We’ve been super busy these last days! Nika arrived Friday morning, Friday night we started driving to Berchtesgaden in Bavaria where we stayed in a beautiful farmhouse/bead&breakfast so that I could attend an “investigators’ meeting” at the Hotel Intercontinental which was supposed to prepare me for one of the studies which are part of my new job.
Yesterday morning we came back, in the evening I had another “monitoring meeting” in the hospital and today we bought a dishwasher, a microwave and a refrigerator, we had a look at IKEA (first time for Nika) and after my parents returned from their dancing club, we brought the first load of furniture into our new home!
It was already half past ten and Damian was running everywhere and shouting with excitement, so after some time one of hour new neighbours came down to ask as to be a little more quiet because she has to get up at five. I think she was a little angry when she came down in her pyjamas, but when she saw my father who happens to be her orthopedist, she was very friendly 
So good to be back in the “village”! Actually, Kray is a borough of Essen, the eighth-largest town in Germany, but in Kray you can never get out without meeting people whom you know.
In Cologne, as a student I enjoyed some anonymity – you don’t want anybody to tell your parents when you’re walking home completely drunk after disco, but as my wild days are over and I’ve entered the realms of pampers, LEGO, and infinite responsibility for the wee one, I’m happy that here social contacts are just something that happens effortlessly.
