Sustainable development at the Black Sea Conference - SUST-BLACK
8th-11th of May 2019 Bucharest, Romania
CONFERENCE VENUE
Palace of the Parliament in Bucharest, in Alexandru Ioan Cuza hall
Address: 2-4 Izvor Street, Bucharest, Romania
The entrance: C1 Entrance (Libertății Bd.)
Webpage: http://cic.cdep.ro/en
A guided tour to explore the building is available before the start of the conference from 10:30 to 12:30.
The conference building is the second largest administrative building in the world, after the Pentagon. The building, once intended to be a construction that worshipped communism, is now, after almost 20 years from the Revolution in 1989, a symbol of democracy containing public institutions (Chamber of Deputies, the Senate, the Legislative Council, the Constitutional Court of Romania). An International Conference Centre was also established here, with modern facilities designed for high level meetings and events.
Being one of the most controversial buildings in Romania, the construction of the Palace of the Parliament started in 1984 and was almost completed in 1989, as an ambition of the Romanian communist dictator Nicolae Ceausescu. Nowadays it is one of the major tourist attractions of Bucharest and one of the most recognizable symbols of the city. The building’s dimensions are remarkable: 330,000 m2 interior area, with more than 3,000 rooms. The footprint of the building is about 64,800 m2, has a volume of 2,550,000 m3 and 86 m in height, in addition to 92 m underground. The Palace of the Parliament is the heaviest building in the world, weighing about 4,098,500,000 kilograms
(Source: the List of Historical Monuments official document from 2004, issued by the Culture Ministry (MO no. 646 bis/16/07/2004, Culture Ministry Order no. 2.314/2004, vol. II, Bucharest).
Venue Access – Pins and Badges
Please note that, for security reasons, delegates will be admitted into the Palace of the Parliament only upon presentation of a valid pin or badge. The badges for accredited delegates will be available to be handed over at the organizer’s location (NIRD GeoEcoMar address: 23-25 Dimitrie Onciul Street, sector 2, Bucharest).
To obtain your badge couple of days before the beginning of the conference please contact the organizer by email: sust-black@geoecomar.ro or phone: +40755136822.
All participants are kindly asked to arrive at the Palace of the Parliament, at least one hour before the beginning of each Day (see the Registration time in the Agenda), for security checks and to ensure a smooth entrance into the building.
Participants must have their pins or badges visible at all times. Please report immediately the loss of your pin or badge to a member of the Organizing Committee.
Media Centre
The media centre of the Romanian Presidency of the Council of the European Union is located at the Palace of Parliament. More information can be found at www.romania2019.eu/media-centre/.
Access of journalists in the building, only via the S2 entrance, is based exclusively on their press accreditation. Further information on accreditation procedure and access to the building can be found at https://accreditation.romania2019.eu/. Please note that parking is available only for official delegations.
A detailed media guide can be found at www.romania2019.eu/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/media-guide_en-1.pdf
TRAVEL
By plane
Situated 16.5 km North of the Bucharest city centre, the Henri Coandă International Airport is the largest Romanian airport, serving 67 external destinations and 9 domestic destinations.
Henri Coanda (Otopeni) airport is serviced by train, buses and taxis.
More information about transport to and from Henri Coandă airport:
www.bucharestairports.ro/en/transport
The easiest and direct option to get to the city centre is by bus or taxi. The train connection to the main Bucharest railway station can be rwached by dedicated shuttle bus (see below).
By bus
The 780 Express line connects Bucharest Henri Coandă International Airport with the Gara de Nord (main railway station of Bucharest).
The 783 Express line connects Bucharest Henri Coandă International Airport with the city centre. This line runs day and night. At night, the bus leaves every 40 minutes. It will take you close to the Conference venue. You should descend at the bus stop Piata Unirii and walk (20 minutes) across to the Palace of Parliament.
The buses are operated by STB (Bucharest Transport Company). More details at http://stbsa.ro/eng/index.php
The bus stop is at ground level, in front of Domestic Arrivals.
