Help? Blue Smoke at startup, etc...

I've had my 2000 Golf for a little over a month, and I notice that pretty much every morning when I start it cold I get a nice cloud of blue smoke. Also I have noticed a similar blast of blue after decelerating, say when I exit the highway for example. 76,000 miles, 5 speed, otherwise it seems to be running pretty well. This is my first experience with a diesel of any kind so any help would be appreciated. I don't know of any mods to the car either. Everything seems to be normal, though the previous owner did have to have the glow plugs replaced recently. Any tips on what to look for? Thanks.

Try a different fuel source. Bad fuel is a common cause of this.

Regarding fuel sources: beware that a lot of stations with different names can be getting their fuel from the same refinery, in order to really switch fuel sources you have to find a station that gets its fuel from a different refinery.

It is also possible that your injection timing is retarded. See TDIFAQ.

If this symptom only occurs before the engine reaches normal operating temperature, it's possible that a glow plug is going bad. Usually that trips the MIL on the newer cars, though.