Germans love their football. Last night Germany defeated Australia 4 to 0 in their first South African world cup match and this resulted in a huge celebration on the streets of Koln.

The river Rhine runs through the center of the city and they also have a magnificent church called the dome at the center that draws 6 million tourists a year. I am not a big fan of  visiting churches on tour  but this is one magnificent building. Koln is a pleasant city and most everything seems to be accessable in the central area. I like it here.

Every time I come to a new place I notice that there is a period of adjustment required where I feel increasingly vulnerable and sensitive. It seems to go after letting go and going with the flow. Iris has a more difficult agenda. She is visiting medical centers for possibile employment once she returns from her placement in Nepal. How she does this I do not know. I find it difficult coming from Nepal and learning to be back in a western country but I have been out of the west for ninetieen months which is about one year longer than Iris.

Many things are very pleasant about the west. Much more so than Nepal.  Germany has the nicest toilets in the world and it is a world away from toilet facilities in Nepal. There are traffic lights and controls here. Nepal has crazy traffic and no rules. Goats, cows, people, bicycles, rikshaws, cars, trucks, buses all compete for road space. It is quite an example of anarchy and how some kind of feudal order can arise out of that. Hygeine and cleanliness are a welcome improvementas well in Germany. I  also have access to great art supplies here. It is am expensive place to be.  Nepal is  an incredibly inexpensive place to live.