I am writing this from Punta Cana in the Dominican republic, where I have come for a few days of vacation with what I think of as my "German family"...my daughter-in-law (my son's widow), Margret; her partner, Jürgen; and my 18-year-old granddaughter, Nadine. If you live in Germany...which has had a hard winter this year...you really welcome a warm beach by April. And we have certainly found that here.

Here are Margret and Nadine at the beach yesterday. This morning Margret is by the...