Era Coming to End…Merkel Bids Farewell to Stralsund (Photos)

German Chancellor Angela Merkel bid farewell to constituency with a surprise visit on Thursday.

Stralsund said goodbye to Merkel with a serving of ice cream, a slum choir serenade and a barrel of Bismarck herring. Surrounded by onlookers, the Chancellor strolled through the city center under the sun.

Merkel had already visited the Hanseatic city on Monday for the 50th anniversary of the environmental organization Greenpeace. The visit was made public at the end.

She told around 150 guests that she had never heard from a guest who was not absolutely surprised by the beauty of the city. “Unfortunately, I have never been a completely normal member of the Bundestag."

The farewell party at Kulturkirche St. Jacobi was harmonious to emotional. “An era is coming to an end,” said Mayor Alexander Badrow (also CDU).

The German Leader thanked her first time companions in Stralsund, such as the Zimmer couple. “She didn’t know anyone here either,” recalls Rolf-Peter Zimmer, now 81.