In The Place Where Merkel Made Her First Campaign Stop, People Have Fond Memories

https://www.npr.org/2021/09/24/ [login to see] /angela-merkel-legacy-germany-election
It was a cold, misty morning in November of 1990 when the fishermen noticed a woman standing outside their hut. They'd been fishing in the Baltic Sea and were approaching shore, trying to make out who it was. Hans-Joachim Bull was worried the stranger might be an inspector sent by the government to enforce fishing quotas.

"We offloaded our fish and then we asked her what she wanted," he remembers. "She said she was running for parliament and wanted to learn how we fishermen were doing. So we naturally invited her into our hut to drink schnapps with us."

The young candidate was Angela Merkel. And a smoky, liquor-filled fishing hut in northeastern Germany was her first campaign stop.

Bull shares what is now a famous photograph of the visit, showing five fishermen smoking, dressed in blue work uniforms, seated around two tables while Merkel chats with one of them. Another bearded fisherman sits in the background, taking a drag from his cigarette while gazing out a window. Rays of light stream into the hut, making the picture look like an old Dutch painting.