German Christmas Market Adventure Munich Tour
German Christmas Market Adventure Munich Tour
Overview
In this special episode recorded live on December 17, 2018, John Daub takes viewers on an extensive tour of Munich's famous Christmas markets — completely outside his usual Only in Japan territory. Just days after visiting India and Sri Lanka, John and his wife Kanae land in Munich, Bavaria, connecting with several Only in Japan viewers who traveled from Frankfurt and Augsburg to join them. Together, they explore three distinct Christmas markets: the iconic Marienplatz market with its towering tree and Gluhwein stalls, a hidden courtyard market only the locals know about, and a medieval-themed market complete with open fires, potion shots, and honey mead served in monk-style mugs. Throughout the stream, John constantly draws comparisons to Tokyo's Hibiya Park Christmas market, marveling at the scale, history, and authenticity of the German experience. The result is a nearly 83-minute celebration of food, drink, community, and the Christmas spirit.
Highlights
[00:00:45](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-y1kXQbKcs&t=45s)John introduces the live stream and greets Steve and Dominic, the first viewers to arrive for the meetup, setting the tone for an impromptu Only in Japan community gathering in Germany.[00:02:20](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-y1kXQbKcs&t=140s)The group samples Gluhwein (mulled wine) for the first time — served in collectible mugs requiring a €3 deposit, with the mug itself a sought-after souvenir.[00:05:15](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-y1kXQbKcs&t=315s)Dominic explains how Christmas markets vary by city, with regional Gluhwein recipes similar to how Japan's prefectures have distinct sake flavors.[00:19:58](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-y1kXQbKcs&t=1198s)John tries a local Augsburg craft beer and is blown away by its unique character — slightly bitter with deep flavor, nothing like American hoppy beers.[00:28:30](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-y1kXQbKcs&t=1710s)The group discovers a hidden courtyard Christmas market that exceeds all expectations, with live band music and a 1950s Christmas-card atmosphere John describes as "a scene from the movie A Christmas Story."[00:32:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-y1kXQbKcs&t=1920s)Steve (from Frankfurt) has to leave to catch his train home — a 2–3 hour journey — after only a brief meetup, demonstrating the dedication of the Only in Japan viewer community.[00:40:30](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-y1kXQbKcs&t=2430s)John orders a legendary 50-centimeter Bratwurst served inside a baguette, with authentic German mustard, declaring it the best thing he's eaten all day.[00:46:28](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-y1kXQbKcs&t=2788s)Dominic introduces honey beer (Honigbier / Met), a sweet and warming drink distinct from standard German beer.[00:52:53](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-y1kXQbKcs&t=3173s)John tastes roasted cinnamon almonds — a Christmas market staple — and reflects on how cinnamon is not a common flavor in Japan, making this feel truly European.[00:58:20](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-y1kXQbKcs&t=3500s)At the medieval market, Dominic buys John a mug of Met (honey mead) served in a monk-style ceramic mug, described as "the monk drink" and "pious people drink."[01:11:30](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-y1kXQbKcs&t=4290s)The group samples potion vials — homemade schnapps and hard liquor at 15–23% alcohol — sold unlabeled from a medieval distillery setup, leading to hilarious facial reactions.[01:17:30](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-y1kXQbKcs&t=4650s)At the medieval market's fish stand, John and Kanae order smoked salmon with potatoes and cheese, calling it "German sushi."
Timeline / Chapters
- 00:00 – 00:45 — Introduction: John previews the Munich Christmas market live stream from Hibiya Park in Tokyo, noting the connection to the German-inspired market behind him. Greets first viewers Steve and Dominic.
- 00:45 – 05:30 — Marienplatz Arrival & Gluhwein: First Gluhwein (mulled wine) order, €3 deposit system explained, prost toast, first sip of hot mulled wine. Comparison to Japanese vending machine culture.
- 05:30 – 08:00 — Cultural Exchange: Dominic (Augsburg) explains regional variations between Munich and Augsburg Christmas markets. Steve (Frankfurt) shares how each German city has its own market character. John draws parallels to regional Japanese sake.
- 08:00 – 12:00 — Market Atmosphere: Walking through Marienplatz market, observing stand presentations, German gingerbread (Lebkuchen), the famous large Christmas tree, open-flame Gluhwein preparation.
- 12:00 – 20:00 — Beer Tasting & Maximilianstraße: John tastes a local Augsburg craft beer. Walking along Maximilianstraße, described as Munich's Ginza. Discussion of Munich being Germany's most expensive city. Starbucks comparison to Japan.
- 20:00 – 31:00 — Journey to Hidden Courtyard Market: Following Dominic through less-Christmassy streets, crossing a bridge, eventually reaching a secret courtyard market described as "a scene from A Christmas Story."
- 31:00 – 34:00 — Steve's Departure: Steve from Frankfurt says goodbye to catch a 2–3 hour train home. John reflects on the Christmas spirit of giving and community.
- 34:00 – 41:00 — Hidden Market Exploration: Live music, trumpeters, medieval carousel (Pyramide), crowds, ornament shopping for Lenny. More viewers encounter the group.
- 41:00 – 44:00 — Bratwurst Quest: Finding the Bratwurst stand, ordering a legendary 50cm sausage in a baguette, adding ketchup (controversial), first bite dedicated to viewer Lenny.
- 44:00 – 46:30 — Honey Beer Introduction: Dominic introduces Honigbier (honey beer/met), described as sweet and different from regular German beer.
- 46:30 – 52:00 — Walking Between Markets: John reflects on Munich's architecture versus India and Tokyo. Discussion of WWII bombing and reconstruction. Maximilianstraße cars, Benz comparison to Japan.
- 52:00 – 54:30 — Medieval Market Arrival: Entering the medieval Christmas market, seeing the rustic open-fire setup, roasted cinnamon almonds taste test, comparing it to Japan's wooden architecture.
- 54:30 – 59:30 — Medieval Mead (Met): Dominic buys John honey mead in a monk-style ceramic mug. John describes the taste — fruity, sweet, and strong. Discussion of medieval markets existing year-round in Germany.
- 59:30 – 62:00 — More Viewer Meetups: More Only in Japan viewers appear at the medieval market. Ross (Oxford/Augsburg) joins the group.
- 62:00 – 66:30 — More Drinks & Jet Lag: John compares hot Gluhwein to Japanese atsukan (hot sake). Non-alcoholic Kinderpunsch (fruit punch) for Kanae. Admission of jet lag — they arrived in Munich having barely slept.
- 66:30 – 72:00 — Medieval Market Huts Tour: John walks hut to hut, showcasing the variety — jewelry, pottery, potions/liquor stand with 15–23% alcohol schnapps. Potion vial tasting with hilarious facial reactions.
- 72:00 – 75:00 — Medieval Fish Stand: Smoked salmon order at the medieval market's fish stand. "German sushi" with potatoes and cheese. John and Kanae eat together in the market.
- 75:00 – 83:21 — Wrap-Up: Final impressions of all three markets. John reflects on the 83-minute journey across three distinct Christmas markets. Merry Christmas greeting from Munich.
Japan Travel Tips
Not applicable — this video documents travel to Germany, not Japan. For Japanese Christmas markets, John has covered those in other episodes (Hibiya Park Christmas Market, etc.).
