American reacts to GERMANYS BEST CHRISTMAS MARKETS
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 24 พ.ย. 2024
- Thank you for watching me, a humble American, react to GERMANYS BEST CHRISTMAS MARKETS
Original video: • THE BEST CHRISTMAS MAR...
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4:35 The tree is not fake (like: "made of plastic" kind of fake), but is composed of over 1000 smaller spruce trees.
That is what I was going to write. My dad used to built it in the early 2000s.
I was sooo disappointed as a kid when I found that out! 🤣😂🤣
@@lauramarschmallow2922When they first planned to build it, I also thought it was going to be a real tall tree. Although I was an adult, I was also disappointed to hear it wasn’t.
Sadly its mostly big citys on this list, the best christmas markets ive visited were all in smaller towns, way more authentic and alot nicer. My favorite for example is the medieval christmas market in Siegburg (the one in esslingen is by far not "unique" there are plenty across the country)
The most beautiful medieval Christmas market was this in Dresden. Until they decided to change the organizer.
The most small Christmas markets I have seen looked rather sad. A small children carousel, a spiced wine hut, a hut with Bratwurst, and the local bakery sells some baked goods, if you are lucky you get a honey stall, one or two with candles, one with fancy theatre jewellery and one with sweets, as well as the lottery one. If you are very lucky now and then you can find a wooden toys hut (very rare).
Compare that to a bigger market where they have several Christmas markets, full of goods and yes, "Fress-Stände" - that is inevitable.
@@franhunne8929 that's because we don't tell people where the really nice ones are... I know some amazing small christmas markets
Yeah it's just more intimite and chill than the big city ones
Bad Wimpfen
Fun Fact: Most Christmas traditions in the world (decoration, tree, advent calendar, nutcracker etc) , including the US, stem from Germany. Christmas markets of course too- this is also why mostly countries close to Germany have them also, especially regions like Alsace in France that used to be German.
You have to understand that Christmas for most Europeans is very different from the US, it is not just about Santa and gifts and bling-bling. It's about modesty and sharing. Some traditions also originated in paganism that was in Europe long before Christianity. Which is also why Christmas is close to winter sun solstice. The Adventszeit, time before Christmas, helps to bear the short and dark days before the solstice.
In many US movies children "learn" that Santa visits every child but this Santa Clause persona does not actually exist in Europe. There are many figures that are similar and have stories of their own, but the flying sleigh and reindeers is English (meaning all English speaking countries have this Santa) and the name is derived from Saint Nicolas, who was a bishop and didn't wear a bathrobe and did not have reindeer.
Christmas wasn't even celebrated, back then, in Winter. If I'm correct it was more in the June/July timewindow. The old "Germans" were just to stubborn to stop celebrating their own thing and instead celebrating the birth of Christ. So the Church moved Christmas to the day that was anyway a celebration during pagan times. Same with Easter.
For this reason also a lot of things associated with Christmas, like the tree, are a thing. (Or Rabbits and Eggs for Easter).
But the diferentiation between Santa Claus and St. Nicolas is very funny.
One of them an Invention by Coca Cola to sell, in the end, more soft drinke and the other one a historic person.
@@Trymon1980 To this day other than marketing, I don't get what soft drinks have to do with Christmas. If ever I feel the need to drink soda, it's a hot summer day...
And it makes me so said to see how they have more and more Santa toys and costumes in Europe and less authentic stuff. Shame on those kitschy US movies. One day, we'll sell more Chinese toys than handcrafting at Christmas markets.
@@MrsStrawhatberry I must say that I for my part now do think Coca Cola kind of 'belongs' to Christmas, too. Probably because of tv ads, but also the Coca Cola truck touring Germany. But of course also because the holy trinity of soft drinks: Cola, Fanta, Sprite, having always been bought for the Christmas days in my family since my childhood. I also don't mind the American stuff or the American movies. I think the aspects of both cultures can exist simultaneously and maybe even create a whole new feeling when combined, with German Christmas culture still being and probably staying the most predominant one in Germany, anyway, in my opinion.
(Btw., I'm a bit confused why a comment I posted here earlier, pointing to a certain sketch by another TH-camr, has been removed. But I guess that's just TH-cam being TH-cam...)
And the holy day of St. Nicolas (aka. Saint Niklas in Sweden or "der heilige Nikolaus" in Germany) is on the 6th of December, not on the 24th of December (Germans celebrate Christmas on the evening of December 24, not on December 25 like in USA). It's tradition for kids on the night before Dec 6 to put a pair of clean boots outside the door (although in big cities or during bad weather you leave them inside) and in the morning the Saint will have them filled with little gifts for the children: traditionally, children who were "bad" the year prior got lumps of coal, while well-behaved children got nuts and apples, or these days nuts and clementines and chocolates. Germans do not hang up socks at the fireplace (and most modern apartments do not have fireplaces but central heating anyway).
@@TF2CrunchyFrog Christmas is actually the 25. of December, in Germany, too. The 24. is Christmas Eve/Heiligabend, the evening before Christmas. I guess otherwise the 24. would be a holiday, too. But I, too, consider Christmas eve "Christmas". Other people don't, though.
advent calendars are extremely common in germany, basically every child and a lot of adults too get them every year. in october and november almost every store has them on display, make up stores, jewellers, grocery stores, ikea,... they're everywhere. and a lot of people also make personalised ones for their loved ones, growing up my mum always made them herself for my siblings and me. they start on december 1st and end on the 24th which is the day we open presents in germany (usually in the evening)
My cousin and I got into the tradition of giving us (her 46, me 55) each other an advent calendar. Some were self made over the years, lately we resolved to bought ones. Advent calendars are certainly fun!
