The Pope spoke to all the young people on bord the boat. Joaquín Navarro Valls, spokesman for the Holy See Press Office told this to the journalists, explaining that "whereas Pope John Paul II communicated especially with gestures, Pope Ratzinger dedicates plenty of room to words. This will be the pontificate of concepts and words". The Pope, the spokesman went on to say, said he was "very satisfied with the welcome and at lunch wanted to be informed on all the details". As soon as he got off the boat in Cologne and before beginning his speech, he thanked God "for the blue sky", adding: "Cologne is a very lively city but also very catholic".