Japanese Language & Culture Notes
- Glühwein — German mulled wine, the signature drink of Christmas markets. John draws a direct parallel to atsukan (hot sake) in Japan. Both are warm alcoholic drinks served in vessels that can be taken away and kept as souvenirs.
- Gluhwein mug deposit system — The €3 deposit model mirrors Japan's bottle return culture, where consumers pay extra and get money back when returning containers. John finds comfort in this familiar consumer behavior.
- Christmas market regional variation — Dominic explains that every German city has its own Christmas market character and Gluhwein recipe, paralleling how every Japanese prefecture has its own local sake character. John immediately grasps the cultural parallel.
- Open-flame Gluhwein — The €6 Gluhwein is flambéed with high-proof alcohol and lit on fire before serving, giving it an extra kick. This theatrical preparation is unique to Christmas market culture.
- Medieval markets year-round — Dominic reveals that medieval-themed markets exist in Germany even outside Christmas season, with drinks served cold in summer. This would be unthinkable in Japan, where seasonal specificity (e.g., shun seasonal ingredients) is deeply embedded.
- Munich as Ginza — John compares Maximilianstraße to Tokyo's Ginza district, noting the upscale brand shops and elegant old buildings on both.
- Japanese architectural preservation — John reflects on how Japan's wooden architecture didn't survive WWII bombing the way Germany reconstructed its historic buildings. He notes feeling "the history" more strongly in Munich than in Tokyo's city center.
Food & Drink Guide
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Glühwein (mulled wine)
- Where: Marienplatz market, multiple stalls
- Price: Basic ~€4–5; premium flambéed version ~€6
- Deposit: €3 for the mug (returnable)
- Description: Red wine mulled with spices, served steaming hot. John tries it first and is delighted, noting it smells and tastes like Christmas. Becomes his go-to drink throughout the evening.
- Reaction: "It smells like Christmas." "That's good. It's getting better with each sip."
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Bratwurst (German sausage)
- Where: Marienplatz market sausage stand
- Price: Not specified
- Description: Legendary 50cm (or longer) pork sausage, typically served in a half-loaf baguette with mustard. John orders one and declares it the best thing he's eaten all trip.
- Reaction: "German brat. That's so good." (Despite being told not to use ketchup, John uses it anyway and declares it delicious.)
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Lebkuchen (German gingerbread)
- Where: Marienplatz market
- Description: Traditional spiced gingerbread cookies, a staple of German Christmas markets. Steve (Frankfurt) confirms it's "very German."
- Reaction: Brief acknowledgment, not sampled on camera.
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Mandeln (roasted almonds)
- Where: Medieval Christmas market
- Description: Whole almonds roasted with cinnamon and sugar. The warm cinnamon aroma fills the air at the medieval market.
- Price: Not specified
- Reaction: "That is really good. I've never tasted anything like that. Cinnamon is not a popular taste in Japan. Cinnamon is essential to Christmas."
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Met / Honigbier (honey mead / honey beer)
- Where: Medieval Christmas market
- Description: Sweet honey-based fermented drink, served warm in monk-style ceramic mugs. Dominic describes it as what monks drink — "pious people drink."
- Price: Not specified (Dominic buys)
- Reaction: "After three or four sips it grows on you." John compares it favorably to Gluhwein — sweet, fruity, strong.
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Potion shots (hausgemachter Schnaps)
- Where: Medieval market distillery/potions hut
- Description: Homemade hard liquor and schnapps sold in small unlabeled vials, with alcohol content ranging from 15–23%. Flavors unknown — selected blindly.
- Reaction: Dramatic facial expressions from everyone who tries them. "That's evil." "This is what Christmas was before it was Christmas."
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Smoked salmon with potatoes and cheese
- Where: Medieval market fish stand
- Description: Freshly grilled salmon served with potatoes and melted cheese — John jokingly calls it "German sushi."
- Reaction: Kanae is very happy with this order. John calls it "delicious."
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Kinderpunsch (non-alcoholic fruit punch)
- Where: Marienplatz market
- Description: Non-alcoholic warm fruit drink for those not drinking alcohol.
- Reaction: Kanae drinks it and says it's sweet but very good. Dominic says it's good for jet lag.
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Augsburg craft beer
- Where: While walking through the market area
- Description: Local craft beer from Augsburg, described as having character beyond the typical Hofbräu or Paulaner that Americans know. Dominic explains that nearly every small German city has its own brewery.
- Reaction: "I've never had a flavor like that before. It's not hoppy like American beers. It's got a slightly bitter but deep characteristic taste."
People
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John Daub — Host, traveling to Munich from India/Sri Lanka with minimal sleep. Manages the live stream, asks questions of local viewers, and constantly draws cultural comparisons between Germany and Japan. Despite his jet lag, he maintains excellent energy throughout the 83-minute stream. His father is of German descent from Heidelberg.
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Kanae Daub — John's Japanese wife, making her first visit to Europe. Hungry and eager to eat throughout, she patiently waited during the live stream to try everything. Particularly delighted by the smoked salmon and Kinderpunsch. John loses track of her several times, humorously noting "if you lose Kanai, it's big trouble."
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Steve (SPEAKER_01) — Only in Japan viewer from Frankfurt who traveled 2–3 hours by train to meet John at the market. Brought a gift for John and Kanae. Had to leave early to catch his train back to Frankfurt, exemplifying the dedication of the OIG community. John says farewell with "thanks for giving us the opportunity to meet you" and an invitation to visit Japan.
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Dominic (SPEAKER_02) — Viewer from Augsburg (near Munich), the most active local guide throughout the video. Introduces John to Augsburg beer, honey mead, the secret courtyard market, medieval traditions, and potion shots. Shares cultural knowledge about German Christmas markets, explaining regional variations and even that Munich is Germany's most expensive city. His enthusiasm and local expertise are invaluable throughout the stream.
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Ross (SPEAKER_03) — Viewer who joined Dominic at the markets. From Oxford originally but lives near Augsburg. Briefly explains Munich's cost of living ("the rent's insane") and attempts to learn a few words of Indian while John quizzes him. Joins the group at the medieval market and participates in the potion tasting.
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Additional viewers — Throughout the stream, several other Only in Japan viewers spot John and approach to say hello, thank him for the content, and share that they found the secret market after seeing John's live stream. This becomes a recurring theme — John's stream literally leads viewers to discover places they didn't know existed.
Key Takeaways
- German Christmas markets (Weihnachtsmärkte) are sprawling, city-wide affairs with multiple distinct markets, not single locations. Munich alone has markets at Marienplatz, hidden courtyards, and medieval-themed sites.
- The Gluhwein mug deposit system (typically €3) is both environmentally practical and a clever souvenir mechanism — visitors can drink and return, or keep the decorated mug as a memento.
- Christmas market hopping is a legitimate form of German tourism, with cities like Nuremberg (the most famous), Frankfurt, and Munich each offering unique regional takes on the tradition.
- Germany permits public alcohol consumption in designated market areas — similar to Japan — allowing visitors to walk with drinks in hand. The drinking age for beer is 16, spirits 18.
- John finds a deep cultural connection between German and Japanese regional alcohol culture: just as Japan's prefectures have distinct sake styles, German cities have their own Gluhwein recipes and local breweries.
