Berlin - King Harald V of Norway and his wife, Queen Sonja, were welcomed with military honours at the start of a three-day state visit to Germany on Monday. The royal couple were welcomed by German President Horst Koehler and his wife, Eva, at the president's official residence in Berlin.
After the ceremony, the couple attended a luncheon hosted my Harald Ringstorff, the Social Democrat president of Germany's upper house of parliament, the Bundesrat.
Ringstorff, who is also prime minister of the northern state of Mecklenburg-West Pomerania, praised "the excellent relations" between Norway and Germany's federal states.
Following the luncheon, King Harald and Queen Sonja were due to take a stroll through Berlin's landmark Brandenburg Gate in the company of the capital's governing mayor, Klaus Wowereit.
In the evening, they were scheduled to attend a state banquet given in their honour by the German president.
The royal couple, who are accompanied by a political and military delegation, are due to meet German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Tuesday.
Other engagements on Tuesday include a visit to a fish factory and a wreath-laying ceremony at memorial dedicated to the victims of wars and tyranny.
On Wednesday the royal couple travel to North-Rhine Westphalia, Germany's most populous state.
