Hosni Mubarak - May 10, 2006

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I assumed that the coolest thing about my trip would be meeting Dr. Helmut Kohl tomorrow evening, and listening to him speak about the reunification of Germany, with the Brandenburg Gate in the background. And yes, that will be pretty cool. But today, we also had something cool happen...

Yesterday, I found out that Hosni Mubarak, the president of Egypt is staying at our hotel. Usually, there is someone cool at the hotel (Heidi Klum & Seal, U2), but I NEVER get to see them! So I was impressed by the increased security (more on them later), but didn't take it too seriously. I forgot that I had to sit in the lobby today for six hours, manning (or womanning) the "hospitality desk" for our conference. As a result, I actually got to see President Mubarak twice, from about six or seven feet away! I had to look him up online first, because before today, I wouldn't have known him by sight, even if I tripped over him in the elevator. But it was a pretty cool sighting.

You could always tell when he was coming or going in the hotel, because security people were buzzing around like insects. They all work very hard at being inconspicuous, but they are really conspicuous about it! So it only ends up being humourous. And while they seemd to be very serious (and large in number), not once did they come by to ask me what I was doing there, what was in the large boxes next to my seat, or what I had under the table. So how good were they? Although, it's likely that they spoke to the hotel to find out who I was, and I was "cleared." They did get a little nervous when I got up to retrieve a welcome packet for one of our delegates while President Mubarak was apparently right behind me waiting for the elevator. But luckily, I didn't cause any international incidents! I found making eye contact with them and smiling was effective for reducing any concerns they might have about me.

So now I've seen President Mubarak, and tomorrow, I get to have dinner with (well, at the #2 VIP table) Dr. Helmut Kohl - funny requests coming from this man. He needs to have a special, larger chair to accommodate his size, and will be eating more food than everyone else gets. He also was very concerned that the podium where he will be speaking is not too far from the table at which he will be sitting. He sounds like a real trip...someday when I'm famous, I promise not to make any strange requests...although it would be funny to tell someone I wanted three bowls of only green M&M's or something!

I'll keep my eye out for anyone else famous, and hopefully I'll start to see more of the city than just the hotel! On the plus side, tonight, we went to Die Lounge im Turm Frankfurter Tor 9 - it is on the top of one of two towers in Berlin, three rooms surrounded by glass, with the top one being completely circular. Very cool, even if you're afraid of heights like I am, and your palms were sweating just from walking upstairs. The view was particularly breathtaking though, because you could see almost all of Berlin (which is a pretty huge city), and as the sun set the sky on fire with pinks and oranges around nine, it truly was stunning. I watched it set out of the corner of my eye, as I listened to two Germans explain to me and one of our British friends what Berlin was like before reunification...pretty special. Now it's time for sleep before tomorrow's activities - a lovely Board meeting and then our evening with Dr. Kohl!

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Photos

Another view
No, I was not brave enough to venture outside to take these myself - one of the lawyers took them with my camera.

Potsdam
We eventually did have some other official activities, including a trip to a palace in Potsdam.

We finished this day with a lovely dinner at this brewery
Well, lovely except for the large roast pig on the table.

An evening at the movies
I was escorted down the red carpet by two of our lawyers.