- The medieval Christmas market concept — with open fires, unlabeled homemade liquor, and period-costumed vendors — represents a pre-commercialized Christmas that John finds deeply moving and nostalgic.
- Post-WWII reconstruction in Germany preserved or recreated historic architecture in ways that give German cities a tangible sense of history that modern Tokyo cannot match in its urban core.
- Community and generosity define the Christmas spirit for John — Steve's long train journey, Dominic's guided tours, viewers spotting the stream and joining in — this is what Christmas means.
Notable Quotes
[00:04:30](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-y1kXQbKcs&t=270s)John Daub: "It smells like Christmas. Cheers to you out there. Thanks for joining us."[00:19:58](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-y1kXQbKcs&t=1198s)John Daub: "I've never had a flavor like that before. It's not hoppy like the American beers. It's got a slightly bitter, but there's a deep characteristic taste."[00:28:45](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-y1kXQbKcs&t=1725s)John Daub: "This could be a scene from the movie A Christmas Story. This is the 1950s American Christmas feeling. The feeling that we've lost over generations. Just — it's gotten so commercial. But here we have bands playing…"[00:31:50](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-y1kXQbKcs&t=1910s)John Daub: "The Christmas spirit is you don't think about yourself. You think about other people. That's what I love about this time of year. It just, you know, all that stuff that we might have forgotten, it just comes back to you. The love that we have for one another. That's Christmas."[00:52:53](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-y1kXQbKcs&t=3173s)John Daub: "Cinnamon is not a popular taste in Japan. Cinnamon is essential to Christmas."[00:59:19](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-y1kXQbKcs&t=3559s)Dominic: "Otherwise [the medieval people] would not survive." (responding to why medieval people drank so much alcohol)[01:03:30](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-y1kXQbKcs&t=3810s)John Daub: "Give me one more [drink] and I'll look 20 years younger."[01:14:11](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-y1kXQbKcs&t=4451s)John Daub: "This is what Christmas was before it was Christmas."[01:20:30](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-y1kXQbKcs&t=4830s)John Daub: "This is the market here in Munich. We just spent 83 minutes walking the three different markets in Munich. This is crazy."
Related Topics
- Only in Japan Go Christmas market episodes (Hibiya Park, Tokyo)
- Japanese sake regional culture vs. German beer regional culture
- German beer culture (Oktoberfest, craft breweries, Reinheitsgebot)
- Medieval European history and reenactment culture
- Christmas traditions across cultures (Japan's developing Christmas culture)
- Meetup culture and online community building through travel content
- European winter street food traditions
- World War II reconstruction and architectural preservation in Germany vs. Japan
Search Tags
#only-in-japan-go #munich #germany #weihnachtsmarkt #christmas-market #glühwein #bratwurst #lebkuchen #medieval-market #marienplatz #honigbier #met #schnapps #augsburg #frankfurt #bavaria #german-food #german-beer #street-food #live-stream #meetup #europe #christmas #winter #travel #kulturexchange #japan #onlyinjapango #germanytravel
Full Transcript
00:00:00 John Daub: Went to a Christmas market in Hibiya Park in Tokyo that was sort of semi-based on a German market, like the one that's behind me. And I got a special treat for you. I've got some viewers from Only in Japan that are going to be walking around with us to try to explain some of the things that we're going to be eating. And yeah, I guess you could consider this almost like a midnight snack run. It's going to be a lot of fun. I do have 4G signal. We're going to be hitting the entire area. This might be the most thorough video of the Munich Christmas markets ever. So join us, won't you?
But first, let me introduce you to our wonderful viewers from Germany. Hello, everybody. Good evening. That's Kanai in the middle there. Thanks for making the trip out here. Are you hungry? Are you thirsty? Do you feel the Christmas spirit?
Steve: I do. I do.
John Daub: All right, let's get a move on. This way. I don't know where I'm. I'm just following everybody else, but we got here a couple of hours ago and it was just amazing. It felt like Christmas to me. This is one of the dreams that I've had — to come to Germany, into Europe during the Christmas time, try to see if the spirit of the holiday is different here. And I could tell you it kind of is. Just kind of soaked us in for a minute while we look for some — whoa. Is that like a bar?
Steve: One of many places to buy Gluhwein.
John Daub: Wow. Should we get it? Blue wine? All right, let's get some.
Steve: All right.
John Daub: This is — this is fun. It smells so good here. Actually, they have more than Gluhwein. They seem to have beer, too. How do I order it? Just kind of — this is so much fun. Look at this. Oh, Gluhwein.
Steve: I'll get it.
John Daub: Oh, really? Are you gonna get this one?
Steve: Cover this one. I finally get to buy.
John Daub: Oh, Steve's got this one. Okay. All right. This is what a Euro looks like, by the way, everybody. Yeah. Whoa. Is that what it — oh, my word. It smells so — Christmas smells like Gluhwein.
Steve: After all the vending machine runs, I finally get to thank you.
John Daub: Yeah, much appreciated. This is better than a vending machine run. This is the real thing.
Steve: Definitely.
John Daub: So how much — how much was this? It is — it really is. How much is three for us? Wow, thank you. Oh, she doesn't drink. Oh, she doesn't?
Dominic: Okay, then.
John Daub: Somebody gets a — it's €21. Okay, we'll bring the glasses back. Look at this. This is Gluhwein. And it's like in a mug. This is no ordinary wine glass. This is a mug. Oh, my word. And it smells wonderful. Look at this. The Munich Christ — Kindle mark. I messed that one up. All right, let me — gotta try this. Red — frost. Frost. Here we go. Oh, you got one here. Prost. Wonderful. You don't — so you don't say Merry Christmas. You say Prost. Can I — you want to smell it? Can I? Doesn't drink. Can I — doesn't drink. It's fine. Does it smell like Christmas? Yeah, it smells like Christmas. Cheers to you out there. Thanks for joining us.
Steve: Nothing beats a hot drink.
John Daub: Alcohol. I forgot there's alcohol in there. Oh, that's good.
Steve: That's what makes it enjoyable.
John Daub: Oh, my — I'm starting to feel the Christmas spirit a little bit stronger with each sip. I've only had one.
Steve: Gets better with each sip.
John Daub: It does. Oh, wow. So you have to pay a three Euro glass deposit, I guess.
Steve: Deposit. Or you can keep the glass as a souvenir.
John Daub: Oh, I see. I see how it is. Okay, we'll return the glass. I think that we don't want them to run out of glasses. They got plenty of glasses here. The Christmas market, from what I hear, it gets more crowded. You're from Frankfurt originally, Steve, right?
Steve: Yeah.
John Daub: What's the Christmas market like in Frankfurt?
Steve: Each city has their own variation. I think it's a lot of the same things — with the Christmas ornaments, Gluhwein and cakes. But yeah, I went out, picked out a few ornaments for Munich here that you can't find in Frankfurt.
John Daub: So a little bit of —
Steve: A little bit of a different experience being here in Munich.
John Daub: Is the Gluhwein different in Frankfurt? They've got their own regional tastes, like in Japan.
Steve: A bit of variations. Exactly. I mean, Gluhwein is Gluhwein, but, you know, I think it depends on where you go. The seasoning might be a little different.