I was so confused when he didn't know what it was! I thought it was common everywhere!😂
@@YuraGachayesss me too 😂😂😂
Some TH-camrs like Malternativ test different kind of advent calendars every year. Didn't know what companies stuff into those, before. Like, coffee, alcohol, sex toys, spices, sauces, brand stuff for kids like spiderman, Barbie etc. and it's always the same shit with the kids fan calendars, slap bracelets, ruler, pencils, stickers, eraser, key chain, more slap bracelets, sticky notes, more stickers...
@@biancarichling789 I suppose there's an advent calendar for every brand or franchise that is just remotely known by enough Germans to make it worth selling it.😄
You can cook your own Glühwein, if it is not available in the USA.
You need:
1 Bottle Red Wine
4 Oranges
some Cloves
2 Cinnamon Sticks
1 Star Anise
50 gram Brown Suggar (thats 0,110231 pounds)
Cut two Oranges into Slices, press the other ones into Juice. Put everything in a Pot and cook it.
Pour some Rum into the cup, before serving.
And the most Beautiful Christmas Market i ever saw, was in Baden Baden.
I want a Ryan cooking show!
Dont Cook it ! Heute it up to like 80 degree
@@DerEchteZ900 Correct. Alcohol has a boiling point of 78°C. So if you heat it up until the water is boiling, you waste a bunch of alcohol.
@@DerEchteZ900 yes, sorry thats right. Only heat it up. Don't boil it!
@@tl1897 Don't worry, in the US everything heated is cooked. 🙂 They even cook steaks...
A bit disappointing that she did not mention any christmas markets up north like in Lübeck
It's even nicer when live. Come and visit Germany. My personal favorite is still Nuremberg (Nürnberg). I went to university there.
They forgot Nürnberg in the list 😭😭🎄
I like Augsburg more.
Whenever I hear the word Feuerzangenbowle I think about the 1944 film "Die Feuerzangenbowle" based on the 1933 novel by Heinrich Spoerl.
In Germany Krampus doesn't fight "Saintaclaus", he's his helper
Never heard about of this Krampus since one year ago. Iam 62, pur blond German🥺only on US Reactions ive seen this guy. 😂😅
@@MiristzuheissGerman 35yrs here. Krampus is often better known as Knecht Ruprecht with his stick, helping Nikolaus bring gifts or if one child wasn't good punish it. Maybe thats why nowadays no one knows about him...
@@MiristzuheissKnecht Ruprecht or Pelznickel maybe? There are many names for him but he’s basically the executive power of the Christmas trio.
Bayern ist halt nicht ganz Deutschland und der Krampus eher eine süddeutsche Figur
@Miristzuheiss it's actually the Alpine regions
If you would like to have that German-Christmas-Market-Mulled-Wine(Glühwein)-Feeling at home, I would be happy to give you my personal recipe. First put two bottles of red wine, I'm using a medium-priced dry Merlot, in a pot. Add 2 large or 3 small cinnamon sticks, 2-3 star anise, 10-12 dried cloves, 1 vanilla pod, depending on your taste, 6-8 heaped tablespoons of brown sugar, a sliced orange, and if desired, the juice of one orange. You can also add half a liter of water, but I don't do that. Now heat slowly until just before the boiling point - be careful not to let it boil - and then let it simmer over low heat for about an hour. Depending on your taste, add almond slivers, raisins, rum or amaretto to a mug, then top with the hot mulled wine and enjoy. Have a nice Advent season (Adventszeit). 🎄
Nice!
tbh personally i find the bigger and more famous the Christmas market, the more mid the experience. It's more expensive, less cozy and you have to really be aware of pickpockets. go for the smaller ones. they're usually a bit cheaper, more intimate and the shops too are a lot more local based.
Do you have any recommendations for good smaller ones?
@@SerendipityRoadthe medieval ones are pretty good like the ones in Fürth or erlangen.
Your pronunciation of German words is getting better every episode. The Z is spelled like ts - "What's up?" for example could phonetically be written "Uoz ap"? The pronunciation of "Feuerzangenbowle" would in English likely be written as "Foyer-tsahngen-boh-luh". 😂
"For-your" (Feuer = Fire) "Ttsan-gu-e'n" (Zangen = Tongs) "Bowl-Luh" (Bowle = Bowl) = Fou-Youre -Tsan-gu-en-Bowl-luh :) ( If Ryan uses the Googletraslator, the German voice will read it for him :) oh and btw. That on 15:17 was (i guess) currywurst (sliced grilled sausage with curry-katchup sauce).
Twenty years ago, Christmas markets were covered in snow. There was something magical about standing at a hot mulled wine stall, drinking "Glühwein" or "Feuerzangenbowle" or hot cocoa or hot apple cider and eating a roast apple or roast sweet chestnuts or a skewer of meat with spicy sauce or the traditional fried potato patties with apple purée, or the winter season specialty in northern Germany called "Braunkohl/Grünkohl mit Bregenwurst" (cooked curly cale with onions and a special type of salty juicy sausage cooked in the same pot as the cale) while watching the big snowflakes float down.
These days it's usually rain due to global climate change, sadly. Very rarely there is snow around Christmas anymore.
I don't know where you live but as someone from Northern Germany the only Christmas Market covered in snow I've seen was last year when I've been to Vienna.
@@xYonowaaru I personally tend to think white Christmas (at least here in Lower Saxony) was an exception also 20 years ago and when people say "In the past there was snow at Christmas" it's due to selective memory. I, too, remember white Decembers from my childhood in the late 80s and early 90s, taking a sleigh on a walk with the entire family sometime around Christmas, or putting on skis and 'practicing skiing' on a relatively thin layer of snow in front of my grandparent's house. Though, when I think about it, I'm not even entirely sure both things happened in December (I'm relatively sure the first one did happen around Christmas). Nice memories. But I think it also rained on some Christmases. Not sure, though. I guess I only really pay attention to the weather since I'm an adult... But don't really remember Christmas weather 20 years ago, either...
