From ice swims to knitting: Europeans seek ways to ride out Covid winter

People across the continent are embracing a range of pursuits in an effort to stay healthy and in good spirits

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For Alice Weiss there is no alternative to what the Germans call Flucht nach vorne, or knuckling down, to cope with the challenge of surviving winter during a pandemic. Others are determined to stay warm as the temperature drops, but Weiss has embraced winter swimming, plunging into the chilly lakes on the western edge of Berlin.

It is invigorating, it takes me out of myself. It makes me stronger, healthier," she said. I've yet to have the legendary endorphin release that some swimmers talk of, but I expect that to come in winter."