Do you feel the Berlin of now is the same Berlin you portrayed in Wings of Desire, or is it now a different city altogether?
MPs and peers laughed as Merkel, who recalled her first visit to London in the spring of 1990 shortly after the fall of the Berlin Wall, said those expecting a "fundamental reform of the European architecture" in Britain's direction would be disappointed.
Woman in Gold is released in cinemas next month, but at its premiere in Berlin the Austrian reviewers were generous about its portrayal of a national reluctance to face the art crimes of the past, according to playwright Alexi Kaye Campbell, who wrote the screenplay.
His wife, Michelle, and their daughters, Malia and Sasha, were elsewhere in the city, visiting the Berlin Wall memorial.
In the audience was the "candy bomber" Gail Halvorsen, now 92, who, as an American airforce pilot, dropped sweets to children during the 1948-49 Berlin airlift, which kept the city's population alive during the Soviet blockade and which became the strongest symbol of US-German friendship.
Leonard also talks about Britain being a diminished presence internationally – "Berlin would be the first port of call for any US president – we would be marginal" – before we chew over one of the most practical questions at stake.
"The Ukraine crisis is truly not a regional affair," she said, voicing incredulity that Putin's campaign could take place 25 years after Europe's division into two blocs ended with the fall of the Berlin Wall.
Berlin has already made perfectly clear that any changes to European treaties would be too risky.
With elections looming on 22 September, few respondents expected a big change in policy to emanate from Berlin.
The Night Wolves have said they will continue with their plans to ride to Berlin even if they are turned away by Poland.
Amid genuine fears in Berlin that Britain may be on a trajectory towards exit, the German chancellor is expected to say that Britain benefits from its membership of the EU.
