Over 200,000 people turned out for Barack Obama's speech in Berlin, today, it was impossible to move because the crowds were so great in front of the Siegessäule (Victory Tower) located in the middle of Berlin's Tiergarten. Germans are ardent fans of Barack Obama and his reception clearly showed that. German news programs broadcast Obama's speech live and Germans are even more intrigued with Obama than previously, when he was depicted by one of the news programs here in a Superman costume.

What does this mean for American visitors in Germany? Perhaps a warmer reception when you say you are American - definitely if you say you are American you will be questioned about the upcoming elections. The first or second question I hear from every new German I meet (and I meet a lot of people) is, "Who do you think the next President will be?" .

If you are planning a trip here before the elections, read up on your politics, you are sure to be asked the same question I am always asked followed by your opinions, what is new, and what's the news on the election in the US. You may be surprised by just how much Germans know about US current events and how interested they are in the US electoral process.

The Love Parade which started in Berlin shortly before the fall of the Berlin Wall was a Berlin tradition until financial difficulties hit the event and it was cancelled in 2004 and 2005. Held again in 2006 in Berlin, and then cancelled because of lack of permits. The Love Parade hit the road in Germany. In 2007, the Love Parade was held in Essen, and this year, the 2008 parade was held in Dortmund on July 19. Dortmund claims that this was the biggest Love Parade ever with a turnout of well over a million people.

If you like electronic dance musich particulary Techno and partying in the streets, the Love Parade is a great event to attend. People party through the weekend and DJs come from all over the world to participate in the parade of music. Floats parade through the streets with music blasting from them and various groups and DJs performing. Parties are held at various venues throughout the weekend.

If you missed this year's Love Parade or saw it on TV and want to experience it personally, you might want to consider a trip to Bochum in 2009, Duisburg in 2010 or Gelsenkirchen in 2011.

Germany is very open to gays and lesbians, having legalized same-sex "lifetime partnerships" in 2001. Germany's two largest cities, Berlin and Hamburg, have openly gay mayors and Cologne reports that one out of every ten people living in Cologne is gay. In direct opposition to historical persecution of Jews, minorities and gays, Germany today is among the most liberal of countries when it comes to same-sex relationships.

The major cities of Germany have thriving gay communities with Berlin, Cologne and Hamburg being at the top of the list.

There is such an active gay nightlife and so many gay and lesbian events in Germany, it is hard to do justice to them all. Berlin is one of the gay capitols of the world and events across Germany include film festivals as well as Christopher Street and Gay Pride days. Check out the various gay nightlife venues in Germany's major cities and plan for gay events you might want to attend when visiting Germany.

Madame Tussauds now has a wax museum in Berlin, but with a twist. Adolph Hitler was decapitated by the second visitor to the museum on July 5. The exhibit has been controversial from the start and rules were set that people could not take photographs in the exhibit. While the exhibit displayed a rather forlorn looking Hitler sitting at a desk in a gray bunker, the exhibit itself has sparked controversy from the day of its announcement as perhaps not being in the best of taste.

Apparently at least one visitor thought it was not in good taste and jumped the rope barriers and tore off the head of the wax figure of Adolph Hitler. Germans are not fans of Hitler and there is still a great deal of sensitivity surrounding him. Even a production of "The Producers", which opened on June 30 in Vienna met with scepticism. My German friends and colleagues don't see the humor in "Springtime for Hitler", but then again, they haven't seen the play. Apparently, it is being as well received in Vienna as it was in the US.

Madame Tussauds in Berlin is located on Unter den Linden, not far from the Brandenburg Gate and has several other exhibits of famous Germans including Albert Einstein, Guenter Grass, Bertolt Brecht, Konrad Adenauer, Marlene Dietrich, Otto von Bismarck (Germany's first Chancellor) and today's Chancellor Angela Merkel as well as Heidi Klum.

Berlin is the latest of the Madame Tussauds museums, making it the 7th in the world.