(Not to say climate change isn't a thing, of course it is.)
@@stef987 As someone growing up in a City at the North Sea white Christmas never happened to me. 20 years ago snow was a thing for somewhere in between mid January and mid February. Today unfortunately not even then it's guaranteed anymore.
Christmas always has been autumn weather to me.
Why dont you go to China and glue your hand on the Road. China is the reason why germany has no snow. And i am really happy about this
I‘ve just checken my Christmas pictures and in 2021 on the 24th of december we’ve had snow on the streets and all the rooftops were white too. And I‘m living in Schleswig-Holstein on the Baltic Sea! So white Christmas wasn‘t that long ago!
2:00 Spätzle with Remoulade = kind of german pasta with a kind of mayonayse (Mayo with herbes)
4:57 Nudeln mit Kräutersahnesoße = Pasta with herb cream sauce
4:59 Schaumküsse = a kandy which consist waffle soft milk cream covered by chocolade (in this case white chokolade with almonds sprinkels)
6:20 Kristalzucker im Tee = Crystal sugar in tea (proberly with Rum)
10:20 Elfentau = Dew of elbs (dew made by elbs not made of elbs :)
10:26 Blaue Manaflaschen = blue Liquid may with alcohol ... nobody knows how it tastes.. may like blueberrys
13:35 Kartoffelpuffer = a "fried creep" made of potatos, sugar and onions (and a bit salt)
14:48 Bier und Schnapps = Beer with a shot (Don´t mix the beer, belive in us germans, we tryed that all, if it would be good, we would have told you already)
15:12 Currywurst = Sausage with Special keatchp mix (65% Ketcup; 34% Mustard and 1% Curry)
16:37 Pfrisich auf Vanillesoße mit Erdbermarmeladenfüllung = Peach on vanilla sauce with strawberry jam filling
16:45 Pulled beef burger = it is what it is
19:57 Fondue = Soup made of Melted cheese with Bread (lecker)
:) ... i would eat all of it ...
Schaumküsse are filled with whipped egg whites and sugar and not with Milk.
Thumb up ... but the kartoffelpuffer without sugar and onions, instead with mayorum ... 😃
*Elf, nicht Elb. Elb ist Tolkiens deutsche Übersetzung vom Anglizismus Elf.
Never heard of Spätzle with Remoulade. I think I would have never thought of ever trying it, even though I can be quite 'adventurous' when it comes to trying 'weird' food combinations. Maybe some regions do eat Spätzle this way? Either way, my first thought was some type of white sauce, probably with herbs, maybe mushrooms, too, or something like that.
@@FlubberFrosch also ist es das selbe
3:50 that game is called "Eisstockschießen", its preeeeetty close to curling. the biggest differences are that Eisstockschießen doesnt use brooms and the curling stones are about 1.5 times the weight of the Eisstöcke
We have Christmas Markets everywhere in Austria as well. For example one in front of the castle Schönbrunn.
The first mention of a nutcracker goes back to Aristotle. The figurative form in the Christmas style comes, how could it be otherwise, from the Erzgebirge in Germany. 🙄😅
Your pronunciation of 'wander' is great! XDD for more German pronunciation tips (especially regarding the 'Feuerzangenbowle'): 'eu' is usually pronounced like 'oi' or 'oy' while the German z is pronounced 'ts'. Also, our 'er' in the middle of words is often not pronounced so exactly, often making it sound like a long 'a' sound. So you could pronounce the word as 'foy-aah-tsang-en-bowl-eh'. (Yes, we tend to speak the last e in 'Bowle' XD) Hope you continue to have fun learning about German and Germany! 😊
I was actually a bit annoyed (and maybe disappointed😅) that he started to shout German words again (though "wander" is a word in English, too). But yeah, the pronounciations of the w and a were fine, I guess.
Who pronounces -er as a long /a/? From where are you? My -er is more like [ ɜˠ ].
@@SchmulKrieger oh, I'm from the south of Germany, close to the Swiss border. I guess the pronunciation could be a local thing, though I did grow up with hochdeutsch at home lol
@@shirokage2182 Swiss German is Hochdeutsch. Btw, the Standard there says -er is pronounced as [ ɛᴙ ]
@@SchmulKrieger i hope you're joking about swiss German being hochdeutsch 😂 but you know, I don't really care. I gave a bit of advice based on how I would've pronounced the word, if you have better advice I'll defer to you for that. Have a good one.
The word "Printen" is actually related to English "to print". It originates from Dutch "prent" and refers to the original process of "pressing" the cookies out of the dough by using hollow forms representing sculptures of Saints. Such hollow forms (called "Model") carved from wood, however showing other motives, are still used for Swabian "Springerle" (another kind of Christmas cookies), too. The game in 3:52 is (fun) curling (in German: Eisstockschießen, ice stick shooting).
6:24 The candy stick is used to sweeten tea and other hot beverages - by stirring it the sweetness will be equally distributed. But it can be a long wait until it is fully dissolved - so you either use it also with a refill or use it as lollipop after you finished your tea.
7:55 The nutcracker soldiers (like many other Christmas decorations e.g. the rotating Christmas pyramids) came originally from the ore mountains (Erzgebirge), the mountain region between Saxony and the Czech Republic. The ore miner and home weaver families produced those mainly in the winter months, partly to use them themselves, but also to improve the family income. With time some of them became professional toy and decoration makers.
12:20 Newer cobblestone streets were mostly laid down by workers from East Europe. Nowadays also some refugees from e.g. Afghanistan do those jobs. By the way: In the old GDR (= East Germany) even some main roads were paved with cobblestones because asphalt was not only more expensive for them, but also (partly due to poor quality) not as durable.
