'Yes we can' to 'Yes we scan', Obama returns to Berlin

Police cars are parked in front of the Ritz Carlton Hotel where U.S. President Barack Obama will stay during his upcoming visit in Berlin June 14, 2013. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch

BERLIN (Reuters) - Cheered like a rock star when he passed through Berlin five years ago on his way to the White House, Barack Obama faces a cooler reception and tough questions about U.S. spying methods when he returns next week for talks with Angela Merkel and a speech at the Brandenburg Gate.

The visit comes nearly 50 years to the day after President John F. Kennedy landed in a divided Berlin at the depth of the Cold War and, in a powerful message of American solidarity, told encircled westerners in the city: "Ich bin ein Berliner"