safe and included, we have made a set of changes regarding alcohol at our events. In all cases, our approach aligns with our Community Participation Guidelines (“CPG”).

  • All participants are required to read and acknowledge our new Community Participation Guidelines as a condition of participation.
  • We will limit bar-servings to beer and wine and ensure an equal number and quality (i.e. not just Coke) of non-alcoholic drink options are available and displayed.
  • Team dinners should be thoughtful about the potential exclusionary nature of alcohol when planning.
  • Clearly outlined, communicated (to event teams, HR and managers) and understood escalation process for behavior that might be deemed counter to the spirit of our CPG.
  • In no case should employees expense or use MoCo corporate cards to cover purchases of alcohol outside of team dinners. (individuals can purchase alcohol for themselves as expense as part of the 50 euro per night policy)
Device Security

If you are traveling to the All Hands with a device that has Mozilla data (laptop, personal cell phone/tablet with @mozilla gmail, etc) on it and your device has been retained for further inspection by border agents, or if your device has been inspected outside your immediate presence - and you believe your credentials have been compromised - you must notify the Enterprise Information Security team as soon as possible at infosec@mozilla.com or by calling Mozilla End User Services at +1 650-963-8811. (This number will be staffed 24x7)

We will work with you to reset your credentials and help you get your device back to a known good state either by getting you a new one (if it’s been taken), or by resetting it back to a verifiable Mozilla-approved installation.

Physical Security

Badges are required to access all meeting spaces and evening events.

Health and Wellness

If you feel sick, please stay in your room until you feel better. Please do not expose others to anything you may have. We will have plenty of hand sanitizer available and encourage you to wash your hands often. Some sessions are available to view live on AirMo. Please refer to the schedule at a glance, linked above.

Health Insurance

UnitedHealthcare Global (UHCG) offers worldwide travel emergency medical cover (includes out-of-country medical cover) and assistance services to Mozilla full-time employees, their eligible dependents (spouses/domestic partners and dependent children), and interns under its global accident and sickness insurance plans. This coverage is extended to: Mozilla Corporation and Mozilla Foundation. Upworkers (ELancers), volunteers, community members, contractors, and vendors are not eligible for this cover. Information can be found on the mana: https://mana.mozilla.org/wiki/pages/viewpage.action?spaceKey=PR&title=Travel+insurance%3A+Business.

Medical clinics and hospitals in Berlin, Germany. If you go to the emergency room or urgent care clinic, you may be asked to pay in advance. Save all of your receipts to turn in with the UHCG claim form.

MAIN CONTACTS & EMERGENCY SERVICES

UnitedHealthcare Global (UHCG) Contacts: From Germany, dial, fax or email: Phone:00-1-410-453-6330

Local Emergency Services:

  • Ambulance & Medical emergency services: 112
  • Fire: 112
  • Police: 110

Germany has high-quality ambulance services. In the case of an emergency, go IMMEDIATELY to the nearest physician or hospital without delay, and then notify UnitedHealthcare Global as soon as possible of your situation.

HOSPITALS

The closest Hospital is Franziskus-Krankenhaus. Located on Budepester Strasse, right between the InterCon and Pullman. Additional locations can be found here: https://mana.mozilla.org/wiki/pages/viewpage.action?spaceKey=PR&title=Travel+insurance%3A+Business&preview=/33099972/109996014/UHCG%20Berlin%20report.pdf

Accessibility

Evenings

Monday Night reception is at the InterContinental Berlin. No stairs or elevators required.

Meeting spaces

  • InterCon: Most meeting space levels are accessible by elevators. Rooms located in "1st floor, parkside" are not accessible by elevators.
  • Pullman: All meeting space levels are accessible by guestroom elevators.
  • Hotel Berlin: All meeting space is on the ground level.

Listen Systems

We will have Listen Systems available for any meeting in the main plenary space. Visit the AV booth to pick one up.

Bathrooms

Non-gendered bathrooms are available in the Potsdam Foyer at InterCon.

Breastfeeding/pumping stations

Milk Stork Services are reimbursable - please contact benefits@mozilla.com for more information. Pumping/breastfeeding specific rooms are not available. Please use your guestroom.

Public transit

Useful info for transit accessibility: https://wheelchairtravel.org/berlin/public-transportation/

Sustainability

Hotel Berlin, Berlin is certified partner of visitBerlin we stand for sustainable, green meetings and events. For more information, visit https://convention.visitberlin.de/en/sustain.