12:35 End of November until mid December are rainy days in Middle Europe, and since Christmas markets start always earlier in the year, they become also rainier. Most regions will only see snow after Christmas, if any.
15:18 Looks like some kind of currywurst in a kind of wrap. Not what I would choose.
17:04 Feuerzangenbowle - fire tongs punch (and you could pronounce "Feuerzange" much like "fire tongs", it sounds relatively similar). Made famous by a comedy movie from the 1940s, it is based on mulled and spiced wine, covered by a tong holding a rum-soaked sugarloaf, which is then set on fire. It is ready to drink if all the sugar is molten and dropped into the punch.
18:25 Yeah, in most cases the mugs contain "Glühwein" (lit. glow(ed) wine), also known as mulled wine, mostly hot red wine spiced with cloves, cinnamon, orange peels and other ingredients. There are however also alcohol-free alternatives called e.g. children's punch as well as sometimes apple wine or honey wine (Met = mead) based varieties.
19:18 Dresden is the metropolis of the Ore Mountains (even if it is not located within that mountain region), and so you'll find here all the Ore Mountains gadgets, often enlarged to real life for show. The original Christmas pyramids are driven by the hot air from the candles at the bottom level moving the horizontally positioned windmill blades at the top, while the levels between show different scenes from the Bible and/or the miner's life. Another typical decoration is the Schwibbogen, a candle arch showing (in most cases) miners under the arch (which symbolizes the mine's entry, the whole thing representing the wish for a healthy homecoming). The Dresden Striezelmarkt started as Frederick II, Elector of Saxony, Margrave of Meißen and Landgrave of Thuringia gave in 1434 the city of Dresden the allowance to hold an extraordinary meat market during the day before Christmas (at that time there was still a lent between November 11 and Christmas, therefore meat was forbidden except at Sundays). The market got his name "Striezelmarkt" from the Dresdner Stollen or Striezel, a heavy cake formed like a bread, containing dried fruits, which was also sold there. The second oldest Christmas market would be the Christkindlesmarkt in Nuremberg, which evolved during the first half of the 17th century. Nuremberg has a long tradition as trading and toy producing city.
The word cookie also comes from the Dutch word koekie ( the pronunciation is the same). 1% of the English words originate from us Dutch 🇳🇱
Yes! Nuremberg, according to history, could be rightfully the capital city of Germany!
germans did invent the nutcracker as well as the advent calender, you were correct in that assumptions :)
Can you please react to a video about Christmas in the German Erzgebirge (Ore Mountains) Its called the Christmas region of Germany
For me as a German, it's so interesting watching you react on those kind of videos ☺ And it's kinda funny how amazed you are by the stoll decorations. I always notice and appreciate them, but they're also kindo common and normal for me 🙈
You're totally right, we should appreciate all the beauty and all the (variety of) christmas markets we have 😍
The tree isn't fake. It like 1000 trees put together and the lights are like a tent. They help creating the look of this kinda perfect shaped tree.
Since you liked the little mechanical santa running on a rope over the Munich Christmas Market: In Bochum there is a giant sled with a guy dressed up as Santa that glides on a rope above the christmas market.
Near Cologne is a Christmas Market in the forest nearby Overath. Really nice. Started as a marketing stunt of the Christmas tree farmers,… then it was posted online and people came over from Berlin to see it… and you can hike a bit
Dresden's christmas market is so beautiful and incredibly nostalgic for me (my grandparents live in Dresden so i spent my childhood Christmases there) would have been disappointed if they hadn't picked it as number one.
Ich finde grosse Märkte Kacke.
Mit gefallen die kleinen in den Dörfern viel besser.
In der Pfalz gibt's da wunderschöne Märkte.
Glaub Kallstadt zb.
Ist aber ewig her wo ich dort war.
Krampus is more of a thing, in southern Germany. Where I'm from, Hanau for example ( Hessen), hometown of the brother's Grimm, we have Knecht Ruprecht...also, we have the biggest Christmas calendar in the world. It's on our Rathaus (cityhall) 24 Windows 🥰
To answer the question, if it's always raining on christmas markets: yes. 😉 that is an important part of the experience.
ancient wisdom: the worse the weather, the better the Glühwein (mulled wine) ;)
If your list consists mostly of big cities, you havn't even scratched the surface. You could do a top 100 and still you would have to sort out so many beautiful places.
I can go on a christmas market in a real castle just ten minutes from here and the special thing about this is that this isn't even a special situation for germany despite of being soooo beautifully special and I love it so much! 🎄❤🥲
Greetings from Dortmund. The Christmas tree is partly real. It consists of over 1,000 real spruce trees that are attached to scaffolding in the shape of a Christmas tree. The height is approx. 45 meters and the weight is approx. 40 tons. This weight was also the biggest problem during construction (which took about 4 weeks) because there is an underground car park under the tree. The tree has his own fire extinguishing system inside the framework.
Danke Peter! Ich komm zwar auch aus Dortmund, aber hab mich auch immer gefragt, wie unser Baum "funktioniert".
Dortmund also has the Phantastischer Lichter-Weihnachtsmarkt, which combines cozy* christmas market atmosphere with medieval / fantasy markets. Eg, people walk around in costumes, you can buy swords and leather pouches and so on. There is a lot of open fire, good food and even concerts of medieval and gothic rock bands at night.
*or it is sometimes cozy but also sometimes cramped, like every christmas market really.
It's so beautiful and I try to go there every year! A wonderful experience
Why are the houses so narrow? In the Middle Ages, people had to pay property taxes for their house based on the ground square. Upper didn't matter. That's why they built a tiny ground floor and upper floors much larger.
