Life on Earth and Beyond
The History and Philosophy of the Origin of Life
Ven Island, Sweden, 4 - 6 May 2015

Venue

The meeting will take place at:

Backafallsbyn Conference centre
SE-26013 S:t Ibb
Island Ven, Sweden
Phone +46 (0)418-44 99 99
E-mail: [email protected]

Lectures will be held in the conference room of the hotel. The lecture room is equipped with a PowerPoint projector. If speakers need some other technical devices, they should contact the organisers in good time. The venue of the poster session will be announced in due course.

Participants will be housed in houses of 4 (2 levels with 2 bedrooms) situated around a small lake. Each unit is 42 square meters with four beds and access to extra beds for children (ages 2-10) if needed. There is satellite TV and private bathrooms in each unit and Wi-Fi is avaliable free of charge during your entire stay. Each unit has its own furnished patio under roof. All of the hotel units are equipped with a kettle, so that you can enjoy a nice cup of tea, or coffee at any time.

Breakfast, lunches and dinners will be in the hotel restaurant.

Access by air

Via Copenhagen Kastrup Airport (CPH)
For most international travellers it is best to go to Copenhagen Kastrup airport (airport code CPH). Many international airlines have cheap direct flights there. Copenhagen Airport has an own railway station. From there you can take direct trains to Landskrona station. They operate every hour during daytime and the journey takes only 50 minutes.

For schedules of the trains check the excellent web site of the German Railways (in 6 languages)Danish State Railways or Swedish State Railways. Please note that you have to buy your ticket in advance, either on the web, the railway station or the vending machines (available at Copenhagen airport). Boarding the train without a valid ticket is regarded as fare-dodging in Denmark (and there are plans to introduce a similar system in Sweden too). There are vending machines and ticket booths at the airport station at Copenhagen Kastrup airport.

Arriving in Landkrona walk out to the bus station (on the left in the direction of the train). From there take a bus number 1 or 3 to the harbour (direction "Landskrona Skeppsbron"), to the station "Landskrona Skeppsbron". You will have the ferry teminal on your right there. From the harbour take the boat to Ven (extra ticket that can be bought at the harbour is necessary). The ferry takes 45 minutes to go to Ven. Timetables and prices are available at the Ventrafiken website. At Ven harbour you can take the bus "Venbussen" in the direction "Ven Kyrkbacken" to Backafallsbyn station. Buses leave shortly after the boat arrives.

If you want to plan your whole journey from Copenhagen airport to the hotel, go the the Travel planner webpage of the Skånetrafiken website. (Available in German, English, Swedish and Danish) and put in "CPH airport" as your origin and "Ven Backafallsbyn" as your destination.

Via Malmö Sturup Airport (MMX)
This fairly small airport (which also features in the Wallander crime novels) might be a good choice for conference guests from Sweden or those flying in via Stockholm. From Malmö Sturup Airport it is best to take the airport buses to Lund Central Railway station. Timetables and tickets are available at the Swedish Airport Buses website. Tickets can be bought on-line on this site, from the driver and from the self-service ticket machines or at 7-Eleven and Pressbyrån at Malmö Sturup Airport. From Lund Central Railway station you can take direct trains to Landskrona station. They operate very frequently and the journey takes only 25 minutes. For schedules of the trains check the excellent web site of the German Railways (in 6 languages) or the one of Swedish State Railways. At the latter, you can buy tickets also. Please note that you should carry an identity document when you board a Swedish train (tickets often are personal and not transferrable).

Arriving in Landkrona walk out to the busstation (on the left in the direction of the train). From there take a bus number 1 or 3 to the harbour (direction "Landskrona Skeppsbron"), to the station "Landskrona Skeppsbron". You will have the ferry teminal on your right there. From the harbour take the boat to Ven (extra ticket that can be bought at the harbour is necessary). The ferry takes 45 minutes to go to Ven. Timetables and prices are available at the Ventrafiken website. At Ven harbour you can take the bus "Venbussen" in the direction "Ven Kyrkbacken" to Backafallsbyn station. Buses leave after boats arrive.

If you want to plan your whole journey from Lund station to the hotel, go the the Travel planner webpage of the Skånetrafiken website. (Available in German, English, Swedish and Danish) and put in "Lund C" as your origin and "Ven Backafallsbyn" as your destination.

