A couple of weekends ago, Andy’s choir, Non Serio, had an “outing,” and nobody, except the organizer(s), knew where we were going. We met at a McDonald’s just outside Gdansk. Our neighbors, Piotr and Patti, let us ride in their rental car. They find it much cheaper to rent a car when they want one than to own one. (Piotr is in the choir with Andy.)

About a dozen members of the choir, as well a some spouses and one dog, met at the McDonald’s to learn that we would be going to Frombork and its Planetarium! Frombork isn’t far from Gdansk as you can see on the map below. The red dot along the Baltic is Frombork. I couldn’t figure out how to type the name on the image and free-hand writing with a mouse was illegible:

Frombork is a place that Nicolas Copernicus lived for a while. To review, Copernicus is the man who first* came up with the idea that the earth revolved around the sun and not the other way around. (*I’m qualifying this statement because it seems to me likely that someone else/others had this idea, and they don’t get credit for it.)

Upon arrival, we went into a walled area that contained a tower, the town’s cathedral, a museum, and the planetarium. Below, you can see the walled area, the tower, and the view from the tower. From the tower, you can see the Baltic and also part of Russia, which looks just like Poland. Borders can be funny that way.

Next we went into the Planetarium and saw a star show. It was interesting, though in Polish, so Andy and I didn’t learn much. Next, we went into the cathedral. This is where Nicolaus Copernicus is buried. There is a series of posters that show the celebration and re-burial, but of course these are in Polish. If you are interested in how and why Copernicus’ body was re-buried in Frombork Cathedral, here is an article in the Smithsonian Magazine.

Next, we left the walled area and went in search of the Holy Spirit Hospital, also called the Museum of the History of Medicine. It had some fascinating and horrifying displays about medieval medicine. I was so engrossed, I only took one picture.

All of this adventuring had made our group hungry, and our organizer(s) had planned for this. We got back in our cars and headed to the village of Tolkmicko and the Fregata restaurant, located on the Baltic. Their specialty was fish, and that is what most of us ordered. Yum!

Our next stop was a small village with a ceramic studio that was, unfortunately, closed. I took a picture of its lovely sign, though. Luckily, this village was also chosen for coffee and dessert, which was delicious.

When we all headed to the parking lot, Andy and I assumed our adventure was over –but no! Our last stop was at a pick-your-own tulip field.

This was the final place we visited. It was almost 9pm by the time we pulled into our neighborhood, although it wasn’t yet dark. The sun stays out late this far north. A long, exhausting and marvelous day. I’m so lucky that Andy joined a fun and welcoming choir.

Non Serio has a concert on Thursday, May 25. Andy even has a short solo that he sings in Polish. If I can figure out how to post a video, I’ll try to do that here.