To add to that: In some regions in Germany and Austria property tax was also calculated based on the number of street-facing windows. Hence why in some cities you see tall old houses where there's only one or two windows per story towards the market and several on the opposite site. Looks kinda random but it certainly adds to the charm 🤣
And because of that, house owners let stick out the next floor forward on the street side. So you can see now very old houses with floors that stick out a bit on every floor.
We have them over here in England too. I love a good Germany Christmas market. With Glühwein and a Bratwurst. yum yum
The rock candy is just sugar. You can easily make it yourself.
Take a pot and put water in it then double the amount of suger. Cook it until it dissolves. Fill it in a glass then put a wooden skewer in. It should not touch the ground. then you wait 1-2 weeks. And finished. 😊 Very fun to do with kids
About mechanical things: christmas pyramids
They are awaylable small enough to put them on a table. You would light the candles on it and the heat from the candles would turn turn the rotor on top, turning all the figurines in the pyramid.
15:10 Currywurst
A cut sausage with a curry-ketchup sauce.
The shown "potion" is from Beerenweine. They make special vine out of berries.
I literally got a christmas market just 5 walking minutes away. can't wait for this to be finally open.
Often the small town or even village markets around bigger cities or sometimes specific city quarter markets are equally or more adorable. Stalls run by the parents of kindergardeners or elementary school kids with food and mulled wine, Freiwillige Feuerwehr, the local sports clubs and some people with hobbys like train enthusiasts with small model trains the kids can ride along or some other stuff, some Santa/Nikolaus gifting chocolate to kids (usually donated by local businesses), I love all of this 😄
😄 your face lights up like a childs on christmas eve. the food is the reason i visit christmas markets.
The huge Christmas tree in dortmund is a "real" Tree. Just that it's made up from 100+ trees :)
7:49 Nutcracker tools already existed in ancient times. But these decorative nutcrackers originally came from Berchtesgaden (southern Bavaria) in ~1650 and from Sonneberg (Thuringia) since 1735. Today the Ore Mountains (German: Erzgebirge) around the town of Seiffen in Saxony is also known for this
waaahhh everytime you say 'Hallo' .... i am laughing here that's so great ! :-) Thanks for the video 🙂
Dropping Jägermeister into a beer is called U-boot here in the rhein-wupper area, but i allways taugh it taste like christmas😂
Krampus does not belong at a German Christmas market. Krampus is a figure from _Austrian_ folklore, and "Krampus runs" are performed in Austria in the Alp mountain region and I guess in the Southern regions like Bavaria and Swabia, but not in the rest of Germany.
I was about to say the same !
Glühwein isn't just hot wine. It contains wine, but it's usually mixed with some sort of fruit juice like orange juice or apple juice and spices like cinnamon.
If it's homemade you'd usually put some fruit slices and big pieces of spices in there, but I guess most christmas markets nowadays sell the pre-mixed, mass produced stuff.
How to keep the beer from spilling? DRINK IT! 🤣
If you think it's a hard job to put down all those cobblestones, there is also "Bernburger Pflaster", which is used for sidewalks and ways in parks. The characteristic is the variety and intensity of the color of the grey stones (yes, I know that sounds strange) and it's size - it's 6x6x6cm (about 2,5 inch in Freedom Units).
Been to Monschau for the first time recently and it really is gorgeous. Will definitely go there and see the xmas market
12:30 When I was a kid it wasn't, still had snow around that time of year :(
I am living in a village before Radeberg and this is a town before dresden roundabout thirdy minutes away from this Christmas market
The curling is called Eisstockschießen, but the real question is what does this street sign mean?
Monschau is really an exceptional place, a small village in the Eifel mountains close to the Belgian border. For me, it felt like Disney World, but it is real. You can stay in the youth hostel, which his actually the ancient castle above Monschau
Traditionally the "Advent" = Waiting for Christmas only happens in the 4 weeks leading up to Christmas Eve. So in most cases Christmas markets will only open 4-5 weeks before Christmas. Though they are starting the preparations now.
The one in my city usually starts at the end of November. This year it starts on the 27., which is next monday. I think it's over by Christmas Eve, basically.
The reference to collecting the Glühwein (glowing wine) mugs at 18:18 is because normally when buying a mug of Glühwein you pay an extra 2-3 euros. You get this extra back if you return the mug to the stall or you just keep the mug. Glühwein is drunk hot/warm made from red wine and herbs. Normally it's served straight or with the option of a shot of Whisky/Brandy/Rum (I prefer Rum). A couple of them and you are really in the Christmas sprit.
From my personal experience, when it rains while you´re in a christmas market you can go to the bar and drink glühwein or hot chocolate to get warmer and relax a bit and the rain makes more cozy.
7:29 wait-… you do Not do That thing with opening a door of your ✨Adventskalender✨ everday in December 🥴
The wooden signs on the markets are usually written in old writing styles not japanese😂
10:26 These "potion bottles" are from a very recognisable vendor you often find at German rennaissance faires called Beerenweine Riese. They sell countless flavours of mostly fruit wines, meades and a couple of liquors and liqueurs in, and part of their brand is to sell them not only in standard wine bottles, but also in whimsical or rustic looking shapes. Optionally, they come labeled as various magical potions, or you can submit your own label text if you order online. At some christmas markets, they operate larger stalls where you can buy the wines and meades hot and by the cup. It's quite lovely.
There is one christmas market in Dortmund that's set up as a christmas market/renfaire crossover. Unlike other markets, they charge an entry fee, but they feature various performances and shows after dark, like fire shows or medieval-is/fantasy style bards, as well as folk bands and the like.
Ah, and this specific potion, the "blue fairy" is absinth with cilantro and lemongrass (and no doubt a hint of blue food colouring).
A hint for German pronunciation: an "e" at the end of a word is not silent. So "bowle" is not "bowl" but "bowl-e", for example.
