Dutch Royal To Inaugurate Embassy in Berlin

Queen Beatrix of The Netherlands has begun a two-day visit to Germany, during which she will officially open the new Dutch embassy in Berlin. The building, in the form of a glass cube designed by star architect Rem Koolhaas is located on the banks of the River Spree. Flower beds have been planted with hundreds of Dutch tulips specially flown in for the occasion. The monarch will also meet outgoing German Federal President Johannes Rau and Chancellor Gerhard Schröder before paying her first visit to the state of Saxony-Anhalt in eastern Germany.