Hi Eva,
nice to hear from You! And no, the chances that we come to the Netherlands
this year show a tendency towards zero. No holidays left, no money left, no
time left. But we have it in mind!
We actually, more or less, just came back from Corsica. A late taste of
summer before winter comes. It was nice, especially for the kids. Maria
would like to live there. Exactly her temperature. The waves not too high but
not too small either. The beach sandy, no pebbles or rock.
And in six weeks we will be heading of to Esther's parents in the North to
celebrate Christmas. But next year we plan to come!
As You are writing grants (I'm really impressed I have to admit, You take it
very serious) You are going to stay for some time, aren't You? I would also
like to say that I'm that determined, but I still do day-in day-out cloning.
NeuroXsys is very slow to progress, Uwe is never around or not interested,
Sepand more or less gave up and the lab has no structure. But that does not
mean I only reluctantly go to work each day. No, I like it.
I do meet Jochen from time to time. Sometimes he comes over to nick
something wet-lab related like PTU or he pulls needles for injection. I
think he is happy in Urbans lab and I heard from Ferenc that he is doing a
good job there. After all, if he really wants to go to industry, it was the
right decision to make.
And life in Germany? Life in Germany hardly ever changes. At least not for
us. We still live in the same flat, Inga and Maria go to Kindergarten and
Esther stays at home. Lately she started to gather some pottery-jobs.
I will stay in Uwe's lab till March 2012, but I am already looking for jobs
in the industry. 
Inga will go to school next summer. That will be the next major event in our
life.
Today I'm simply looking forward to a 15Km hike through northern Alsace on
Sunday. Autumn coloured the whole wood in different shades of red and
yellow. I hope the sun will shine!
Hope to see you soon,
Marco