John Daub: Yeah. You know, Japan is — has different tastes of sake everywhere. And I guess in Germany it'd be the same with the wine. So I'm sure.
Steve: There you go.
John Daub: Wow. The sound of bells chiming in the distance. We're in crazy — I can't — we're in Europe. This is so far from Japan. Can I get something non-alcoholic? It's non-alcoholic. All right.
Dominic: Kinderpunsch.
John Daub: Give the people a prost.
Dominic: All right. I'm Dominic.
John Daub: And you live here in Munich?
Dominic: No, I live in Augsburg. Near Munich.
John Daub: Is the Christmas market in Augsburg different than here?
Dominic: It's a little bit smaller, so it's maybe a bit more special, but it's also crowded, so I don't know. It's not so different, but it's definitely another kind of —
John Daub: So is there a Christmas market — I don't want to say, because there's people from Munich here — is there a Christmas market better than the one that we're at right now? Because this is pretty awesome.
Dominic: I'm not sure.
John Daub: I think you want to rank up both.
Dominic: Nice. But I think maybe Augsburg is a little bit — it's a little bit more traditional.
John Daub: Not so —
Dominic: Not so crowded with so many tourists.
John Daub: Not so many tourists. What do you mean? Are you saying that there's tourists here? Because I'm not — I don't qualify, do I? We're gonna be going now after we finish this. I'm gonna go get some food because we can't walk away with the glasses. Do they serve food here?
Steve: No, not here, but — yeah, other stands you can find.
John Daub: Oh, wait, so we could just walk around with the glass and just bring it back later?
Steve: Yeah.
John Daub: Really?
Steve: Yeah, you get a souvenir or you get your deposit back.
John Daub: All right. Cheers to that. All right, let's go get some food and then bring the glasses back. But the more we drink, the less — did everybody get a drink? Everybody has a drink in there. And you have the boot — I'm sorry, I usually do a rock, scissors, paper giveaway and he's got the boot that I brought from Wayne from Ameyoko Market. I got that in — sorry about that. Hello Kitty action going on here. Look at all the big hat, the big smiles. That's part of the Christmas market. They call it Christmas Kindle Market. Yeah, you know what? I'm — yeah, I'm just gonna not even try. All right, let's take a look here. Which way is the — which way should — let's do it.
Now, Kanai and I walked through this market about two hours ago, and Kanai wanted to eat everything. And I said, if you eat everything now, you're not gonna be able to eat anything when we do a live stream. And so she's been waiting and waiting and waiting, and once we — oh, my word. What is that? Stollen? From whom? Look at that. Oh, I love the presentation of these stands. Check it out. There's some stollen. These are like — what is stollen? Dominic?
Dominic: I don't know how to explain, but sweet — and they are sometimes —
John Daub: And they are sometimes.
Dominic: I don't know the word, but you have to try it.
John Daub: You have to try it. I think — should we maybe do that one later? Maybe later. Not right now. Shout out to Samantha and Britta and Heiko, by the way, who did a live stream in — in Düsseldorf, I believe, in the Japanese area. I'm kind of inspired by that to do one here. Shout out there.
Dominic: Hey, go right in. Hello.
John Daub: So sad. Went there to buy some Flammkuchen. Oh, yeah, right. I can ask about this here. Flammkuchen — does anyone know what Flammkuchen is?
Dominic: I don't know. I was searching for you because I saw it on your story and I didn't find it. This was where you have been?
John Daub: Yeah. Britta, Heiko, we're trying to look that up. Not so sure. Samantha's so close, but so far away. Matthias. Matthias, where are you? Prost. Matthias, there you are, buddy. You're with us here in the market. So I'm gonna bring the camera out to the front. Look at how pretty the stands are. I'm shooting this with an iPhone XS, by the way, so the colors are a little bit more vibrant. Look how pretty the stands are. I'm not talking about the ladies in there — the stands. I'm reading some of the comments here. All right, well, hello from Patagonia, Argentina. You're like the complete — if we dug a hole from Germany, we could get to Argentina. Actually, we'd probably be more like Australia. But thanks for chiming in. From all the way down in Argentina. Which do we hang? We would turn here, straight here, and then turn. We have kind of devised a plan to make this go more smoothly. It is — the temperature is minus something degrees. It's like minus 2 degrees, I think. Wow, look at this. This is more Gluhwein, more alcoholic wine. It's pretty good. And they got chef hats in there, but — they got chef hats in there. Yeah. Oh, wow.
Dominic: It burns. So they put liquor on it and then they burn it up.
John Daub: Oh, that's what you talk about. The six Euro one. So it's extra strong.
Dominic: Yeah. Maybe we should show it to the audience.
John Daub: I'm liking your thinking. I'm liking your thinking. The market gets a little bit more crowded as time — what's that? These are like cookies.
Steve: Gingerbread. They're very —
John Daub: It's a very German thing, gingerbread cookies. Yeah.
Dominic: Wow.
John Daub: It's just so many different kinds of foods and smells. It's — it's very cinnamony, very — I don't know, just right now, just cinnamon and wine. Look at the big Christmas tree in front of — I guess this is city hall. I'm not sure. I don't really know. You guys are watching this live right now. So — watching this live, all right, we're gonna walk past this stand, and we're gonna be taking a right. So if you're in Munich — wow. This is more Gluhwein, more alcoholic wine — like it's — wine is alcoholic. What am I talking about? Hot wine. And each — each place serves it in their own original glass. These look like coffee mugs at this one. Yeah, these look like coffee mugs. Let's see. Oh, there they are — orange coffee mugs. And this one, it looks like a beer glass. Yeah, we're in Marienplatz.
Dominic: Straight.
John Daub: Just keep going straight this way. All right, we're turning right. We're gonna go straight and then make a right in a little bit. But I just want to share a little bit of the market and get — get a feeling of the atmosphere. This is totally different than Hibiya Park in Tokyo. Hibiya Park is pretty cool, but it's — I'm starting to see the limitations. It — this is — it just has more space as well. Hibiya Park Christmas market is a little bit cramped, and this one is more spread out. But what makes this —
Dominic: Hey, Anil Rivera, go get something, John. I mean, you got it. You got it.
John Daub: We're going to be eating a lot of food. We're just kind of absorbing the atmosphere right here. You don't have that in Hibiya Park. Oh, man, this is beautiful. I'm so glad I came to Munich for — for the Christmas market here. Best decision that I made all year. Wait, no — getting married. Second best. Second best. To just kind of walk in and take it in, guys. Wow, this is so beautiful. Hey, Lenny's in the house. Thanks, Lenny. Cheers to you, Gluhwein from Germany. To you, Lenny. And everybody out there kind of taking in the vibe of Munich. And I've been comparing it to the Christmas market in Tokyo, and there's no comparison. Tokyo does a good job of trying its best, but this is just — this is just like the real deal. Oh, look, they're selling these puff — these furry hats. Now I know what to get to Kanai for Christmas. Oh, food. I also love how they — they set up tables for people to eat at right outside the stand. That's a good idea. It's a little bit better than the ones in Hibiya Park. All right, we're taking our left here. All right. Your left or my left? Right. All right. Very nice. Oh, look at it — there's no end to it. There's no end. It literally just keeps — linked up. So we're leaving Marienplatz, and we just linked up. Look at these — these ornaments in that — feels like I'm not really here. I was in India — Kanai and I were in India 10 hours ago, and now we're on in Germany. This is the complete opposite. India is chaotic and hot. This is orderly and cold. It's like the complete opposite. Check this out. Hello. Merry Christmas. Like what?