Best way to ensure that you dont spill beer when drinking on a boat, is to put the boat on solid ground!!!
The location in Munich is called "Alte Utting". A boat sailing on the Ammersee southwest of Munich from 1950 to 2016. Instead of wrecking the boat when it went out of service it was towed to Munich and reused as a bar:
th-cam.com/video/-C0tZJvUBnM/w-d-xo.html
Feuerzangenbowle includes rum. You soak a sugar cone in rum and let it burn over the heated red wine, so the burned sugar drops into the wine and you have a warm drink, that will bite you, when you drink more than a mug.
Glühwein is glowing (hot) wine with christmas spices.
Feuerzangenbole is with shot so it has enough Alkohol to lit up a fire as the name suggests.
1:57 That is Spätzle! A traditional Swabian dish (south west Germany). It's a noodle type that tastes like heaven. Never seen that version, though :)
9:50 That would more be a vibe that you get at the Octoberfest or Volksfest, where you can play those type of games. The Christmas Market in Esslingen (that's where i live) has all these medieval type games that are not very common at other christmas markets. i love to go check them out on my lunch breaks when they're open but still empty cuz all then tourists visit in the evening xD
We had the first snow this year yesterday ... I almost can feel X-Mas. Hugz & kisses to you Ryan and your family. All the best wishes from Germany! ♥
13:03 - in the usa, you have zoning for residential and commercial areas which are far apart from each other and you need to use a car all the time. in germany, there are lots of houses with appartments in the upper floors (and yes, we count the upper floors 1,2,3 etc, also OG for Obergeschoß=upperfloor, instead of counting all floors and making the upper floors 2,3,4,etc) and shops on the ground floor, thus having it all easily accessible and walkable for everybody with mostly no need for cars.
in the "old times" shopkeepers often owned the house, had the shop at the street level, lived above the shop themselves, and could rent out additional upper floors. the shop itself almost never was more than that tiny shop on ground floor (nowadays in taller houses and for elevators mostly labeled as 0, E or EG for Erdgeschoß=Earth Level)
Our christmas market started yesterday evening. My mom works there and brings a lot of food back home xD
All Christmas markets in Germany, from small villages to big cities, are very beautiful and unique. The potato you saw was a currywurst.
Genau
lol genau
Ich denke mal, das waren eher Pilze (Champignons).
@@uteline12 Kann auch seinlol
Regarding the River in Monschau: there’s actually an annual whitewater canoe race that goes through the town.
"Feuerzangenbowle" is an alcoholic drink and the title of an old film starring Heinz Rühmann, which was shown once a year at universities for many years. A doctor or professor who has had private lessons wants to go back to school. He manages to enrol for the last year at grammar school. There he plays many tricks on the teachers. The film is about an old school day, perhaps at the beginning of the 20th century. The film is very funny! Here is a version with English subtitles.
th-cam.com/video/084mblLVk34/w-d-xo.html
We've been to the medieval market in Esslingen quite a few times and it's adorable. And the wooden Ferris wheel is so cute, our children love it, no matter how old they get. Shoutout to the guys running it, you're the best!
German Christmas markets don't need advertising. Everything has a rustic, cozy atmosphere. Here a pretzel, there a mulled wine, a waffle, another mulled wine, roasted almonds and so on. In the end, you'll be surprised at how much money you spent.
Your pronunciation of Feuerzangenbowle is pretty much spot on the same as that of most german native speakers after having 3 mugs of it.
His pronunciation of "Feuerzangenbowle" is even better than his pronunciation of "Hallo"
Krampus is Southern German/Austrian (not sure about Switzerland). I think there are some traditions involving Krampus, I don't know if he is also usually a part of Christmas markets.
Edit: I forgot Northern Italy/South Tyrol, I think Krampus might be a thing there, too.
Yes, that's what an advent calendar is: a sweet or other small treat each day from first of december until Christmas eve. They are very popular where I live in Germany.
I think nutcrackers are indeed from some German region (they may have been more popular in the past, not sure). Tchaikovsky's nutcracker is at least set in Germany/based on a story by the German author E.T.A. Hoffmann.😅
Yes, rain is not uncommon in december, unfortunately.
Z is pronounced kind of like 'tz' (Feuer - tz - angenbowle).
Christmas markets and what you can buy/eat there differ from region to region, often from town to town. The hot drinks are usually some variation of mulled wine and other alcoholic drinks you can enjoy hot. When visiting a Christmas market, regardless of it being a big one in some city, or a smaller one in some town, maybe try to pick a date and time when it might not be so crowded with people - but absolutely go when it's dark outside (even though I think Christmas markets are also nice by day, they are just way different and in my opinion way more beautiful after sundown).
Btw., sometimes there are houses with a lot of colourful decorations and lights, often kind of overdone. We call them "houses with American decor".🙃
it kinda makes me angry when they say it's a german thing ^^
@@robertgross9518 I can relate! Being from Northern Germany, I always feel uncomfortable whenwever someone (usually from the US) calls something that is clearly from the South, maybe not even exclusively from Germany, a "German" thing. Same for things that are only typical for particular regions, but are also called "German", like it's a thing everywhere in Germany.😅
Den Krampus gibt es auch in Liechtenstein, Ungarn, Kroatien, Slowenien, der Slowakei und Tschechien.
