On the shores of the Baltic Sea there used to stand a listed villa built in 1854 where the Russian Tsar Nicholas I took his summer holidays. When the G8 came to town it was ripped down to make way for the media centre. Now 3,000 journalists tasked to cover the summit are following their leaders home, grabbing the last of the free ice creams from the freezers and collecting their powder-blue goody bags from tourist officials before they leave.
It is hard not to wonder about the cost, and waste, of the annual G8 circus. This region, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, used to be part of East Germany and is still the poorest area of Germany. Local officials probably hope that the expense and inconvenience of the summit will be offset by well-fed journalists going home and encouraging tourism by telling everyone how nice it is.
It is a beautiful region - rural, unspoilt, with excellent cycle paths and plenty of windfarms. But I don't need a canvas goody bag to say that. (Strictly for research purposes I picked one up: it says "G8 summit 2007 Heiligendamm - the place to be" on the outside. Inside it contains a packet of biscuits, a bag of sweets, a tub of Nivea moisturiser, a Frisbee, a beach towel and that all-important milk shake recipe book. I left it behind for a journalist who really needs it.)
Most of the reporters have slaved away, responsibly trying to untangle facts from the woolly rhetoric of world leaders and their communiqués. But a few journalists appear to be here for a holiday - I've seen a Russian reporter quaffing champagne and bratwurst at 11am and others asleep on the sun terrace.
And do we really need dozens of pot plants, a sun terrace, sea views, lavish buffets and free sparkling wine and beer to do our jobs properly?
Apparently Heiligendamm's press facilities are relatively restrained by the standards of previous G8s. Journalists were given bottles of Scotch at Gleneagles in 2005 and the French used to lay on Michelin starred chefs to cook for the hungry media when they hosted the summit. The protesters outside would certainly say that the stomach-expanding comfort of all this luxury helps ensure compliant reporting.
I'd argue not, but the waste of it all should still make us queasy. You have to hope that the G8 leaders' statement on climate change is not just hot air because the greenhouse gas emissions of this annual jamboree must be enormous.
At least there's some recycling. Rostock Zoo are interested in buying some of the 7.5 mile, 8ft security fence that has guarded the summit resort. And at least the local people who tried to preserve the tsar's summer home have been reassured: now the media centre has completed its five-day lifespan, it too will be destroyed and an exact replica of the 1854 villa will be rebuilt where the press once scoffed pickled herring sandwiches. So that's alright then.
