Appearances of US presidents in Germany often end up in the history books. Unforgettable is the "I am a Berliner" speech by John F. Kennedy on June 26, 1963 at the Rathaus Schöneberg.

What many have forgotten about it: a few days before Kennedy was in Cologne and tests there, how such sentences in Germany work. The cheering storm of the Domstädter was as big as during his Berlin appearance. No wonder - Kennedy knew what to say here as well. He shouted: "Kölle Alaaf".

On Thursday evening, a US president came to Cologne again with Barack Obama - albeit as former head of state and without "Kölle Alaaf" - shouts. For the people of Cologne, the visit is a small sensation, but also in the rest of the republic, the trip to Germany, which Obama will then lead to Berlin, attentive and sometimes wistful pursued.

Oliver Berg / DPA

Obama's convoy drives through Cologne

The security measures on this day are inferior to those of an incumbent US President. Thousands of police officers are said to be on duty, and employees of the American Secret Service accompany the Democrats. The only downside: The presidential suite in the luxury hotel "Hyatt" is already taken.

Significantly overwritten as the "World Leaders Summit", the congress in the Cologne Lanxess Arena should, according to the organizers, deal with the question of what good leadership means today. Obama is, so to speak, the top act among the booked speakers. Until recently, the initiators, a start-up called Thought Tank, kept secret what the previous president's appearance would look like. Apparently it did not hurt: More than 14,000 tickets the organizers according to own data set off

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Obama on stage: top act among the world leaders

At 7 pm the ranks fill up in the multi-purpose hall. Well-known and partly unknown motivation trainers and CEOs talk about leadership, success, fate, positive thinking. The word "leadership" often falls on this evening. Very often. Lighting, big screens, thumping basses, camera shots by the audience - some of the scenery is reminiscent of TV casting shows.

"I suddenly had to cook my own coffee"

At 8:09 pm, Obama enters the stage. Announced by his sister Auma Obama, who is more common in Germany, studied in Heidelberg and speaks German. "Welcome my little brother, Barack Hussein Obama."

The hall cheers.

Obama - blue shirt, dark blue suit, his legs casually crossed - needs only a few sentences to win people over. "Whatever my sister said, I do not know if you should believe her," he says, grinning.

The interview is led by Cristián Gálvez, who also describes himself as a motivational speaker. The first questions are sound. How did Obama deal with suddenly not being president anymore? "I suddenly had to make my own coffee and did not know how the machine works," he says. "The coffee was awful." In addition, he had long slept well in the first time. "You can not do that as a president."

Tickets for up to 5000 euros

The enthusiasm for Obama is still unbroken two years after leaving the presidency, which is clearly felt in Cologne. And there is a reason: many people in and outside of the USA have apparently not been able to cope with the fact that Donald Trump is now sitting in the White House. The urbane charismatic was followed by an awkward political ruffian trying to force his way through the mallet method. The contrast between the two could hardly be greater. This reinforces the longing of many people for something like Obama, especially in uncertain times.

And so probably the appearance of the 57-year-old is the reason why many people pay up to 5000 euros for a ticket. See Obama, even if his sentences may not go down in the history books this evening. Those who can afford one of the most expensive cards may even attend a dinner with the once most powerful man in the world. Photo included.

What he gets for the performance as a fee is not clear. But for a speech to bankers in New York, he is said to have received two years ago, according to "New York Times" $ 400,000. So the trip is by no means an official state visit, but of a private nature. Parts of his income usually flow into foundations.

"What drives you is work, not applause"

Of course, the conversation eventually comes to the question of what constitutes a good leader. Obama immediately drops several ready-to-print sentences.

"A good leader is someone who listens and feels what people feel," Obama says, adding, "What drives you forward as leader is the work, not the applause," so "focus on what you want to do and not what you want to be. "

Applause.

For the past two years he has withheld public appearances. He followed the unwritten law of the ex-presidents: no comments on the current policy. The name Trump he took until shortly before the congressional elections in the mouth when he warned against new racism.

This is also true this evening. But indirectly, quite a few tips are heard. "I'm a friend of facts," said Obama, receiving applause. That was what his decisions were based on. "This is a table," says Obama and shows next to him. "If somebody says it's a tree, what, yeah, what should I say?"

Social networks such as Twitter and Facebook have greatly changed information sharing, he believes, he sees it critically - and everyone in the hall understands who he at least refers to. Direct questions about Trump, however, evades Obama charming.

If he was satisfied with his term of office, the interviewer wants to know at the end of the one-hour interview. The 57-year-old thinks: "I have steered some things in a better direction that would not have happened without me, that does not mean that I am satisfied."

For Obama it goes on Friday now to Berlin. Who he meets there is already clear: "My friend Angela Merkel."