Dear Vet Med Group,

First of all, sorry for not having stopped by here in a while. I was very busy preparing for our first Texas A&M group. Also, my boss, Willem Spanninga, was on vacation in Greece, and so that left me even busier and with more stuff to take care of.
But everything went fine and all students of our summer session 1 program on architectural history and photography arrived in pretty good shape here on Monday. As we speak, they are out in town exploring Düsseldorf and some aspects of the city's history and traditions. Last night, we had a first get-together here in our facilities with all host families and participants to have dinner together and chat with each other. The weather has been sunny for the most part and not too hot. After a short interlude of unusually hot weather last weekend, everything seems to be back to normal, which means temperatures in the mid 70s F. (It should be warming up some more until you get here.)
The things we have planned for you are also firming up quite well. Yesterday I was able to secure a guided tour of a very old and yet successful horse-breeding farm in the vicinity of Cologne. I think some of you might like this kind of field trip; there should be some horse-lovers in this group and I bet there is at least one among the 11 female students coming over here. . .
Well, instead of talking and talking all the time, I thought I'd post a picture today and see if I can find some more to post sometime soon. (I have more on my computer at home and I need to bring them in for you to see.)
What you see on those pictures is a) a very rare animal - me - because I am very picture shy (the one in the middle with no manners:-) and b) a scenic view taken from the banks of the river Rhine, where the first photo was taken also, and c) the little old house me and some more friends like to go to on the weekend.
Hopefully more will be coming up soon! Stay cool in hot Texas, and see you soon!
CJ