Price for one trip is 3,5 lei. A magnetic card valid for two journeys costs 7 lei.
Note: You must buy the card before you get on the bus because you can't purchase it from the driver. Some of the bus stops along the route may not have ticket booths, so it is better to buy this card in advance. Remember to validate your ticket when getting on the bus.
* For money exchange it is preferably to use the ATMs at the airport for immediate needs and then to exchange foreign money for local currency in the city.
By Taxi
On-demand taxi services are available at the Airport. Please be aware of potential presence of scammers and order taxis by using the touch screen devices in the public area of the Arrivals Terminal (on the right side after exiting the Luggage Belt area). You can choose the taxi company and charge per km. The charges vary between 1.69 lei/km – 3.50 lei/km (most companies having a price of 1.99 lei/km).
The machine will print out a ticket giving a waiting time and a number; this number will be on the side of the taxi which arrives, and you should wait outside for it on the first floor (taxi – arrivals area), showing your ticket to the taxi driver. Do not give the ticket to the driver.
Taxi charge (one way), depending the charge/km: from 35 up to 70 lei (7 to 15 EUR) Time by taxi (estimated)- 40 minutes without traffic – but the traffic can be rather heavy.
Taxi drivers expect a tip of 10-12%.
By train and underground (Metrou)
A train service operates from the Airport to the main railway station of Bucharest - Gara de Nord. On the ground floor exit of the Arrivals Terminal there is a shuttle bus to carry passengers to the railway station. Tickets for the train are sold in the airport (follow the signs).
From Gara de Nord Railway Station to the closest metro station to the Palace of Parliament, there is Metrou – Linia 3 (towards Dristor 2 Station). You should get off at the Izvor Station.
Airport – Railway station website - www.cfrcalatori.ro/en/bucuresti-nord-railway-station-henri-coanda-airport
Public transportation in Bucharest
Bucharest's public transportation network includes: bus (autobuz), tram (tramvai), trolleybus (troleibuz) and underground (metrou). Buses, trams and trolleybuses operate between 5:00 AM and 11:00 PM. Tickets must be purchased beforehand and validated upon boarding. Representatives of the bus company (wearing a blue vest) may ask you to show your validated ticket (card) during the trip. Travelers without a validated ticket must pay a 50 lei (12 EUR) penalty. Tickets or passes can be purchased at any ticket booth displaying the STB SA logo.
Bucharest public transportation website: www.stbsa.ro
Bucharest public transportation map
The underground operates from 5:00 AM until 11:00 PM. Underground fares: two-trip ticket: 5.0 Lei, ten-trip ticket: 20.0 Lei.
Bucharest underground public transportation website: www.metrorex.ro
Bucharest unerground public transportation map
Official Networking Dinner (8th of May, 20:00)
On the 8th of May, at 8 o’clock PM, a networking dinner is taking place at Hanul lui Manuc (Manuc’s Inn) Restaurant.
Address: Str. Franceza nr. 62, Bucharest
It is located in the heart of the city, in the Touristic Old Centre, two steps from Unirii Square. Hanul lui Manuc (Manuc`s Inn) is a true royal inn and it is more than a restaurant. For two centuries, it has shown the pulse of the capital of Romania, operating as a restaurant, hotel, café, wine cellar and even show scene. Although Manuc's Inn has been subject to repeated restorations, its essential structure has remained intact, being one of the last Caravan Serai buildings in Europe.
The inn was built in 1808, and originally owned by a wealthy and flamboyant Armenian entrepreneur, Emanuel Mârzaian, better known by his Turkish name Manuc-bei. By the middle of the 19th century, it was Bucharest's most important commercial complex, having 15 warehouses, 23 retail stores, 107 rooms for offices or living, two reception rooms and a pub. The building was nationalized in 1949. In 2007 the inn was returned to its rightful owner Prince Șerban-Constantin Cantacuzino.
