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Chancellor Angela Merkel is welcomed to Los Angeles by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and his wife, Maria Shriver.

(© Guido Bergmann / BPA)

Chancellor Merkel arrived in Los Angeles Tuesday evening on the second leg of her five-day trip to the United States. Prior to her arrival, Merkel had attended the 47-country Nuclear Security Summit hosted by US President Barack Obama in Washington, D.C. Obama had assembled the leaders and heads of state to secure that nuclear materials not get in the hands of terrorists.

Having long ago extended an invitation to Merkel to visit California, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger finally had a chance to welcome her to the state. The governor and his wife, Maria Shriver, greeted her at the airport upon her arrival in Los Angeles. The next morning, Schwarzenegger and Merkel met for breakfast to discuss economic affairs and mutual cooperation.

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Consul General Wolfgang Drautz opens the panel discussion with Chancellor Merkel.

(© Paul Buck / european pressphoto agency)

After the breakfast meeting, Merkel moderated and participated in a panel discussion with representatives from trade, industry and science as well as think tanks at the residence of Consul General Wolfgang Drautz.

The next stop on the whirlwind schedule was the Getty Center, where Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa hosted a luncheon in Merkel’s honor. At the obligatory photo-op, prior to the luncheon, Merkel and Villaraigosa encountered elementary students visiting the Center on a field trip. Asked by Merkel, if they knew where Germany was, one student spoke-up and said, “Europe.” The chancellor beamed with pleasure.

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Chancellor Merkel with singer Seal and German top model Heidi Klum at the Getty Center luncheon.

(© Guido Bergmann / BPA)

At the luncheon, she had the opportunity to meet with leading entertainment executives, business leaders and scientists as well as experience a bit of the Hollywood celebrity factor. In attendance were German top model Heidi Klum and her husband, singer, Seal, German talk show-meister Thomas Gottschalk, and Eric Braeden, the German-born actor starring in the daytime soap opera, “The Young and the Restless.”

A Touch of Hollywood: Warner Bros. Studios Tour

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Chancellor Merkels watches as a foley artist demonstrates how she creates a sound.

(© Guido Bergmann / BPA)

Merkel's final stop in Hollywood was Warner Bros. Studios, where she met with Chairman and CEO Barry M. Meyer and other leading executives, before touring the studios. One of the highlights of the tour, was a visit on the set of “The Mentalist,” where she met star Simon Baker. Intrigued by the building facades, she was curious to find out if there really wasn’t anything behind one of the shop’s doors. “Let’s go see, “Baker said, as he lead Merkel over to the door to check it out for herself.

The chancellor was also fascinated watching foley artists at work in one of the sound studios. These artists create many of the natural, everyday sound effects in a film. The term foley artist is named after Jack Foley, one of the earliest and best-known Hollywood practitioners of the art.

With her visit to Los Angeles concluded, the chancellor departed for San Francisco, where she was scheduled to address students at Stanford University before returning home Friday.

Helmut Kohl was the last German chancellor to visit Los Angeles in September 15, 1991.