U.S. President George Bush arrived Wednesday in Germany to frosty winter weather but a smiling reception from German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder as the U.S. leader continued his tour of Europe aimed at improving Washington's ties with Europe. Amid freezing temperatures, wind and snow flurries and massive security measures in place for the seven-hour visit, Bush arrived at Rhein-Main airport in Frankfurt from Brussels, with Schroeder, Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer and Hessen State President Roland Koch on hand to welcome the U.S. leader. The brief welcome at the airport was shown live on television, but well-secluded from the public. Frankfurt's busy international airport was closed to air traffic for more than half an hour for the arrival of the U.S. delegation. The two leaders then went by motorcade to Mainz, a city of some 200,000 people some 60 kilometers distant, on an Autobahn superhighway which was partially closed to traffic for security reasons. Bush was greeted at the 16th-Century Electoral Palace of Mainz by Rhineland-Palatinate Premier Kurt Beck before Bush and Schroeder then were welcomed with military honours in the palace courtyard. Helicopters buzzed in the skies above Mainz, where the air space was closed to aviation for the duration of the Bush visit. The Schroeder-Bush talks were taking place well away from the public view. A wide perimeter of barricades guarded by thousands of police was drawn around the government district of Mainz where the Electoral Palace is located. --more 1339 Local Time 1039 GMT