More details at www.hanumanucrestaurant.ro
It is 25 minutes walking time (1.9 km) from the conference venue and the following times from hotels:
Europa Royale Hotel (0.04 km) 
Concorde Old Bucharest Hotel (0.25 km)
Filitti Boutique Hotel (0.45 km)
Ramada Majestic Bucharest Hotel (1.0 km)
Cismigiu Hotel (1.0 km)
Novotel Bucharest City Centre (1.1 km)
Hotel ibis Bucharest Palatul Parlamentului City Centre (1.7 km)
Epoque Hotel – Relais & Chateaux (1.7 km)
JW Marriott Bucharest Grand Hotel (2.3 km)
Field Trip to NW Black Sea Coast (10th of May 08:30- 11th May- 13:30)
From Friday to Saturday morning, an optional field trip to the NW Black Sea coast – in the area of the Razelm- Sinoe Lagoon System, part of the Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve, has been organized. This nature site is special, having high ecological value and important for European costal and marine research.
The tour starts at 8:30 from Bucharest, taking about 4.5 hours to arrive at Jurilovca - from where we need to cross Lacul Razelm by boat). On the way, we will stop at Histria, where we will visit the ruins of the biggest settlement on the NW Black Sea coast built by Ancient Greeks, about 2800 years ago, later conquered by Julius Caesar. It was part of Roman Empire till 6th Century AD, when the previous gulf was clogged by rapid sedimentation rate changes of the Danube.
See www.cimec.ro/arheologie/web-histria/index_eng.htm
Crossing from Jurilovca to Gura Portitei by speedboat, takes about 20 minutes.
We travel to Gura Portitei (http://guraportitei.ro) for our accommodation. Their motto is “the resort that combines the Black Sea with the natural beauty of the Danube Delta”, Gura Portitei resort is a resort built on the barrier beach that separates the lagoon - part of the Danube Delta - from the Black Sea.
Gura Portitei is close to the former inlet of the lagoon, which was closed during the communist period, as part of the process to transform the lagoon in a freshwater reservoir. As result, major ecological changes have occurred. Nowadays the barrier beach separating the Black Sea from the lagoon is a nature protected site, with the only built area being the camping site developed by respecting the traditional Danube Delta architecture.
To return to Bucharest, we leave Gura Portitei by 08:30 at the latest on the Saturday morning (May 11) to arrive at Bucharest Airport by 13:30.
General information about Romania
Romania currently holds the presidency of the European Union. Information on all topics related to this can be found on the official website: www.romania2019.eu
Total area: 238.391 km2
Population: 19,310,216 (2017)
Capital: Bucharest (București), 1.883.400 inhabitants (2017)
Form of government: Republic
Official time: Eastern European Time (GMT + 2). From the last Sunday of March (31) to last Sunday of October (27) is Romanian Summer Time (GMT + 3)
Legal holidays (for 2019): January 1 and 2; January 24; April 26, 28 and 29 (Orthodox Easter); May 1; June 1; June 16 and 17 (the first and the second day of Pentecost); December 1 (National Day), December 25, 26 (Christmas)
Landforms: Romania presents a varied and proportionally balanced relief which includes: 35% mountains (Carpathians), 35% hills and plateaus (sub-Carpathians hills and plateau of Transylvania) and 30% plains (Romanian Plain (Câmpia Română) and West Plain (Câmpia de Vest).
Measurement units: Metric system
Country code: +40
General Emergency number: ✆112
Currency: Romania's currency is Leu (plural "Lei"), abbreviated RON. Please be advised that shops do not accept Euros. Foreign currencies may be exchanged at banks or authorized exchange offices. Major credit and debit cards are widely accepted. 1 Euro = approx. 4.75 RON
Flag: 
National day: December 1
Credit cards: Major hotel and restaurants chains accept credit cards, including MasterCard, Visa, American Express and Dinner Club.
Smoking: Smoking is prohibited in indoor public areas.
Electricity is 230 V; 50 cycles and sockets take the standard continental European dual round-pin plugs. A plug adaptor is required for non-European appliances. Please remember that simple adapters do not convert voltage or frequency. A power converter is necessary for appliances requiring 110 V.
