American reacts to BEAUTIFUL German Christmas Markets

I love how you can watch this even as a german and be fascinated about what's happening in other parts of Germany during Christmas. Every Christmas market in Germany has something unique that you don't find in other cities and it's absolutely beautiful.

As a American living in Germany, the Christmas market are beautiful. Every little town has it own.

Every Christmas market has its own design of mugs. It's a tradition that some people take these cups home to collect, but you shouldn't do that too often. You pay about 3 euros deposit for it. So you are supposed to bring them back, but the market is also prepared for some cups to be taken away. And yes, the shops are pop-up shops, but mostly each market has its own kind of design. Everything should look the same. So they put up the little wooden huts or something like that and then sellers can rent them. My Home Town Baden-Baden by the way also has one of the most beautiful Christmas markets in south Germany :)

Mulled Wine (or Glühwein in German - literally Glow Wine) is a spiced wine that is served hot. That's why It's in a mug. It's propably hard to get in the US, but you can easily make your own at home. You just need: 1 Liter of wine (most commonly red wine, but white wine is also used) 2 cinnamon sticks 5 cloves (some recipes use more, some less) 2-3 organic oranges (or just oranges with an untreated peel) 4 Tablespoons of light brown sugar, or rock sugar. Adjust to taste Add the wine, spices and sugar to a pot. Wash your oranges well and cut into slices. Throw them into the wine with the peel. That's why they should be untreated. Heat everything up, but make sure not to go above 80°C or you will have alcohol-free Mulled Wine :D. Then let it sit for some time. 15 minutes may be fine, but you can go longer. Then heat it up again (again: not to hot) and enjoy :) There are a lot of different recipes out there though. Some use lemon slices as well, some more spices like cardamom, star anise, vanilla or whatever you want to have in it. It's also common to add a little bit of brown rum (called "mit Schuss" - literally with a shot)

It's pretty sad they didn't show any of the amazing forest and castle christmas markets here in Germany! They are even prettier and have an enchanted vibe to it! Last weekend we went to the christmas market of Schloss Guteneck, it's super pretty!

I love the Striezelmarkt in Dresden, which is Germanys oldest Christmas market. What's special about it is all the rooftop decorations on the little stalls which are really beautiful with their Christmas figurerenes and sleighs and huts and stuff

As a Lübecker, I'm happy you found out about Lübeck. This is the best place I've ever lived in.

We have to pay a ‘Pfand’ (just like with our plastic bottles) which we get back when we return the mugs. It’s normally around 3-4€. But of course every seller counts on some people taking the pretty mugs home, so they always have extra mugs near by. There is also’Kinderpunch/ Punch’ which is also a heated kind of Grape or Orange juice. It’s without alcohol so kids can drink it too. Often they are sold by local music orchestras, sports communities (soccer) or carnival organizations. In smaller cities, local craftsmen can rent one of those hut’s as well and sell their self made things. For example self made clothes, ornaments, candles, necklaces and more.

German Christmas markets are unforgettable. Once you visit one, you go back and it at least 5 times during the season and find yourself wanting to visit or actually go and visit other cities Christmas markets.

Dude I they should have talked about the smells more! The smell of the Christmas trees, of the different baked goods or savory food stands, the spices in the mulled wine. Many times there's also stalls where you can buy whole spices. Christmas markets just overall tend to smell amazing.

Yes, the shops and stands at Christmas markets are almost every time pop-up stands. From simple pavilions to actual vending trucks to detachable wood cabins.

There is an authentic German Christmas market in Chicago. The Black Forest Family even made a video of it.😉😊

the "secret ingredient" of marzipan is usually "rosenwasser" (=rose water), which is water infused with rose petals, that is a byproduct of distilling rose oil. It gives the marzipan a different flavor.

That guy told a bit of a different story about the Schwippbogen, than I know it .... I was always told that miners went to work while it was dark and came from work when it was dark, so people put lights into their windows so the miners had at least a little bit of light in the day Side note: when you visit the Erzgebirge at Christmas time you see those in like every window... Or at least some other christmas lights...

10:14 Those were "gebrannte mandeln" (burned Almonds) They are roated in melted sugar and are pretty much and absolute must at christmas markets, next to "Schmalzgebäck" which are like bitesized lard cakes that are absolutely amazing

There is Pfand (deposit) on the mugs ( 2,50€ / 2.65$ ) and you can either bring back the mug and get your money back and/or keep one as a souvenir

Marzipan is made out of Rosewater, almonds and sugar. And there is a Museum in the Niederegger cafe. They have a very good restaurant as well. My cousin and her husband have a cafe pretty close to it.

Chicago has a german style christmas market. I have been there. it is pretty authentic.

Please watch a video about the ore mountains in saxony - especially Seiffen or Annaberg. It's a region with an outstanding christmas tradition. Every year at christmas time the region Transforms into a fairytale. 😊

Hamburg has over 16 Christmas markets. But the most well-known one is at the Rathausplatz, the city council hall square. It features a 'flying' Santa Claus sleigh (on cables) with a real person Santa in it, waving at the crowds. Glühwein (mulled wine), caramelized nuts like almonds, hazelnut, cashews, paranuts, pecans, and loads of other sweets tantalize the taste buds with their smell from afar. Other savory foods are obviously available as well. With the temperature being in the -5 to -8 C, roughly 22 to 15 F, there is nothing better than sipping a hot Glühwein from a toasty mug warming your fingers. The sweet, Christmas spices in the wine (cinnamon, aniseed, etc.) make the whole experience magical.