Dominic: Sausages.
John Daub: Oh, wow. Sausages. All right, I'm sold. All right, sausage time. Where's the sausage shack?
Dominic: Although what's —
John Daub: It's over there. Oh, this one here. So Kanai and I should go and eat there tomorrow, you're saying? Yeah, yeah, that's where we should go tomorrow. Oh, man. All right. So good suggestion. Oh, that sounds so good. What? Why aren't we eating right now? All right, we're 18 minutes of this live stream. It's time for some food — say, for some food.
Steve: Honestly, if you want to go hardcore German, there's always —
John Daub: Yeah, okay.
Steve: Berlin style.
John Daub: Yeah. Yeah. How you guys doing back here? Great, thanks. Yeah. So you live here in Munich?
Steve: We live near Munich, yeah. A small town near Munich.
John Daub: Right. Do you come to the Christmas market often? Every year?
Steve: Yeah, usually, yes. If I — if I lived here, I come every day. Maybe not that — maybe not that much. But that would be great if we had the Christmas market 365 days a year. That's what I'm telling people — Christmas should be. Why does it have to end on the 25th? Yeah, I know why. But just one more month. You know, Christmas once — winter. Once the Christmas is over, January is miserable because you don't have the Christmas spirit anymore. This is all my opinion. You don't — don't look into what I'm saying. But it's true in many respects. What is this? Look at that. They're all wearing orange outfits. I thought that they're cooking something. Is that the sausage that we should get? Weisswurst? Something — Bratwurst. Wow. Oh, yeah, Weisswurst.
Dominic: Yeah, that's good. Sounds good.
John Daub: Yeah, it tastes good.
Dominic: Very German.
John Daub: Stop it. Looks good. Sounds good. But does it taste good? I'm not sure. Is there — is there a better place up ahead?
Dominic: He said there's a special market over there. And then there's also a medieval market.
John Daub: A medieval market? You're gonna get medieval on me here? Oh, but it's worth it.
Dominic: I think it's worth it.
John Daub: Okay. All right, let's do it. I'm gonna go over here. Just look at the meat first. Okay, let's take a look at this meat. Check it out, man. Wow. This is like sausage and pretzels. This is Germany. Hey, Faye. Thank you very much, Faye. I see Faze in the house. All right, let's — let's get medieval. Let's get medieval. What is this building? That's to our right here. That's what it does. That's the town hall. That's medieval, right? So we're already getting medieval on you, right? It's up there. And this — this is just too cool. It's starting to rain, but it's not — it's like snow, right? It's not —
Steve: It's not too bad.
John Daub: It's not too bad.
Dominic: My thermos is empty, but I brought my own beer.
John Daub: Dominique brought his own beer. Yeah, Kanpai to that, brother. Yeah. So basically the alcohol — the drinking laws are similar to Japan. Like you can just —
Steve: You can get a beer. I think it's 16. But any of the hard stuff, you got to be — I don't know exactly 18 or so.
John Daub: I think you couldn't do this in the United States — like drink alcohol outside and walk around. Yeah. But Japan's is very much like Germany in that respect.
Steve: All the better.
John Daub: Yeah, in that respect. So we're going to another medieval market while walking past — hmm. It's also a medieval shop.
Dominic: Do you want to try the beer?
John Daub: Yeah, sure. Okay, hold on. We gotta down this one.
Dominic: Okay. Yeah, that's the right attitude.
John Daub: Very good.
Dominic: Oh, he finished it all in one. Good guy.
John Daub: Good guy. That's right. I got the heart of a German, actually. Yeah, my — my father's side of the family is German. From Heidelberg.
Dominic: Yeah. Now you should try the beer. I can take your —
John Daub: Do this. Okay, don't tell Kanai. Let's try it.
Dominic: Very good. Come by.
John Daub: Wow.
Dominic: It's good.
John Daub: That's good. I've never had a flavor like that before. It's not hoppy like the American beers. It's got a slightly bitter, but there's a deep characteristic taste that I — it's a German beer. How can you describe it? It's from Munich. Okay, so there's different beers than Hofbräu and Augustiner — we say in the U.S. Augustiner.
Dominic: Almost every small city has its own brewery, you know.
John Daub: Ah.
Dominic: So there are thousands of beers.
John Daub: Thousands of beers.
Dominic: So. But this is very famous in Munich area.
John Daub: All right, very cool. So let's go meet some more people as we walk towards the medieval market. So we're leaving Marienplatz and we're — we're at market to another market, right? Yeah, yeah, yeah. So we're — we're in downtown Munich. You can see there's a rail — some streetcars that go by here. And in the distance you can see some more Christmas illuminations underneath that bridge there. You know, beyond Mango — like the Zara. These are all like, like brand shops. This is pretty shopping district-y area kind of a place. This could be like Ginza in Tokyo.
Dominic: Yeah, but this — this sort of was like Ginza to me. It reminds me of old buildings left and right.
John Daub: Yeah, right. There you go. There you go. All right, straight. Straight on. All right, we're getting — we're getting close there. Stick with us, guys. Just making sure you're still — still there. You can see city hall in the distance behind us. So we walk closer and closer to the medieval Christmas market. Now I don't know if they're going to be shackling and chaining us up on that stretcher thing, you know — I'm talking about the one in the basements and the dungeons of castles. I don't think they're going to be doing that. But you never know. That's what kind of makes this exciting. All right. Up here. Ah, get off of me. You can see some Christmas decorations. I like that. This street's — this street's not as Christmassy as the Christmas market.
Dominic: Over there's Maximilian Street. Maximilian Street is really Ginza because — because it's the most expensive street with all the high-brand stuff.
John Daub: Yeah.
Dominic: And Munich is maybe the most expensive city in Germany.
John Daub: Really?
Dominic: Yeah.
John Daub: The most expensive city. More than Berlin?
Dominic: Yes.
John Daub: Wow.
Ross: Definitely. Especially the rent is insane.
John Daub: The rent's insane here.
Dominic: So that's why I told you — the Ginza is from Germany.
John Daub: Yeah, the Ginza is from Germany. So I guess that's why Starbucks can't afford the rent. They don't have any shops here. Sorry, Starbucks — Munich Hauptbahnhof. Oh, don't give him any credit.
Dominic: The Japanese Starbucks are nice with all the Kyoto style.
John Daub: Oh, the Kyoto — the Kyoto one's very nice. And they're opening up more like that style, which is — which is really cool. Oh, the one in Fukuoka by who's — who's the architect? The same one who's making — is making the Kengo Kuma. He's the same as making the Olympic stadium. Yeah. So you're from Augsburg?
Ross: Yes, I'm from Oxford.
John Daub: Right. Do you often come over to Munich?
Ross: My brother and his wife live here, so yeah, from time to time.
John Daub: All right. There's different people. Not everyone is here watching. Yeah, I was gonna say it's like I think I understood what they said. No, I didn't. No, I didn't. I speak very little German.
