"It's not COVID!" >< #Munich

♩ ♪ ♫ Stop the rain- Ed Sheeran ♩ ♪ ♫

Yup, the cold season has arrived >< not just in terms of the 0 degree nights but the sneezing, sniffles, coughs etc. And even with the masks, it seems one can't really escape these if you travel on the U-bahn or are in enclosed rooms. Apparently compared to last year, the spread is greater because we can now mix more freely. I am grateful however for the increased number in pop-up schnelltest stations (tents) so you can get tested easily and load the results on the Corona-warn app on your phone.

If you were down with a cold like me, these are some comforting foods I discovered that helped...especially if you have a really bad sore throat.

1) Schwäbische Maultaschen (german dumplings) which are from this region of Germany called Swabia . I first tried it months ago because it came as a side ingredient in my salad box and slowly I tried more variations of it, including in soups! :D Apparently, it was invented by monks for the period of Lent. I learnt that Augsburg which I had visited previously is part of "Swabia" and the more I read about it, it's really interesting to know the rich history Germany has and how this influences current practices/food/architecture etc in the various regions even till today.

2) Tea! I got this beautiful advent tea calendar by the English Tea Shop from the victorian tea house & sconery and decided to open it up earlier >< It's lovely to enjoy a different type of calming tea everyday :D They had nice soothing flavours like candy cane, gingerbread man or white winter which were more "herbal teas" with cinnamon or lemongrass which helped.

3) Fruit & fruit juices which are a good source of vitamins for that immunity boost :P persimmons from spain are in season at the supermarket now! I also discovered this brand of smoothies/juices called rio d'oro at Aldi which are really nice : ) my favourite is the coconut-banana-pineapple smoothie :D