While images of unusual snowfall in destinations like Dubrovnik make for great social media sharing, there is another side to the story. How does a local population not used to the freezing conditions and white gifts from the sky deal with the situation. Lauren Simmonds on the situation in Dubrovnik on January 11, 2017.
So, snow has fallen on rooftops of the Pearl of the Adriatic turning them from red to white and residents are in awe of the bijelo govno (look that up, I apologise in advance for what you find). While snow did fall in 2012, it hasn't fallen like this in Dubrovnik since 2009, the year of Rihanna and Stjepan Mesic (two people you never thought you'd see in the same sentence).
Shock closely follows snow in Dubrovnik, with gasps of ''ajme'' following the descent of each snowflake. Of course, I was raised in northern Europe and my mentality towards it is a little different, but for the other sun loving, coffee drinking Mediterranean minded residents, life can become a lot more difficult when Jack Frost decides to pay a visit. With an already slippery smooth Stradun ''being turned into Nottingham'' for Mr DiCaprio's new Robin Hood blockbuster, (you can read about that here) how are Dubrovnik and it's oh so unprepared residents dealing with the grand entrance of the white stuff?
Traffic:
Throughout the course of this morning, numerous traffic incidents were reported in the local media and radio, one of which involving several vehicles. Thankfully, no injuries of any kind have been reported as yet. Roads are always a bit of an issue in the city, either you can't move on them or you're moving too quickly, involuntarily.
Public transport:
The Libertas city bus service has given up entirely on its timetable, with lines running at random throughout the blanketed city. Not everyone is irritated with this, children who have decided to take the day off school are rejoicing and making snowmen, some for the first time in their lives.
Air traffic:
There seems to be little issue with the airport following the problems encountered with rerouted flights a few days ago, and despite normal delays, all service is reported to be running as usual.
With that covered, how is the Average Joe getting on with it all?
Unfortunately, plummeting temperatures and frost caused many pipes to crack and even burst over the previous few days, resulting in enormous problems to residents and buildings alike, with some justifiably angry residents reporting still not having running/hot water in their properties. The dense forests and mountains of Konavle and the entire local area (Zupanija) have turned white. You can imagine the ice rink that Stradun will soon become with the fall and subsequent freezing of the snow. I would imagine slips, bruises and doctors visits are to follow any attempt at careless running (along with some fail videos on YouTube, of course).
If you're in Dubrovnik, make sure to take extra caution when climbing all those stairs and remember to stay warm.
More on Dubrovnik's snow situation will follow as information comes in...
