Brad at
Letters in a Bottle / The Island Pundit has some first hand accounts of the Pope's trip to Germany
here and
here.
Pope Benedict XVI's arrival by boat on the Rhine was awe-inspiring today. We waited along the banks with throngs of World Youth Day pilgrims - including Iraqis, Chinese, Australians, Namibians, and Maltese. People climbed the sycamore trees lining the bank Zaccheus-style. Planes, helicopters, and zeppelins droned overhead, and German special forces boats patrolled the river. A parade of at least five big Rhine cruise boats preceeded the Papal Barge (Papst Boot?). All the bells in Cologne were ringing. The Italians whipped up a rousing cheer of 'Benedetto' as the Texans across the river laid out huge Lone Star Flags on the East Bank of the Rhine. It was something to truly something to see.
Makes you wish you were there. Meanwhile,
DAD29 passes along how some unwanted wall decorations were taken care of.
Apparently on Monday Planned Parenthood did an all-out promotion, and plastered all the subways and railways in Cologne with pro-condom posters. But from the hour the pilgrims started arriving, the posters started coming down.
