Definitely the most exciting thing to happen all week: Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu paid a visit to Bild. Last year the original blueprints for the buildings at Auschwitz turned up in Berlin and ended up in Bild’s hands; today the editor-in-chief presented them to Netanyahu for Yad Vashem, the Holocaust memorial in Israel.
We knew a day ahead of time that the roads around the office would be closed, so I wasn’t surprised when my bus driver announced that he was going to be taking a different route and now would be a good time to get off. I walked the last 10 minutes to work and counted 27 police vehicles at my regular bus stop. Which was by no means the only place that police vehicles were parked. I would’ve taken some police car pictures, but I don’t know how jumpy Berlin cops are about photos, and I didn’t think the best way to find out was by photographing the security measures for an Israeli state visit.
My office is in that giant building at right.
The room I’ve been in the last two weeks looks right down on the main entrance. The action started at about 10 a.m., when a tour bus pulled up and popped out a dozen or two photographers. We amused ourselves for much of the next hour by watching the snipers (the most obvious ones were right in front of the entrance, sitting on top of a VW van) and placing bets on which direction he’d come from (I won).
See all those people looking out the window? I wasn’t kidding when I said it was the most exciting thing to happen all week.
Finally, the reward: a big honkin’ motorcade. I mean, I live in a world capital. I know my motorcades. This was a big motorcade. Twenty-five cars at the very least, plus a full complement of motorcycles, some ambulances, and a helicopter, and it seemed like about 100 people pouring into the building.
This is a fraction of the many, many cars – and only part of the crowd that got out of the cars. Also, note the aforementioned snipers at right.
The prime minister and his ginormous entourage re-emerged 40 minutes later, and I actually managed to get a picture with him in it:
He’s the guy with the gray hair facing this way, next to the back passenger door of the limo. Cmon, you can totally recognize him.
So yeah. I may be from D.C. and all, but I still get excited about motorcades.
I don’t blame you! I always get excited trying to figure out who’s actually the reason for it and which car they may be in. Does that make me a total nerd?
Also, I didn’t think I was that politically minded after three years in DC . . . until I moved to Missouri. I feel like I’m the only one out here who cares what Congress is up to this week. (Well, when they’re not in recess.)
Very cool. When I was in Berlin for a scientific conference in February 2008, we were staying at the Hotel Intercontinental over in what had been West Berlin — and then Israeli PM Olmert came to stay. We were issued security badges — though there were certain areas that were strictly verboten.
The German security detail was NOT kidding around (they moved cars from the street) and I didn’t want to get on the bad side of those Israeli security guys!
I actually did find him before I read your explanation about which one was him. I was guessing though. Very cool. Nothing wrong about being impressed by pomp and circumstance. It staves off cynicism.