We, our family, have a new apartment in Cologne.  It is close to my place of toil, the Institute of Zoology of the University of Cologne and the clinic where Steffi is getting treatment: the  University Clinic.  The apartment is big enough so that I can stay there without getting in Steffi’s way and since she as a home so close she can come home more often from the hospital, sometimes just on  “vacation”.  I can ride my bike to work so she can have the car if necessary.  My bike ride to work goes through a park with a big area of chestnuts, a pond with a swan family including 3 juveniles, a  playground and lots of trees, squirrels and bird including a large parakeet that has escaped from the zoo and ma´de its home in Cologne and is multiplying.  Cologne has a mild climate..  It takes me about 8  min to get to work, a great savings over the 1 hour and 20 min at the minimum from Loope.  Our institute is an old building.  A new biological center is being built but it should take a few years before it is finished.  Then we will move.  We have a lot of changing  obligations with research and the new  Bachelor or Masters degrees that we are offering since last year and that will be internationally accepted.  The German system is very different and changing the system  is a lot of work. I enjoy working in my department with a lot of students and youg people, they are our future. It is hard to realize that you are the oldest and certain things did not exist, which are now the norm,  when I started my career. Our institute over the years . Institute The back courtyard The workplace Our experimental setups Classrooms Our living pins are the best Our experimental animal Jack, my office mate, moved away. We have a house on the lower Rhine river, mostly for ocology but my work group goes there twice a year for three days for intensive work.  Pictures:  the group, a talk, interested listeners, the area, the back yard, cooking dinner. Our departments band playing at the retirement party for Hans (making Paella) in the courtyard.  Ansgar, out boss is the one in the middle playing guitar. Scenes from the anual “Christmas” party.  Ansgar is playing the flute.  A quiz for our professors, and participants A spontaneous trip to a local lake in Cologne on a hot summer day to try out the hydrofoil, an interesting, but difficult mode of crossing the  lake. Most of us opted to watch and enjoy the shade. Another hard day at work; our annual excursion, this time a trip down  the Lahn river.  Since the weather was beautiful there were  many boats on the watter. The boats tunnel and the first lock were crowded. 25 km down stream we ended our trip and took the train back.