Ross: It's a hard language to learn.
John Daub: I think that makes me feel better. Have you picked up any Indian?
Ross: Even more than your — your German, I think.
John Daub: Really?
Ross: Yeah, I just — just know a few very little words. I know like "Namaste."
John Daub: Namaste. That's a big one. Yeah, that's a big one.
Ross: I can count until 10, but I'm not gonna do it now.
John Daub: Can I know the important ones, right? Can I know? Pani — water. Eat, eat. Bus. Bus is enough — enough — no more food. Pani puri. These are the foods that she was force-fed while she was in India. Because family tends to feed you a lot when you're — wow, everything is so different. Look at the architecture, how beautiful the streets are. Where Mumbai is so chaotic — everyone doing everything, going all over the place, honking the horn. No car horns, no chaos. To me, it just freaks me out a little bit because we were in India 10 hours ago.
Okay, this is another Christmas market. So — Christmas market. Oh, I see. So what — basically what I'm learning and I — I don't know this. Christmas markets in cities, they're not just located in one area. They're all over the city. So you can — so Berlin is a — is a mess. There's a lot of — there's a lot of markets in Berlin.
Ross: But the one in Nuremberg is very famous because it's so beautiful and there's like a girl every year who —
John Daub: So I don't want to disturb you, but would you like to see the first one — on the Residenz? There's also a small one — there's very nice, very beautiful. Let's see it.
Dominic: I'm all in.
John Daub: Oh. What? I did not expect that. It was so dark. I was — all right, we are following you. This has exceeded my expectations because the shopping street was kind of depressing me. But now — but now with the music in the background, this could be a scene from the movie A Christmas Story. This is the 1950s American Christmas feeling. The feeling that we've lost over generations. Just — it's gotten so commercial. But here we have bands playing. What? What? Do you hear that? There's trumpeters playing songs. This feels like the — like the 1950s America from the movie Christmas Story. You know the one where he shot his eye out? Ah, this is awesome. It's full of people. Ah, bring them on. I have Vodafone 4G LTE. This is impenetrable. Oh, this is awesome. Look at this. I can't even read that sign. It's so cool. All right. Wow. Yeah. Oh, this is the Christmas market in here. Yeah. Yeah. What this is — I would never have found this. So we have about 15 viewers of Only in Japan from Germany that are here joining us to show Kanai and I these amazing Christmas markets. And this is one of them. What? What? Oh, this is one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen. Good night. Oh, my. Look at this. Are you seeing this on the other side? This is beautiful. And it's all in this courtyard, surrounded in the — there's a courtyard surrounding us. I feel like I am back — you know, I did call you — are you — are you seeing this? Do you see this?
Dominic: Yeah.
John Daub: How? I didn't know this market. Why you didn't know? I don't know. This is not Japan anymore.
Ross: More —
John Daub: Honey, this is Munich. Hello. Yay.
Steve: Can I get a quick photo with you? I need to head back to the train station.
John Daub: Okay. Yeah, sure.
Steve: Together.
John Daub: Can I come on in here? Right here.
Steve: Sorry to run, but it's good to finally meet you.
John Daub: Thank you, Steve. Yeah.
Steve: And enjoy your trip.
John Daub: And the rest of you, let me know when you come to Japan.
Steve: And it was good to meet you.
John Daub: Nice to meet you.
Steve: And I'll definitely be meeting you in Japan next.
John Daub: Thanks, David. Thank you. Take care. You're welcome. He's got to go back to Frankfurt. He came a couple of hours — how — how far was Frankfurt? Like two, three hours, isn't it? He came two, three hours to come and say hi. That's pretty nice of Steve. So very thankful. Brought a nice gift for me, Kanai. So really, really thankful for that. That's the Christmas spirit. The Christmas spirit is you don't think about yourself. You think about other people. I like that. That's what I love about this time of year. It just, you know, all that stuff that we might have forgotten, it just comes back to you. The love that we have for one another. That's Christmas. Look at that. This is incredible. Thanks. I want deeper is good. I go deep. I will dive into the depths of this abyss. Let's go to the abyss. Who's hungry? I don't know if you got food. Oh, I got so many things I want to say. Smells so good. Can I ask you why? What — what is with this?
Dominic: The — the helicopter? Yeah, yeah, yeah.
John Daub: This is — I asked the other one, but I cannot say in English. This is a Pyramide. It's special Christmas — just in Germany. Or — yeah, but I don't — I think we have no English word for this. It is beautiful. And you can see, like, it looks like what could be the nativity scene or something. Very religious figures rotating like — like a carousel. It's beautiful. Wow. And we're gonna take you — we're gonna take you somewhere to kind of give you more of a Christmas feeling. So thanks for joining us. There was about 10 minutes of depressing walk to get here, but, wow, was it worth it. This is such a different experience compared to Marienplatz. All the people — it's so crowded, too. Like, in a good way. Everyone's happy and drinking and just — jolly. Is that a word? I mean, I always associate jolly with Christmas. Just jollativity here. It's a word. I would love a snack. Think — let's have some snacks. What do you guys think? Snacks. Did we lose everybody?
Dominic: I think they are all still there over here.
John Daub: Hey, Lenny. Lenny, chiming in here. Get Kanai a gift — you got it. You got it, Lenny. All right, let's go this way. Yeah. Kanai wants one of these Christmas ornaments. So we're gonna get something — we're gonna get one that we'll show you, Lenny. Wow. Are you guys seeing this? This is one of the most beautiful things I've seen with Christmas. It's so — I don't know. You have to be here. It's hard for me to — to express myself through the — the live video here. It's just — wow. It's a big party. It really is a party and a celebration of — of Christmas and wine and food and beer and everything. Germany. I don't know, like, just saying stuff. Oh, it's over here. Okay. That's where we entered through that — through that one gate. That's the only — that's — is that the only entrance right there? That's the only entrance. There's no other entrance in that gate that we came in, which is right in the middle of your screen. All right, we're gonna try some food here. I'm gonna — I'm trying to keep the group together at the same time as live streaming this, so we're doing a pretty good job. I can smell the food. I'm so hungry. I can't — I — I can't believe we've been 37 minutes into this live stream and I haven't eaten anything yet. This is — this is unacceptable. So let's get in there. Oh, there he is. Okay. Sorry, sorry. I love your videos. Love it. I love it. You're the great man. You're the best. Where are you from? From uni. Okay. Wow. I'm doing — I'm actually doing a meetup of other viewers. I was in Marienplatz, and they led me here. I'm like, what is this place? This is amazing. It's actually the best place to be. It's a secret place. Yeah. It's hidden. Everyone said they wanted more secret alleys and stuff. This is it. Yeah. It's the best place.
Steve: It's the best place.
