Frombork is about 20 miles from Elblag situated right on the coast of the Baltic Sea. After a Saturday morning teaching at school, I hopped on a bus to Frombork hoping to make the most of the rest of the day and do a little exploring. Frombork is a very ramshackle little town; there are docks and fishing boats along one end, and houses and buildings in various states of disrepair as you walk your way up from the coast.. As you turn and face southward, however, you see a different side of town - Cathedral Hill - the centerpiece of Frombork.
 |
| Cathedral Hill |
 |
| Copernicus the bodyguard |
Cathedral Hill, aptly named after the gigantic cathedral dedicated to St. Mary and St. Andrew that sits atop it, is guarded by a giant statue of Nicolaus Copernicus. Frombork gains its fame from the astronomer who lived and worked as a church cleric in the town in the 16th century, and used it as a site for many of his scientific observations. The cathedral and buildings on the hill are encircled by a fortified 14th century wall. I climbed my way up the hill and infiltrated the castle fortifications (by infiltrated I mean I walked through the gate). Except for a group of older Polish men and women with their tour-guide, I was the only other tourist there, so I followed the group around in order to see what places I was allowed to go inside. I saw the beautiful (and massive) cathedral, the belfry with its Foucault's pendulum, and Copernicus' tower which is arranged to resemble Copernicus' study.
 |
| Invading the castle |
 |
| The Cathedral of St. Mary and St. Andrew |
 |
| And the overwhelming interior |
 |
| Castle fortifications |
Frombork, like Elblag, suffered massive damage after WWII, so a great deal of the town was reconstructed towards the end of the 20th century. Interestingly, the reconstruction effort was lead by Polish boy scouts.
I walked to the coast and enjoyed the picturesque ocean view until I decided that the freezing wind made the scenery slightly less picturesque. I spent the rest of my time hanging with Copernicus in the town square before heading back to Elblag on the bus.
 |
| Ocean view |
 |
| My buddy Copernicus keeping warm |
