For the second day in a row, it’s been above freezing. It’s currently 6C! It’s nice to have the warmer weather, but it also is leading to a muddy, slushy mess. A lot of the ice is melting, and the snow gets more compact and less fluffy each day. Now when you step into a pile of snow, it doesn’t just crunch under your feet, but instead you fall through and it turns to water. So not so nice. Tomorrow is supposed to be just as warm, so maybe all of the ice on the sidewalks will be gone.
The river is also starting to thaw – you can see the weak parts in the ice, and ducks are swimming in the water now. And yet…there are footprints showing that some brave/stupid souls are still choosing to walk on the ice. It’s a steep fine if they catch you doing it, but I don’t know how much the police are watching.
Everywhere you go, you can hear the sound of the snow and ice melting. It’s a constant drip from the roofs of the buildings, and then the water runs into the drains. There really aren’t enough drains in some areas, and the roads aren’t banked, so in a lot of places the puddles just sit there. Hopefully a freeze doesn’t come any time soon, or there will be a big problem with people falling on ice again. The security guard downstairs was out for a week because he got hurt stepping into a hole in the street – what he thought was a little puddle ended up being a deep enough hole that he fell in to his knees!
Here’s a video for you to hear what Gdansk sounds like right now.