InterContinental Hotel Berlin is Green Globe Certified. Green Globe Certification is the worldwide sustainability system based on internationally accepted criteria for sustainable operation and management of travel and tourism businesses. Operating under a worldwide license, Green Globe Certification is based in California, USA and is represented in over 83 countries. Green Globe Certification is a member of the Global Sustainable Tourism Council, supported by the United Nations World Tourism Organization. Additonally, as part of IHG’s Green Engage™ program the InterContinental Berlin has implemented best practices at all operational levels. The innovative Environmental Management System not only measures the day-to-day energy, water and waste consumption, but also provides recommended actions – ‘green solutions’ – to improve energy conservation and the property’s carbon footprint score.

Jewzillians Statement about Berlin

Some Berlin monuments, memorials, and nearby locations document history of the Holocaust. These locations are of very somber events, and may impact your fellow Mozillians in myriad ways. We, as Jewish Mozillians (Jewzillians), ask that:

  • You respect the gravity of the somber events if you decide to visit these locations.
  • When you take photos at these locations, respect the somber events that led to their creation. It may help guide your behavior if you imagine they are memorializing your own relatives. For example, please do not take silly selfies at the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe (wikipedia page about that monument).
  • You recognize that different Jewish people may have different needs while visiting Berlin. Some may not want to talk about the Holocaust, some may not want to visit these locations, whereas some may want support in processing these events through discussion and visits. This is, of course, not limited to Jews, as millions of people were murdered during the Holocaust, including LGBTQIA+ people, people with disabilities, people of Romani descent, political victims and others as well.

Visiting the Berlin Office

Planning on visiting the Berlin office before/after All Hands? Here’s what you need to know:

  • The office will be closed Jan 27th- Jan 31st (no meetings or events in office).
  • We have a limited number of hot desks but guests can squat in the lobby and kitchen areas.
  • If you are planning to attend office lunch, please contact MSobczak@mozilla.com to sign up.
  • AND don’t forget your badge :)

Berlin: In your spare time (likely pre/post)

First things first

Germany overall is widely diverse with regard to mentality, language, architecture, history, and more. In this guide we’re focusing on Berlin. However, if you have the opportunity to see a bit more of the country, you should definitely take it. We may also add that if you plan for a larger Europe trip, while there might be overlaps and similarities between the individual European countries, there are also lots and lots of differences -- and we’re by far not only referring to language. If you want to learn more about any other places you’re planning to go reach out to Mozillians who’re based there or otherwise know the city/country well. First-hand information is usually the most valuable and we have so many amazing people from anywhere in the world at our organization that it’s almost impossible that you don’t find someone who can help!

Exploring the city -- beyond Charlottenburg and Mitte!

For the All Hands week we’re going to be in Charlottenburg, one of the neighbourhoods most visited by tourists. Along with Mitte (basically the city center), it’s an attractive destination for shopping and sightseeing. Nevertheless, we can only recommend that you leave the usual tourist trail in order to get a more diverse impression of Germany’s capital. There’s, for example, kind-of-hipster Kreuzberg, where our German office is located -- along with a bunch of amazing bars, restaurants, clubs and much more. Or take vibrant Friedrichshain, which is just across the Spree river from Kreuzberg, or family-friendly Prenzlauer Berg, all of which have their own interesting tourist attractions that are complemented by a relaxed local vibe. Overall, Berlin has 12 boroughs and a total of 96 officially recognized localities, so there’s clearly a lot to see!

Orientation

Berlin is a pretty large city (891 qm, or 344 sq mi), so even Berliners use navigation apps regularly -- especially when leaving their “Kiez”. We therefore recommend that you download the Berlin map to your phone, as well, in order to make orientation easier, especially when doing some sightseeing.

This is also due to peculiarities that may make orientation less obvious, such as house numbers which do not necessarily run in the same direction (up or down) everywhere: On a lot of streets, the numbers ascend on one side and descend on the other. So to avoid getting you lost, you should check the numbering scheme first: you can find the name of the street at nearly every street corner. The same sign will usually state the range of house numbers in that segment.

Thanks to the subway system in particular, you can actually visit multiple neighbourhoods on the same day even if they’re not close. You can go from east to west in not much more than half an hour (if you’re lucky and have a good connection) and, even though it’s recommended to dedicate at least a few hours to each of the neighbourhoods you visit in order to get a proper impression, you should make use of it. Only by visiting different parts of the city that don’t share all of their history and demographics, you’ll be able to truly “see” Berlin.

Sightseeing & history

As mentioned (multiple times) before Berlin is full of history. It’s almost impossible to walk around the city for half an hour without coming across some sort of historical site. This ranges from a huge range of museums and galleries, which you’ll best get informed about through a guidebook, as well as historical buildings, such as churches.

