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Weather: solid 83° Fahrenheit. Crowd: Tempelhof-groupies and EasyJet-set. Food: German, served with Stars & Stripes. Welcome to Amerikafest 2008.

Now open to the common people, the new American Embassy in Berlin. And by open we mean you may now enter the twenty meters security zone and touch the sand colored granite walls of this maximum-security diplomatic outpost. Sources say, it’s so secure in there, the ambassador has to use the restrooms of Hotel Adlon next door, because no one knows where they are located in the Embassy.

Yesterday, Angela Merkel and George H.W. Bush went to see for themselves. Result: Total satisfaction, German-American relationships strong as ever before, and the Americans make a triumphant return to the center of a unified German capital. And all that on a Fourth of July.

The smell of history kept lingering in the air today. Germans, Americans and visitors from all over the world could still notice it, while taking a bite from their free beef jerky. Right behind them the travel offices of West Virginia, the Deep South and the Capital Region had set up shop; looking at the prices these days, most passersby figured that the Baltic Sea isn’t so bad after all.

Real authentic American Sports were on display: Football, Cheerleading, Break dance, and the king of it all – Segway riding. Politics was present too, Republicans and Democrats Abroad shared a tent (hooray for bi-partisanship), clearly demonstrating who has the German public’s sympathies. While the Democrats had to fill balloon after balloon for German Obamamaniacs, the Republican side looked deserted and somewhat pitiful (yet those present at the booth were of high hopes, check back for a full interview with a Republican and a Democratic Berliner).

Leaving the transatlantic Volksfest we look back at a US-themed, Bratwurst flavored family party. The attendees presented their version of the US, with the holy trinity of Indians, Fast Food and SUVs.

For some impressions, consider our photo gallery.

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