Er ist also definitiv weiter verbreitet als euer - mit Verlaub - langweiliger Knecht Ruprecht. 😉
Liebe Grüße aus Wien! 🙂
@@tubekulose ah, wusste ich nicht, dass Krampus auch in so vielen anderen Ländern vorkommt. Knecht Ruprecht ist aber schon ein eher alter Schuh, der ist hier glaub ich nicht mehr wirklich aktuell.😅 Eher früher, als den "bösen" Kindern noch mit Strafe gedroht wurde. Der ist aber glaub ich nicht ganz so furchteinflößend wie Krampus, also stimmt, mithalten kann er da wohl nicht so richtig.😉
There are so many markets missing. I'll only mention four of them: 1. Mannheim - the main Christmas market is in front of the art nouveau style Watertower in the middle of an art nouveau park and residential buildings. 2. Seiffen - winter wonderland in the middle of Erzhebirge (Ore Mountains) and the capital of handmade wooden (Christmas and other) decorations. 3. Rothenburg ob der Tauber - complete medieval small town (including the town wall) and Germany's (Bavaria's) poster child for German towns with half-timbered houses and the HQ of Käthe Wohlfarth. 4 Nürnberg (Nuremberg) - medieval city (part original/part reconstructed) and the home of Christlindl (an allegory for baby-Jesus, played by a young girl in a long flowing white dress and very blond hair).
Nürnberg wurde im Video ja zumindest erwähnt, aber das *LEIPZIG* als einer der größten und ältesten nicht einmal genannt wurde, ist schon recht schwach....
@@marzok9632Touristen eben 😅
Little Jesus was a girl?
@@timbucktu5141Yes
Feuerzangenbowle translates to 'fire tong punch'. It's, i think, a new years eve tradition. I don't know the ingredients, but i know that a massive cone of sugar is put on some kind of holder over a bowl with punch, doused in alcohol and lit on fire. The sugar melts and drips into the bowl. There's an old movie with the same title about some gentleman indulging in this tradition and reminiscing about their childhood turned out the main character had never been to a school but was home schooled. To experience what it's like, he enrolls on a boys school and pretends to be a teen. It's Heinz Rühmann who plays the main. It's kind of legendary.
it's red wine and rum (+ spices and oranges).
The recipe is similar to Glühwein: red winw with orange and lemon peel and spices like cinnamon, cloves and star anise, warmed. But the special effect is the burning sugar cone. It was put on a "tong", a v-shaped wire (like a verysimple barbecue tong), which gave the name (= fire tong bowle). You poor warm rum/ron over the sugar, turn the lights down low for the effect, and light the rum. So the arome of the rum and the burnt sugar is added to the spiced wine. And, because not all of the alcohol of the rum gets burned but also adds to the alcohol of the wine, makes you soon nicely drunk. That is why those guys in the movie have the silly idea of sending the adult, who missed the experience of school time with friends and playing tricks on teachers etc. to the boys "Gymnasium". We call that Schnappsidee = an idea that seems to be very good and logical while you`re buzzed or drunk, but is totally rediculous and silly when you are sober.
Being a new years eve tradition for many people and for many years you wont find it very often today. But I found a holder for 4-5 sugar cubes that you can put on top of a mug. So you can turn your Glühwein into a Feuerzangenbowle for singles... (Happy new year Miss Sofie! )
Everytime I see you react to landscapes, towns, Weihnachtsmärkte etc I have the feeling you have the good old Fernweh, means you have the longing to be at these places. 😊
I love the Christmas Market in Hannover, every year they build a small fir tree forest in the historical part of the town and you can go inside, warm yourself and drink Glühwein, it's really cozy and smells so good!
Yes IT IS all Hot Wine.
Here is a Recipe
Ingredients for the classic mulled wine recipe 1 bottle of dry red wine, for example Pinot Noir. 1 orange. 2 sticks of Ceylon cinnamon. 3 cloves. 1 tsp lemon peel pieces. 1 teaspoon orange peel pieces or the zest of an orange. 2-3 tbsp honey or agave syrup. Optionally a few capsules of cardamom and/or a vanilla bean.
That is hot wine with some added spices, we also drink it here in Hungary, and it feels so good to drink on a cold winter day.
Yes, according to Wikipedia, "nutcracker dolls" did indeed originate in 17th century Germany.
Also, the bike on the wire -- that's not a telephone wire. If you've payed attention to such minuscule details, you should have noticed that there are no wires across alleyways or anything -- except for the stuff that HAS to be above ground, like wires for streetcars, all the wiring is below ground. So that little toy was riding on a wire that was specifically set up for this.
Also, there are other types of fondue aside from cheese, but cheese is likely. The cauldron, of course, is theme :-)
One that definitely deserves a mention In my opinion is the one Christmas market in the open air museum in Kommern,
Its intertwined with the historic buildings and they even open the old bakery
I love Heidelburg Christmas Market, the whole of Heidelburg centre is wonderful.
Besides regular Glühwein, a lot of Christmas markets (especially the medieval ones) also have hot Met (mead, wine made from honey) and Drachenblut (dragon's blood, wine made from various red fruit). Usually both are available in a stronger version with a shot of Bärenfang (a liquor made from vodka and honey) added.
Kuckucksuhren and Nussknacker were made for centuries in the poor forested areas as a means of income for the poor dwellers in the Black Forest and the Harz in the winter months.
And the merry-making is British English and rock candy is MADE TO USE in hot drinks. :))
( Edited for more text)
Germany is not the only country with the Christmas market 😊 last year I was in one in Luxembourg, it was gorgeous. Also in my hometown in Gdańsk, Poland there is one every year. And yeah, advent calendars are really popular, from the traditional ones, with the little chocolates to the richer ones - LEGO has a few sets, many stores or brands as well (like make-up brands for example).
I'm glad at least Dresden is in the list, but the christmas market of my hometown Leipzig is amazing too!
We have a main market that spans over almost the entire city center! There are a lot of different sections too and every sunday there are some more smaller ones around the city.
Watch Austrias Christmas markets (=Christkindlmarkt) next! Almost every town has their own one with little local differences. I love many of the smaller ones even more than the big ones but of course everyone has their own favorite. Many castles have one, so you probably like those most.
