US President George W. Bush will be an American tourist in the former East Germany en route to the G8 summit in Russia, visiting a historic church and chatting over barbecue with German Chancellor Angela Merkel's constituents.

The Bushes will leave this morning for the president's third visit to Germany, arriving late in the evening in Rostock, Bush's national security adviser, Stephen Hadley, said on Monday as he outlined the coming trip.

The US first couple's time in Germany will be spent in Merkel's electoral constituency in the former East Germany. She is the first chancellor of united Germany who is a native of the former East Germany.

After a day-long flight from Andrews Air Force Base to Rostock, the Bushes will spend their first night at a nearby luxurious Baltic resort, Heiligendamm.

Merkel, who in her short time in office has become one of Bush's closest foreign colleagues, will preside over an official welcoming ceremony tomorrow at the old Market Square in historic, scenic Stralsund. It became a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2002, a tribute to its importance as a German trading centre in the 14th and 15th centuries.

Hadley said Bush will greet representatives of the local community, Merkel's constituents.

Bush and Merkel will meet and have a working lunch, followed by a session with reporters. During an afternoon of sightseeing, Bush, his wife and Merkel will visit St. Nicholas Church, "a landmark to northeast Germany's contribution to German culture and heritage," Hadley said.

From Stralsund, the Bushes will travel to Trinwillershagen for a casual social dinner hosted by Merkel in the town that served as a model agricultural co-operative for former East German government. The main course will be German-style barbecue.

The dinner will be in the restaurant where Merkel was renominated for her seat in the Bundestag, Germany's parliament last June, and Bush is expected to visit during the dinner with more of Merkel's local constituents.

On Friday, the president and Mrs. Bush leave Germany en route to St. Petersburg, Russia, for the meeting of the leaders of the Group of Eight industrialized nations, chaired by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Source: China Daily