Every year, we really look forward to our Friendly retreat.
It’s a chance to take a short break together from our everyday work, which we spend in places we choose ourselves: Stefan in the beautiful Swiss Thurgau, Luke in Nussbaumen near Baden, Luki in Lucerne, Kathrin in Bern, and Joey in Budapest.
During our retreat, we spend a weekend together in real life – with meaningful conversations, delicious meals, and relaxed shared experiences.
This year, we had a special reason to celebrate: 5 years of Friendly! 🥳
To mark the occasion, we met in early June 2025 among the vineyards of Lavaux, on the shores of Lake Geneva.
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Lavaux: Vineyards with a View
Lavaux is one of the most impressive wine regions in Switzerland – and perhaps one of the most beautiful in Europe. Stretching between Lausanne and Montreux, the area covers around 800 hectares of terraced vineyards cascading down to Lake Geneva.
Since 2007, Lavaux has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site – not only for its natural beauty but also for the centuries-old cultural landscape shaped with great care by generations of winemakers.
The region is best known for its Chasselas grape, which yields light, mineral white wines. But you’ll also find expressive reds here, especially Pinot Noir. And Lavaux offers more than just wine: Narrow villages with charming stone houses, historic wineries, and spectacular views of the lake and alps make this a truly magical place.
The Open Wine Cellars
Every year over Pentecost weekend, dozens of winemakers in the canton of Vaud open their doors and invite the public to taste their wines. With a tasting glass in hand, you can walk from village to village through the vineyards, stopping at participating wineries along the way. Friendly hosts, regional specialties, music – and of course, plenty of exciting wines await.
The Caves Ouvertes attract many visitors every year – not just from the region: As we heard from our hotel, some guests even travel all the way from the US just for this weekend.
The welcoming atmosphere of the event, combined with the extraordinary landscape right on the lake, makes the Open Wine Cellars of Vaud an experience known far beyond Switzerland.
The perfect occasion to toast to five years of Friendly.
Off to a Refreshing Start
From the moment I got on the train, everything was organized. It felt great – I felt very well taken care of.
Lukas Frei, our Customer Happiness Manager
For Stefan, Luki, and Luke, the retreat got off to a relaxed start – with coffee in the train’s dining car and views of the passing Swiss countryside. Once in Lausanne, Luke took on the role of tour guide and showed us a few of his favorite spots in the city before we refueled with excellent burgers at Green Van.
After checking into the Hotel Rivage Lutry, we headed straight to the lake – a dip in the cold water was the perfect refreshment after the journey.
The start was great – Luke showed us Lausanne, we had burgers, and went swimming in the lake.
Stefan Vetter, our CEO
Kathrin joined us in the afternoon, and we ended the day together at Bleu Lézard – with good food, happy conversations, and excitement for the weekend ahead.
One small downside: Joey unfortunately couldn’t join this year’s retreat due to family reasons.
Fine Wining by the Lake
On Saturday, after a generous breakfast, we set off for our vineyard hike. From Lutry, we took a beautifully restored paddle steamer across Lake Geneva to Rivaz. The ride itself was already a highlight.
In Rivaz, we visited the Lavaux Vinorama and watched Une Année Vigneronne – a powerful documentary about the winegrowing year (trailer). It showed us just how much craftsmanship and manual labor goes into each bottle of wine.
We then set off on foot through the vineyards, following the route from wegwandern.ch.
Just above Rivaz, we stumbled across a small, standalone hut in the vineyards and met Madame Dubois from Didier Imhof Wines. She welcomed us warmly and invited us to taste her wines. The red Malbec – a new grape variety for the region – stood out: bold, with subtle barrel-aged notes. It was Kathrin’s favorite.
We continued through the picturesque slopes toward Epesses. The weather was kind to us – it never rained while we were on the road, only during breaks.
That was the case at Clos des Moines, right by the trail, where we found shelter just in time. Under the canopy, with wine, cheese, chocolate, and the sound of alphorns, waiting out the rain turned out to be a perfect little interlude.
We passed quickly through the village of Epesses – it was very busy – and continued toward Riex in high spirits and with lively conversation.
It was great to see almost the whole team in person again. We had deep conversations about Friendly, current developments, and future plans. It felt good to speak so openly and directly.
Lukas Sigel, our COO & CCO
A bit further up, in Chenaux, we discovered Domaine Badoux-Parisod – a small, welcoming winery with expressive red wines. We sat in the garden with a view over the vineyards, enjoyed the wines – and treated ourselves to raisin ice cream. Of course.
Full of impressions, we strolled back through the vineyards around Grandvaux and Aran toward Lutry, tasting a few more wines along the way and enjoying the conversations, the old paths, and our constant companion to the left: the calm lake.
My takeaway from the wine hike: It’s worth starting early – the winegrowers have more time to talk to you. I especially enjoyed the small, tucked-away wine cellars right in the vineyards – away from the busy villages.
Kathrin Schmid, our CMO & CISO
Tired and content, we arrived back in Lutry. After a short rest at the hotel, we headed out to dinner at Wagyu, a Japanese steakhouse right on the harbor. We enjoyed sushi, hot pot, and steak and enjoyed a relaxed end to our retreat.
My memory of the retreat: very beautiful area, great views, great conversations. A truly enjoyable experience.
Stefan Vetter, our CEO
We’re proud of how far we’ve come with Friendly – and excited about the years to come.
Behind the Scenes: The Bill
At Friendly, we cover all retreat costs for our team members. And, as always, we open our books and share what the retreat cost us this year.
Here are all expenses for our 2025 retreat, including travel, accommodation, food, and activities:
