Having the city's emergency services swarming around them was certainly the last thing two German lovebirds had in mind when they decided to watch a romantic sunrise together this week.

But that's exactly what happened when Max Sonnenschein, 25, and his girlfriend, Amelia Fuchs, 26, climbed the Kaiserlei bridge over the Main river in the German state of Hesse to watch the sun come up.

A passing driver who saw the pair leaning over the rail assumed they were about to throw themselves over the edge and called the police.

Within minutes, fire engines, police cars and even a speedboat with divers raced to the scene only to find the couple locked in a passionate embrace. The pair climbed down sheepishly and said all they wanted to do was watch the sun come up.

But, the police weren't moved by the tenderness of the moment. "They had climbed over at least one barrier and were in a place they were not allowed to be," a police spokesman said. "There was a massive operation to save them, and they can now expect a bill for wasting police time."

Firefighters put their "rescue" bill at 1,600 euros ($2,000).