The European Geosciences Union (EGU) General Assembly attracts thousands of scientists from around the world each year. It provides a platform to present and discuss a wide range of topics in Earth and planetary sciences—even those only loosely related to geosciences. Naturally, many GSGS members were drawn to the conference and decided to spend the week presenting their own research and learning about other interesting topics.

The conference took place daily from 8:30 am to 6:00 pm. Although most of the participants' time was occupied by the official program, the evenings remained free of scheduled activities. The GSGS Student Council saw this as a great opportunity—since so many of us were in the same place at the same time, but outside of Cologne—for another get-together in this special setting.

We chose to meet on Monday evening, after the day’s sessions had ended, as that date worked best for the council members. The venue was the charming café-restaurant “Strandcafé Wien,” which offered a beautiful view of a cut-off meander of the Danube River.

The get-together started around 6:30 pm. Over time, more and more GSGS members joined us, and eventually we grew to a group of 11 people, more than there have been at a GSGS get together in a long time. We enjoyed traditional Austrian dishes and drinks—especially the desserts were met with much enthusiasm—and had a lot of fun and engaging conversations.

The gathering lasted until around 9:00 pm. Some participants then returned to their accommodations, while others continued the evening at another location for a couple more drinks together.

Looking back, the get-together turned out to be especially valuable. With well over 17,000 participants attending the conference in person, it became difficult to get a hold of each other again since everyone followed their own individual schedules, and spontaneous meetups were rare and brief.

Overall, we had a wonderful time at the get-together and are glad we made it happen. Without it, we might have missed the chance to spend quality time together, sharing good food and great conversations.