John Daub: Awesome. Enjoy it. Thank you. Thank you very much. This is awesome. Bye. Bye. Bye. They watch the show. That's so cool. Yeah. Here or here. You can eat a rat. All right. I'm totally — I don't — I'm done. I — let's do it. Bratwurst. Very long Bratwurst. Yeah. All right. I'm into long Bratwurst. Who else wants some long Bratwurst? Let's do it. Oh, it really is long. Oh, there's a line. Is there a queue? I think there's — the queue is here. All right, I'm gonna get in the queue. Are you in the Q2? Are you in the line for that? Okay. All right, I'm in line now. Can I — I know. Do you guys want some Bratwurst? I shouldn't — I shouldn't shout that. I'm that American guy who's shouting in English and — yeah, I know how it is. I got no problems with it? Kanai — I can't find Kanai. I think she kept walking. She kept walking. Actually, they're moving really fast, so I think we're gonna be in the front of the line. Typically in live stream, I would avoid — I would completely avoid this, but I mean — Bratwurst — and I didn't even get into the stollen and all this stuff. You know what? If I cannot get enough of the food in on this, I'm gonna do this tomorrow, too. This is gonna be part two to this live stream. Okay. Totally. This is too cool not to keep just live streaming. I have — I got 10 gigabytes of bandwidth from Vodafone today, and I'm gonna use every single gigabyte. Every megabyte is going to get used into live streaming this amazing experience for you guys. This has nothing to do with Japan, but it has everything to do with me. This is kind of — you know who I — this is what I love about life, this kind of stuff.
The rain is starting to come down. You can see maybe the screen is a little bit of water on it. Hold on. Keep the lens — don't lose Kanai. I'm looking for — oh, she's — she's talking. I found her. She's talking with some of the viewers over there. I wish — I wish it was colder so it would be snow instead of rain. I really wish it was colder. Everyone's speaking — everyone's speaking German. I don't know why. That's just like — I don't even know what they're — it doesn't matter. It's — it's Christmas. Look at — they're enjoying a brat. And these are super brats. All right. This is super brats. I'm gonna be in Germany for two days, and then we're going to Paris next to visit a college — old college friend of mine who just had a baby. So it's kind of like family stuff. But I wanted to celebrate and spend some time with him and his family. And then we go to Iceland and then to New York to visit — to stay with our family. My family in — in the United States. So I've seen the family from India and the family from the US.
Bratwurst. Wow. That looks like 50 centimeters or something. What — they got spicy sauce? Whoa.
Dominic: No.
John Daub: Okay. Sorry. Oh, here. Oh, I got it. Wow. So it's like — you milk it. Oh, thank you. Oh, thank you. Oh, extra there. Thank you. It's the same. Okay. Ketchup. Okay. Wow, that's a brat, man. Yeah, well, it's big. It's so big, they had to fold it in half to fit it in the baguette. It could have been larger, but they decided to cut it in half. This is incredible. This is a real German brat. Look at — look at the meat in that. Look at steaming. This is for Lenny, too. Lenny. Thank you. This is — this first bite is dedicated to Lenny. I know it says — people say, not ketchup. Don't put ketchup on there. I know. I didn't know what I was putting on it. She was the one squeezing the — I don't know. Can I lick it off and then eat it? Does that work again?
Dominic: Put mustard on it.
John Daub: Put mustard on it. Hmm. Mustard. I thought that was spicy sauce. Okay. Anyways, all right. Bon appétit. No, that's French — what do you say in German for guten Appetit? Which is so good. So good. German brat. That's so good. Hey, don't eat too much of it. It's mine. I'm done. It's good. I'm joking. Ketchup is for hot dogs. But I didn't know what — what they were doing. There's — I'm saving this section for the mustard. The — the nib — the part there. It's really good. What's next? Let's go to the next market. There's more markets. All right, let's keep going. Oh, who — do you have my glass? Okay, good. Okay, the dummy's coming. He's giving me the glass.
Dominic: Where's Peter? Peter is watching. No, Peter.
John Daub: Where's Peter? Ah, Peter. Peter, where are you? Why aren't you in Munich? This would have been pretty cool if Peter was here. Peter von Gomm has some German in him too. Peter's — Peter's — he's German, right? Peter von Gomm. He can't — he can't take down a 50-centimeter brat. He's got a lot — he's got a good voice, but he can't eat that much. There's a reason why he's riding motorcycles around town. I'm just kidding. All right, we're going to the next market. We're going to one more market. This is pretty cool. This is like market hopping in Munich. Gonna stick with Kanai — can I — while I'm talking to you, can I suck it to everybody else? I don't care. I don't care. That ketchup is on there. It just tastes good. All right, let me give this to Kanai. Hey — bad job by Kanai. Flammkuchen — oh, she's — she — that — she's been wanting to eat that too. I totally will. If we do not get that today, we're going to be doing a part two tomorrow. Totally. This is — this is too much food. Wow. Wow. Look at behind me.
Dominic: A few hundred meters until the medieval market.
John Daub: Okay.
Dominic: There's a drink called — do you know Met (honey mead)?
John Daub: Met?
Dominic: Yeah.
John Daub: This is met with meat.
Dominic: It's like honey beer.
John Daub: Oh, honey beer. What is this behind us? This is beautiful.
Dominic: I'm not sure.
John Daub: Oh, you're from Augsburg. Okay. What's this behind us here? It's beautiful. Yeah. To describe in English — yeah, it's beautiful. The one thing with Tokyo is that, you know, in Japan, everything is made of wood. And this is Only in Japan — if you're watching and you don't watch Only in Japan — I usually do things about Japan, but in Japan, things are made of wood. And after World War II, after the bombing in March of 1945, they lost a lot of the history. And here in Germany during World War II, they suffered a lot of bombing, but a lot of it is still here or reconstructed in such a beautiful way. You can feel the history in Munich and you can a little bit in Tokyo. But most of the history in Japan is outside of the cities which I can really feel the history. I can feel a lot of — I don't know, it's just — it's for me — for me living in Japan and coming to a place like this, it's just cool. It's just — it's just cool. I don't know — I just — I can't explain it. How do you feel about Germany? This is — this is so good. Oh, this is so good. But it's like just different than Japan. It's very, very different. And Japanese Christmas market — it's more small and different. But German Christmas market is very beautiful. Yeah, very beautiful.
All right, we're going past the Yubari — I'm trying to get to the sign here. Everyone's going underground. Oh, a Benz here. You said that. Oh, wow. This is like the Nissan building in Ginza. So you got some of the best Benzes here. That's a small — poochie — Benji — Benz. Yeah, Japanese-sized Mercedes Benz. That's like a Range Rover — Mercedes Benz.
Dominic: Wow.
John Daub: These Benzes, Santa — will that fit in your sled? I'm just kidding. Sorry, Santa. Don't put me on the naughty list. Oh, there he is. Okay, we're getting pointed — we get point in the right direction. Oh, look at this. This is beautiful. The street, look at it — are we crossing the street? Just kind of — guys, if you're watching on the other side, absorb this. Look at this. Ah, it's beautiful. You see the Christmas lights in the — oh, we got a green — a green light. Or in Japan would say a blue. All right, we're going to one more market. Now what I was told was that was like a secret market. Now we're going to the medieval market. This is insane. People don't have faces on the street. Look at this — the faceless. Wow. Munich's really awesome. All right, let's meet some more of our — some more of the viewers that have come here to have some Christmas street food with us. It's — you know, I don't even know what to call this episode. Munich market — Munich Christmas street food adventure. I don't know. What do you call this market? Bing run? Something. I don't know. Can you still see Dominique up there? Can you? I can't see them.
So this is the medieval market. This is — what should we eat here? Let's see. The list is very long. I'm going — turn the camera around. Check it out. We're going to find something. I'm getting the signal. We've been signaling — unfortunately, we have to leave you now.
