When they arrived, there was no room in the inn and no lunch or dinner in sight. Such is the life of a pilgrim at World Youth Day.

To many, World Youth Day conjures up images of papal greetings and a sort of "Catholic Woodstock." For the 150 pilgrims who traveled to Cologne, Germany, with the group organized by the diocesan Office of Youth Ministry, they know there is much more to the worldwide pilgrimage.

The youths from Arlington wore wristbands reading, "We have come to worship him," the theme of this year’s gathering. With the event centered in Cologne, pilgrims were given the chance to visit the Dom Cathedral, the church that holds the remains of the Three Magi, the first pilgrims to visit Christ.

The nine days spent in Cologne, Germany, were far from being a European vacation. As soon as they arrived, the youths were asked to walk 20 minutes to a sportsplex where they would sleep on a concrete floor with about 300 other youths from around the world for five nights.

This experience offered a rare chance for pilgrims to grow in friendship and fraternity with their local priests and seminarians. It is a rare chance that youths have to wake up in the morning and see their priest with "bed head."

Besides close sleeping quarters, there were also close bathing quarters with two group shower rooms and two bathrooms serving more than 400 pilgrims staying there.

Lunch was nowhere to be found the first day, and dinner did not arrive until nearly midnight. While the soft rolls were tasty on the first day, after eating at least four of them every day for the rest of the trip, many pilgrims vowed they would never eat bread again.

Lunch and dinner were collected together around 1 p.m. Food was a major obstacle to overcome with it being late some days, in short supply on other days and the temptation of a McDonald’s — hardly considered "pilgrimage" food by many — right across the street from the lodging. When food was provided, it was food that was not very appetizing to many.

The next obstacle to overcome was transportation. Arlington pilgrims were encouraged to allow several hours to travel to Rhein-Energie Stadium where Cologne Cardinal Joachim Meisner celebrated the opening Mass on Aug. 16. It took some as many as five hours to travel the five or six miles by train. Pilgrims packed into already full trains that lacked adequate air conditioning, just for the chance to join in the celebration of Mass with their peers. Many pilgrims opted to hike to the Mass, only to discover they couldn’t even enter the stadium because it was over capacity. For those who were unable to enter, big-screen televisions showed the Mass on the lawn outside the stadium.

Transportation continued to be an obstacle throughout the week. There were nights when pilgrims did not return to the sportsplex until early morning hours because of stations closing due to safety concerns. Direkt World Youth Day News, the newspaper printed for pilgrims in Cologne, reported on "mayhem" at the central station on Aug. 17 when 19 people suffered circulatory collapse because of surging crowds. Several Arlington seminarians were present at a station when a woman gave birth, and another Arlington pilgrim reported that they had to assist a group of Italian pilgrims when an older man from Cologne fainted from the heat and stuffiness in a stopped train.

Crowds were also an issue at the Dom Cathedral. Although pilgrims were assigned times to tour the cathedral, the push of pilgrims propelled them through the door and forced a hasty visit to view the gold reliquary holding the remains of the Three Magi.

But through all these obstacles, the youths from the Arlington diocese remained true to the purpose of their pilgrimage. More than two dozen would sometimes gather with the clergy for morning and evening prayers. A group gathering was held each morning and prayers were led by the seminarians to keep the pilgrims grounded and remind them that although things may be difficult at times, they were gathered to adore Christ and grow with one another in their faith.

Catechesis sessions were held across Cologne, Bonn and Düsseldorf to offer pilgrims the chance to hear from cardinals what they should be looking for, how they can find it and what they should do with it when they return home.

"Be with each other and with the Lord, because that is what a pilgrimage is all about," Washington Cardinal Theodore McCarrick told the youths at their first catechesis session.

"Like the Magi, we will make it. We will kneel at (Christ’s) feet and say, ‘Lord, You are good,’" the cardinal said.

The pinnacle of the week was, of course, the chance to spend time with Pope Benedict XVI. Many pilgrims chose to brave the crowded trains and attempt to get a glimpse of him when he arrived on Aug. 18. While some only caught a glimpse of the Holy Father, other pilgrims trekked across the city for the chance to see him at several of his stops on his way to the archbishop’s residence.

While they were not as close to the passing pope, Arlington pilgrims saw him once again on Saturday after walking several miles from the town of Horrem to Marienfeld for the vigil.

Marienfeld was converted for World Youth Day from a lignite mining field to grassy expanse surrounding the massive altar mound.

After a prayer service and Benediction, pilgrims bedded down for the night. With a forecast of rain looming over night, Marienfeld became a sea of blue and silver as pilgrims huddled under tarps and space blankets fearful of rain drops.

The night proved to be a chilly one. Pilgrims fought not only the cold, but the dew that clung to pillows and blankets, field mice that found the sleeping bags to be warmer than their holes covered by the crowd, and worms that escaped to plastic tarps from the soggy ground.

Although the sky remained cloudy and the air chilled, pilgrims were thankful that it did not rain during their 48 hours in Marienfeld.

While there, many pilgrims took the chance to interact with pilgrims from other countries camping nearby. More than a million people from nearly 200 countries gathered with the pope to worship Christ.

Although not always "fun," on the whole World Youth Day in Cologne proved to be a rewarding experience.

"It’s great to know there are a million other young people who have the same enthusiasm for the Church," said Lisa Halko, a student at Marymount University in Arlington.

Lauren Knutowicz, associate director of campus ministry at Marymount, also appreciated the opportunity to gather with other youths with similar faith values. "It’s easy to think there are no people who are as enthusiastic or expressive about their faith," she said.

Although it was no vacation, Knutowicz enjoyed the opportunity to get away during World Youth Day.

"I was really moved by the theme (and) having two weeks to worship God, two weeks out of busyness, normalness and Americaness of life."