Access by train

The closest railway station is Landskrona main station. There are frequent trains from Copenhagen and Göteborg to Landskrona. Arriving in Landkrona walk out to the bus station on the western side of the railway tracks. From there take a bus number 1 or 3 to the harbour (direction "Landskrona Skeppsbron"), to the station "Landskrona Skeppsbron". ou will have the ferry teminal on your right there. From the harbour take the boat to Ven (extra ticket that can be bought at the harbour is necessary). The ferry takes 45 minutes to go to Ven. Timetables and prices are available at the Ventrafiken website. Timetables and prices of the ferry are available at the Ventrafiken website. At Ven harbour you can take the bus "Venbussen" in the direction "Ven Kyrkbacken" to Backafallsbyn station. Buses leave shortly after the ship arrives.

Access by own car

It is not recommended to go by own car to the meeting, since taking your car to Ven by ferry is not cheap (SEK 700,- one ay per car exclusive driver). At Ven you hardly have a use of the car.

From the North-East (Stockholm)
Take the E4 towards Helsingborg. At "Trafikplats Kropp" (intersection 30) take the E6 south to Malmö. At "Trafikplats Landskrona S" leave the motorway and take the Road 17 towards LandskronaC/Hamn. Carry on straight through 3 roundabouts, at the 4th (after 2 km from the motorway)turn slightly left, passing the railway station at the left soon thereafter. After 1 km and a bend to the right turn left onto "Storgatan". You will see the ferry terminal at the right. Timetables and prices of the ferry are available at the Ventrafiken website. Take the ferry to Ven, at Ven Harbour drive up to the left on "Landsvägen, continue for 2.5 km on that road. Thereafter turn right on Norreborgsvägen. After 500m, at a road forks, stay on Norreborgsvägen (slightly left). After 50m you see the hotel at the left.

From the South (Copenhagen)
Take the Öresund Bridge (Toll road !) and follow the E20 around Malmö. Carry on in the diraction Göteborg. At "Trafikplats Landskrona S" leave the motorway and take the Road 17 towards LandskronaC/Hamn. Carry on straight through 3 roundabouts, at the 4th (after 2 km from the motorway)turn slightly left, passing the railway station at the left soon thereafter. After 1 km and a bend to the right turn left onto "Storgatan". You will see the ferry terminal at the right. Timetables and prices of the ferry are available at the Ventrafiken website. Take the ferry to Ven, at Ven Harbour drive up to the left on "Landsvägen, continue for 2.5 km on that road. Therafter turn right on Norreborgsvägen. After 500 m, at a road forks, stay on Norreborgsvägen (slightly left). After 50 m you see the hotel at the left.

From the North (Norway, Göteborg)
Take the E6 towards Malmö/Copenhagen. At "Trafikplats Landskrona S" leave the motorway and take the Road 17 towards LandkronaC/Hamn. Carry on straight through 3 roundabouts, at the 4th (after 2 km from the motorway)turn slightly left, passing the railway station at the left soon thereafter. After 1 km and a bend to the right turn left onto "Storgatan". You will see the ferry terminal at the right. Timetables and prices of the ferry are available at the Ventrafiken website. Take the ferry to Ven, at Ven Harbour drive up to the left on "Landsvägen, continue for 2.5 km on that road. Therafter turn right on Norreborgsvägen. After 500 m, at a road forks, stay on Norreborgsvägen (slightly left). After 50 m you see the hotel at the left.

By boat

During the course time, the ferry from Landskrona to Ven is the only connection from the mainland. Boats leave from Landskrona harbour at 08:20, 10:00, 11:30, 14:15, 16:00, 17:35, 20:15 and 21:30. Timetables and prices of the ferry are available at the Ventrafiken website.

Return

We will organize a shuttle bus to Copenhagen Kastrup airport on Thursday 7th May 2015 leaving from the conference centre at 08:45. Arrival at Copenhagen airport (CPH) will be about 11:00 The price for the shuttle is SEK 200,- to be paid in cash upon arrival. This includes both the bus transport and the ferry (the same travel costs about SEK 250,- with public transport). If you take part in the excursion to Stevns Klint on Thursday 7th (see the Programme webpage for details>, you have the opportunity to step out at Copenhagen Airport at 18:15.