If you don’t mind the cold weather, make sure to set aside some time for sites outside. You could, for example, explore cold war history and go to Checkpoint Charlie, the former border crossing between East and West Berlin, which is undoubtedly one of the city’s top attractions. Another recommendation would be a visit to Hohenschönhausen, a former Stasi prison where East German dissidents were incarcerated. Tours of the prison are conducted daily and often led by a former prisoner, who will give you a real insight into this fascinating, albeit traumatic time in history.

If you’re looking for something more cheerful and/or a bunch of suggestions for historical sightseeing options by neighbourhood, you should check out Wikivoyage, a free web-based travel guide that has also been called the “Wikipedia of travel guides”. Take a look at the article on City West, if you want to explore the vicinity of our All Hands location. Literally every other Berlin tourist would likely favor the eastern districts of Friedrichshain, Prenzlauer Berg and (western) Kreuzberg, for its lower price and a lot of international bars, cafés and many other tourist attractions.

Links https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Berlin/City_West https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Berlin/East_Central

Food!

Being an international city, almost any cuisine you can imagine is available in Berlin. Still, we recommend that you try out some actual German food during your stay. For example, go to a local bakery and you’ll be stunned by the variety: There are over 300 types of dark and white breads, and more than 1,200 different kinds of “Brötchen” and “Kleingebäck” (bread rolls and mini-breads). We’re so much into bread that every region in Germany even has their own term for bread rolls (“Brötchen” vs. “Schrippe” vs. “Weck” vs. Semmel”...). Bread is central to the “German diet”: For breakfast, many people eat it with cheese, sausage products, honey or marmalade and “Abendbrot” (“evening bread” = dinner) usually consists of sandwiches.

If you’re rather looking for a warm meal, you should try a Currywurst (“curry sausage”). Over the last couple of years, the Berlin foodie scene has truly exploded and you can get so much more than the stereotypical type of curry sausage nowadays, from plain to fancy, for meat lovers or for vegans. You can get them in restaurants, at street food markets or even from salespeople in the pedestrian zones.

When visiting restaurants that offer German cuisine, you’ll notice that meat is a main ingredient for many meals -- though there are also plenty of fish and vegetarian options nowadays. With regard to side dishes, potatoes (in a lot of different varieties, such as cooked, roasted, mashed or as cakes) are very popular as well as noodles.

In Germany as in many other countries it’s quite common to meet friends and family for dinner and go to a bar or pub afterwards. Berlin has a lot to offer in that respect and most places have their very individual flair. If you’re not into the aforementioned beer options, you could go for a (non-alcoholic or boozed) cocktail or a good glass of wine. Since Germany has several renown wine-growing regions, there’s a lot to choose from!

All Hands Expense Policy

1. All "All Hands" Expenses must be submitted on 1 (and only 1) Expense report (e.g. Berlin All Hands Expense Report). Each expense must be tagged with "All Hands - Jan 2020"

2. It must contain only those expenses relative to the All Hands Event in Berlin.

3. If your submitted expense report for All Hands is submitted outside these guidelines, it will be rejected and you will be asked to re-submit with only All Hands Expenses

4. The deadline to submit the All Hands Expense Report is February 28, 2020.

5. Expenses related to team events (except those coordinated through Lisa Carlson), parking, room service, mini-bar charges, and food/drink costs above the vouched amounts, will not be approved.

6. When submitting your expense report through Egencia, make sure to "attached the PDF" (toggle on mobile, check box on desktop).


The intention of our all hands are to centrally organize a structure that includes:

  • Meals (2 evening events + breakfast, lunch, drinks and snacks Tuesday - Friday)
  • Transportation
  • Accommodations

Expenses submitted can not exceed the approved amounts. Any social events (except dinners/team building activities coordinated through Lisa Carlson) that are not part of our central plan will generally be self-organized and funded by participants.

Travel expenses policy

Reimbursement will be made for necessary and reasonable expenses.

  • Getting to/from home to your airport: We ask that you use the most economical option, while balancing your personal needs - whether that be mileage/parking, public transportation or ride shares. We will not reimburse for private towncar services or car rental.
  • Per standard Mozilla travel policy, Travel Meal Policy: Employees are eligible for travel meals when traveling. For Meals: There is a $75 USD per day meal policy while traveling. This covers breakfast (est. $15), lunch (est. $20), and dinner (est. $40). Receipts: Receipts are required. When submitting a meal for reimbursement, please include how many people attended the meal. There is no need to include names.
  • We will not reimburse for seat/class upgrades. Frequent flyer status does not apply for All Hands.
  • We will reimburse for bag checking fees for one bag.

