For this years Christmas party we gathered at historical St. Alban gate house for a cosy raclette evening. After dinner we exchanged Secret Santa gifts and enjoyed a tour of St. Alban gate house. We thank Anamarija, Manuel and John for organizing an amazing party! Happy Holidays and Happy New Year!

This year, for our group retreat we spent two nights in beautiful Valbella-Lenzerheide, in the canton of Graubünden. On the first day we had our scientific program, with members of the group presented concept and results of their most recent projects. Presentations were followed by more detailed subgroup discussions, where we brainstormed different scientific problems, scenarios and ideas. In the evening we had a trivia night organized by Anamarija and John, with a mix of question about chemistry, art, science fiction, wikiHow and a special round where we matched pets with their owners (our group members). Second day was reserved for a group hike, where we took the scenic Heidbüel-Tgantieni-Höhenweg route and enjoyed splendid mountain panorama. After the descent we enjoyed spontaneous swimming in Heidsee. The last day was dedicated to various activities such as hiking and visit to the Pradaschier Adventure park, after which we took the exciting Pradaschier toboggan run down the mountain. We thank Manuel and Lukas for organizing the group retreat!

This year, our group retreat took place in Laax, in the canton of Grisons where we spent two nights at the magnificent wellnessHostel3000. Our program for the first day included a scientific component where each group member presented their project in terms of concept and results as well as their planned program for the future. Following the presentations, subgroup meetings took place, during which we could discuss our projects, bottlenecks, and ideas in more detail and the concrete steps for their implementation. On the second day, we hiked for about 12 km towards the Crestasee via Conn and the Caumasee. We were able to enjoy a dizzying view from the observation platform "Il spir", which is where our group photo was taken. The last day was dedicated to various activities such as the climbing garden, the treetop walk, or a hike at the site of Sardona to get a unique glimpse of the formation of the Alps. This was an extraordinary fun and successful bonding retreat and we thank Lukas very much for the organization!