There are activities for kids like baking cookies, pony riding, crafting decorations etc. On the 6th the Nikolaus comes, sometimes on a horse. The Krampuss usually doesn’t appear out of nowhere, they have contests and parades. The masks and outfits are hand crafted and that requires lots of skills. Some areas are famous for their Krampus group!
Every kid and many adults have an Advent calender, it was invented in Germany as a printed version but based on the tradition to have a countdown to Christmas. They used to wipe away chalk marks or add straw stalks to Christmas cribs. Another tradition of gift giving in certain groups like school classes or work teams is „Wichteln“ which is based on the Scandinavian Julklapp tradition.
Hi Ryan a German subscriber here. Just for your info the original soldier Nutcracker or Nussknacker as we call it in German was improved by a German by the name of Wilhelm Friedrich Fuechtner from the region of Erzgebirge in the State of Saxony stretching all the way to the Czech Republic. However, the Nutcracker in its original pliers-like form was invented in Greece during the time of the Philosopher Aristotle.
Not sure if saying Merry Christmas early is bad luck, to me it just sounds weird to say it not only in November, but any day before actual Christmas at the 25. of December. Saying it on Christmas eve might be kind of acceptable (but there still will be people going "it's not Christmas yet!").😅
In German Christmas season/the time before Christmas is either called Advent or Adventszeit ("advent time"), or Vorweihnachtszeit ("time before Christmas"). I personally think it's as nice as Christmas itself, maybe even a bit better, because Christmas only lasts a few days and is just over afterwards. While in the weeks before Christmas you can look forward to Christmas while enjoying Christmas things.
My favourites: Dresden!, Nürnberg, Leipzig, Rostock, Berlin Gendarmenmarkt, Berlin Neptunbrunnen, Berlin Schloss Charlottenburg, Potsdam, Esslingen, Heidelberg, Aachen, Halle, Erfurt
I was several times on the Christmus market in Aachen / Aken. One time there was a lot of snow and wind. It felt like walking in the Middle Ages. It had the right mood. 😊.
The other one i went was with my German family in Osnabrück. Smaller but nice to.
I lived in Munich my whole life anf I was like 'what? We have a christmasmarket on a boat?!'😂 I do know and regularly visit the other christmas markets she mentioned and there are actually even more in Munich
There are also wonderful Christmas markets in northern Germany , such as in Hanover, Hamburg, Lübeck, Bremen, Oldenburg etc. Unfortunately, so little is reported about them.🎅💙
And don't forget the Christmas market in Braunschweig (Brunswick), situated on the medieval marketplace all around the cathedral and city hall. It's the largest in Niedersachsen. There's a second large Christmas tree on another medieval marketplace near the old guild house of the medieval butcher's guild.
The market in Osnabrück is also nice, but more spread out across the plaza in front of the cathedral and several adjacent winding cobblestone lanes.
Bad wimpfen in Baden Württemberg
Or Goslar, which is absolutely lovely.
15:30 Currywurst.
You should visit a German event, there they would offer this.
Or you buy Bratwurst, ketchup and curry powder (mild is prefered), put the sausages in a frying pan.
The "rock candy": It's called "Kandis-Zucker". It's just sugar. You put it into a hot drink - usually tea - and it slowly dissolves. Don't wait until it's all gone, though, or your tea will be cold. Just drink multiple cups xD
You could lick it like a lollipop, I suppose, but that's not the intention.
"none in the world does christmas like germany" i swear every single germany video makes this poor austrian feel so ignored...i know we are small but we exist :(
I came to say that. Also, Viennese Christmas markets trump almost every market on this list
I imagine Christmas markets in Austria to be strange. Bloody warm and kangaroos everywhere. 🤭
@@Naanhanyrazzu its fine we put skis on them you barely notice them
Spent some time at various christmas markets around Vienna... They are gorgeous ❤
Christmasmarkets are open allready even in the small towns
7:16 I wonder what are the memories of people of another Central European countries compared to mine. Advent calendars were a must for children when I was a kid 20-30 years ago in Slovakia. Not sure about kids today, the supermarkets still sell many of them, but back then I have always got one as a gift on St. Nicolas day (Dec 6th). There was one little (coin size) piece of chocolate with a christmasy picture in all 24 little windows. It was the best time in the whole year, to wake up every morning, open a new paper window, find out what picture/shape the chocolate is that day (boot, gift, doe, mistletoe...) and eat it. Because I got it on December 6th, I got to eat all those previous five chocolates in one day. I hate it how commercialized it has become nowadays, the companies only use it to profit even more and there is nothing festive about it. But for me as a kid it was one of the most important parts of the Christmas atmosphere and a real countdown to the Christmas day, which is the evening of the December 24th here.
Ah, yes, the calendars with the little chocolates. We had them, too, here in Germany. We'd sometimes even have two of them, one from our parents and one from our grandparents😅 (my grandma even still gave them to us when we were older than 30, I don't think she'll give my siblings and me some this year, though. I think she didn't do it last year, either). Yes, receiving the calendar a few days after the 1. and getting to eat all the previous chocolates, I definitely know that, too.😄
@@stef987 That's nice to know, so similar 🙂
17:11 I don’t know how to Write it but I would say we pronounce
„Z“ like „zet“ or in a word it would be „Feuer-tz-angen“ 😅❤ Hope That helped
For your questions:
-The game they played is called Eisstockschießen (ice stick shooting). Its similar to curling, but without the broom and a different kind of curling stone.
-The food that you didnt recognise looked like Curry Wurst.
-Feuerzangenbowle (for pronounciation you would speak it like foi-er-tsang-en-bow-le) is a harder version of punch made from rum and red wine. You dip a little sugar cone in and then light it on a special spoon above, so the sugar melts into the drink
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