It's Warmer and Lighter

We are still not above freezing, but the temperatures are close. I have never been so happy to see slush! It snowed another inch or so this morning but now the sun is out. We have been able to get out a little bit more which is very nice. On Saturday we went to the Gdansk National Museum.

It is downtown and we ate lunch at the KFC beforehand. The kids were so happy! The museum is quite small and it took us about an hour to go through all of it. There were various porcelain pieces that were beautiful. There were many paintings from The Netherlands and then quite a few from the Gdansk region. There are also many pieces of artwork that are being housed there that were in the Church of St. Catherine. That church burned in 2006 and is being refurbished.

On Sunday we intended to go to the Cathedral of Gdansk for Mass. It is about a 25 minute tram ride and is the seat of the Bishop of the Gdansk Diocese. Myles had looked up the directions to this cathedral. We got off the tram and headed toward the high steeple a couple of blocks away. Mass was starting at 1:00 and we arrived right on time. After a little while, Myles leans over and says that he doesn't think this is the cathedral. I had not researched it, but the altar piece was very ornate and it looked like it could be a cathedral, though the church was not huge. It was incredibly cold in the church. We could see our breath (and everyone else's, too!) all during Mass. Just as at our church (St. Stanislaus), the holy water (which is inside the doors by the way) was completely frozen. After Mass we asked one of the priests if this was the cathedral. He said it was not and that the cathedral is one kilometer (about six blocks) down the road.

So we walk the six blocks and see another tall steeple. This WAS the cathedral. John Paul II said Mass here while he was pope and there is a huge portrait of him.

We walked around for a little bit, but it also was not heated, so it was freezing. It feels like it is colder inside these churches than it is outside. We cannot figure out why these buildings aren't heated at all. It seems like there would be a benefit to having some sort of climate control for all of the artwork in these churches. We quickly looked around and then decided that we would come back when it is warmer to really look around. Maybe we'll do that when my sister comes to visit next month

It was a great weekend as we were able to get out of the house! The kids went to school on Monday. Trey's class talked about fire safety and they made fire hats to wear (sounds just like what they do at home!).

We are leaving for Scotland tomorrow morning! We are flying and should arrive in the early afternoon. We are looking forward to it.