Life is indeed good here in Germany where I am staying with my relatives, Marcus and Gabriele (far left and center), near Cologne. After a couple of months of cycling it was great to arrive at their doorstep looking and smelling like a low plains drifter and yet still to receive the warmest of welcomes. In case you were wondering, they have an unbelievably gemütlich house in the country with a backyard garden that would surpass anything in Home and Garden. There is also an adorable St. Bernard here that is willing to jump into any available body of water regardless of its size or contents. And the evening dinners have been fantastic. This is a photo after a dinner with their friend Günther (right), who made the best tofu salad (complete with a full selection of paired wines) that you or I will ever have in our entire lives, no jive. Earlier we had walked the St. Bernard down a meadow path shaded by ripe berry bushes, and plum, hazelnut and apple trees. I could not believe the abundance of free food hanging over our heads. Cologne is a blast, and the neighborhood near the Zülpicher Straße reminds me a lot of the Mission in San Francisco with its multitude of hipsters in the coffee shops. If you were here you would not want to leave, trust me. Thanks Marcus and Gabriele for making my stay here a real pleasure! (8/19/04)

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Dinner in Cologne