Merkel in Athens after Greek bond coup

(ATHENS) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel was to visit Greece on Friday to applaud reform efforts, a day after the eurozone laggard made a triumphant return to bond markets.

In her second visit to Athens in two years, Merkel was expected to discuss Germany's contribution to a 500-million-euro ($690-million) investment fund to help the Greek economy shake off a six-year recession.

On Thursday, Greece ended a four-year exile from bond markets with a five-year debt issue that raised 3.0 billion euros.

Police threw a massive security cordon around the Athens hotel and government headquarters Merkel was due to visit for talks with Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras.

The operation was mainly geared at preventing anti-austerity protesters from approaching the German chancellor, but it also came a day after a powerful car bomb exploded outside a Bank of Greece building in central Athens.

Warning was given to Greek media of the early morning attack, and police had time to clear the area before the explosion, preventing injuries.

Leftist groups are planning protests against Merkel, who is seen in Greece as a key proponent of the austerity drive applied in Europe in the last four years.

When the chancellor last visited in October 2012, riot police fired tear gas to disperse protesters attempting to storm a steel barricade near parliament, just blocks away from where she held talks with Samaras.

Small gangs of masked youths also threw bottles at police, while two Nazi flags were draped on the barricade and set on fire, to the consternation of authorities in Berlin.