Any other expenses must be approved by your manager ahead of time. Any expenses for extending your stay for business reasons - such as additional hotel nights, meals, etc must be approved by your manager before booking and travel.

Cell phone reimbursement policy

Cell phone reimbursement must be approved by your manager prior to submitting the expense. Teams will decide for their staff what is appropriate to expense.

Internet reimbursement policy

Internet will be provided in all guestrooms and meeting space in all hotels. If you opt to upgrade/add service, those costs are not reimbursable, unless previously approved by your manager and are for business reasons.

Activities

Lockpicking Event

On Wednesday Evening, there will be a Lockpicking event run by :decoder. The event will start at 6:30 PM and there will be dinner available at the venue for all the participants as well. Advance registration is required.

We will be joined by four other lockpickers from Berlin, two of them being championship winners on several national competitions. The same two people are also engineers working in the lock industry, so there will be plenty of interesting things to hear and learn this evening.

For better planning, we ask that people fill out the registration form, we are limited to 100 participants initially. If the course ends up being fully booked and you still want to participate, you can join us at 8:00 PM on that same evening (without any guarantees on wait time and without dinner., but we still need you to register). We are confident that we will be able to accommodate everyone who wants to join. However, registering makes the planning a lot easier.

What is Lockpicking?

Lockpicking is a sport where you open locks (e.g. padlocks) without destroying them using manipulation tools ("picks").

Why would I want to do this?

Lockpicking is a great activity to practice patience, imagination and dexterity. From an engineering perspective, it helps to strengthen your sense for what is going on in that "black box" and even has some parallels to debugging. However, lockpicking is first and foremost about having fun and the lock being a challenge. So no matter what you work on, I promise you this will be a fun experience and also a good opportunity to put your laptop/phone aside for a while.

Do I need to know anything about this prior to participating?

Absolutely not. We will teach you how locks work, how to handle the tools and everything else you need to know. The only thing you need to bring with you is some patience.

I have some tools, should I bring them?

We will have tools at the venue and would ask people to not bring their own tools. Traveling with lock picks is possible under certain conditions but the legal situation, especially when it comes to flying, is complicated and depends on the countries you travel through. Hence we ask people to not travel with their tools because it can get you delayed and cause other legal issues.

Isn't this illegal?

Lockpicking as a sport/hobby is legal in many countries (including most of the EU), as long as you only open your own locks. Of course, opening locks for which you don't have permission to do so can get you into trouble and is strongly discouraged by the community.

However, there are a few countries around the world, including a handful of states in the US and some provinces in Canada where the possession of the tools (lock picks) is illegal without a license. If you want to do this at home and don’t know the rules for your country, feel free to ask us at the venue and we will try to help find the answers.

Vitamin (D)ance Cardio Fitness

Vitamin D(ance) Cardio Fitness is for all levels. Energetic class, follow-along combinations of dance styles and routines set to music of different beats and genres. Sign-ups are required. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1wHEP11PDZlEoD8QYwWff5dlr1SZVA4ztzD3ehLm3_Zs/edit#gid=1931095452. Tuesday + Thursday, 6:15 pm - 7:15 pm Wednesday, 7:00 am - 8:00 am

Swim crew
  • Pullman - Lizzard, jdavidson, bkal, jmok, ??
  • Intercontinental (15m pool) - Verdi, ??


Let's coordinate here and in #brrlin to figure out times and which pool is best.


I'm interested in a before or after dinner swim during the week, but also could potentially do early morning! - Liz

Running group

See running signup doc for meeting times or check out the #running channel in slack.


Attending Six Day Berlin finals

jezdez is organizing a trip to attend the finals of the Berlin Six Day on Tuesday, January 28 (5pm-midnight).

What’s Six Day you ask?

It’s a six day long, >100 year old bicycle track race happening during the Berlin all-hands happening in the Berlin Velodrom (indoors).

Some highlights from last year: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=54ragv9Uem0

For more information and a list to sign up please see https://docs.google.com/document/d/1BcEEAYHpcpauXwErXwCJD_Wt1os1oOvYoH_MP39hXGs/edit or ask in #bikes

Berlin Games Night

Have a favorite board or card game? Bring it to share with your fellow Mozillians. Thursday evening 7p to 10p we’ll be hosting an informal gathering of games enthusiasts at the InterContinental, in the Bellevue room.

Bring your favorite game, a snack, and something to drink. All Mozillians and their families are welcome.

See Sched to add it to your daily agenda.

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