Dominic: Oh, do you? Yeah.
John Daub: You have to feed our little kitty cats at home. Thank you so much. Thank you. No, thank you for coming. Thank you very much. Amazing to meet up. Thanks for giving us the opportunity to meet you. Come to Japan. Yeah, come to Japan and I'll see you — see you there then. Yeah, that would be great. All right. Thanks so much. My pleasure.
Dominic: My pleasure.
John Daub: Get home safely. Take care. Bye.
That was so nice that they came out. A lot of people got to leave. I — it's — it's starting to — is this snow or rain? I don't know. This could be rain. Oh, this is — oh, look at this Christmas market. Look at this Christmas market. This is a totally different kind of Christmas market. It's got a completely different vibe to it. A vegan option. Wow. That's important. Like what? When I think of German food, I think of meat — meat. So to see it — to see different options. Wow. Raisins. Oh, almonds. Wow. Wow. These are roasted almonds. Oh, these smell so good.
Dominic: Cinnamon flavor.
John Daub: That is really good. I've never tasted anything like that. Cinnamon is not a popular taste in Japan. Wow. Cinnamon is essential to Christmas. Cinnamon from Sri Lanka. I was taking cinnamon from the tree last week — in Sri Lanka. Yeah. In Colombo, you could go to the park and you would just prick the tree — just punch a little hole in the tree from the bark and you could eat the cinnamon. Weird. It's weird.
Dominic: Here, you see there's not much electricity —
Steve: Light.
Dominic: It's more —
John Daub: Yeah.
Dominic: Open fire.
John Daub: Yes.
Dominic: So this traditional medieval style.
John Daub: So that's why they stay away from, like, the modern Christmas. And they — they do medieval — medieval Christmas.
Dominic: You can always do a mixture.
John Daub: That's right. There's a little bit of everything. You see these flames of fire — what flames are. Gives a good medieval feel to it. Oh, yeah, yeah. Which — which market do you like the best?
Dominic: If you go, you have enough time because it opens early in the morning, so you have to go to every — to all of the markets.
John Daub: So basically, I mean, is there, like, Christmas market tourism maybe? Is that a thing?
Dominic: I think the Christmas market hopping also — Nuremberg is very famous.
John Daub: Yeah. Nuremberg is where I want to go tomorrow. I'm probably going to stay here in Munich. But Nuremberg also has a really good Christmas market. But I, you know, this is so awesome. The food is so good. I could see this being a tour — like, Christmas market tourism. In Germany, you go to like 12 towns over the course of two weeks and just eat. I could — I could see this happening.
Dominic: You can also see those letters. You know, that's why I think it's —
John Daub: Oh.
Dominic: For you to read, maybe.
John Daub: Yeah, I can't read that. I just — I can't — I can't even read kanji. How do you expect me to read this? I can't. What does it say, Ross? Wow. Steamed dumplings. Sounds like something from Asia. It's a different — maybe potato-based or something. Yeah. Yeah. Did we lose Kanai? I don't want to lose Kanai. Okay, there she is. If you lose Kanai, it's big. I'm in big trouble. Can't lose Kanai. You still see her. There she is. So we're in Munich. For those tuning in right now, this is the third of three Christmas markets we're going to be exploring. I'm the one easy to find because I'm the one holding a smartphone in my hand.
All right, that almond was really good. I kind of want to go back and get some more. Can I, Lenny? Lenny. Lenny gave us some money to get a present. Is there something that you want to get? You want to get a Christmas ornament? Yeah. All right, so, Lenny, we're gonna go get a Christmas ornament. Maybe tomorrow, because we're doing the meetup now. We're gonna — thank you, Lenny. Look at this over here. They're, like, huddled in a little box. What's up with the box? Yeah. Are they performing? Is this a performance? I don't think so. It's a performance of eating and drinking. There's a lot of — I have more questions and answers for you, but what I do, what I can tell you definitively, is that this — these markets are awesome. And — and they're medieval. And it's authentic — well, compared to Japan. All right, let's get one more food for this.
Dominic: I wanted to get a Feuerzangenbowle. But it's so crowded.
John Daub: Oh, is that what the crowd is for? You see the crowd? It's a horde of zombies hovering over fresh meat. I've been watching too much of that Walking Dead series that I just totally ruined the Christmas spirit. Oh, it's right there. Okay. Fish. Raj. Samantha writes in — they sing. I know some Christmas songs. Jingle bells, Batman smells, Robin laid the Batmobile, lost a wheel, and the Joker got away.
Hey, what do we got over here? Oh, this is the meat. There's no line for meat. Is there something wrong with people? Yeah. Nice to meet you. Let's get some meat. Medieval drink. Whoa. Like honey mead — honeybee. This is the monk drink. This is what the monks drink. Pious people. Yeah, and I'll take you up here. She's wearing — she's wearing medieval clothes. Oh, they got like — monk — monk — monk mugs. Wow. How much — how much is this? Get a prep. I got a wallet full of Euro. Hold on a second.
Dominic: You just let me buy it. You can give me another one after the live.
John Daub: All right. Okay. Okay. All right, Dominic. You got it. You got it, brother. But they're served in like these — these medieval-looking glasses. This is really cool. Anyone want some medieval? This drink will take you back to the Middle Ages. One sip and you — you travel back in time and never return until morning with a headache.
The thing is, the lines are really long now. Unless you like live streams of lines, this might be — I think Kanai and I are going to do part two at the market of just eating. The daytime is not many people, right? Because people working. Right, right. Normal people are working. We're not normal. So we'll be with the tourists, eating. Take your time. Right. We can take our time. What would you recommend that we try? Yeah, that we haven't had.
Dominic: So you already have the sausage?
John Daub: Yeah, with ketchup. Because it's —
Dominic: It's brilliant.
John Daub: Yeah.
Dominic: Smoked fish and everything.
John Daub: Smoked fish, yeah, exactly.
Dominic: Like the whole thing. Just go and film all the food for — because it's like a —
John Daub: No —
Dominic: I recommend.
John Daub: Oh, hello. Welcome. I saw you on the live.
Dominic: So right here.
John Daub: Oh, awesome. We saw in the live. So you found us the medieval. Nice to meet you. I'm John. Yay. It's a lot of people here.
Dominic: There it is.
John Daub: What is this? What is this? Ah, it's in a medieval mug. It looks like a mace.
Dominic: There's also a drink called Thor's Hammer.
John Daub: Wow.
Dominic: Okay.
John Daub: Cheers. Those medieval people knew how to drink.
Dominic: Yeah, of course. Otherwise they would not survive.
John Daub: They really like — they really liked alcohol back in the medieval days. Thor's to you in a cup with — with spikes. This is high in alcohol, isn't it?
Dominic: I think so.
John Daub: I think so.
Dominic: Tastes like —
John Daub: Tastes like it.
Dominic: I really — one day I drank a lot of it and I felt really bad the next day.
John Daub: Yeah, you lose your Christmas spirit a little bit.
Dominic: It was not a Christmas market — it was there sometimes medieval markets. Oh, so you can also drink it cold in summer times if it's a medieval market. Not only a Christmas market.
John Daub: Wait, so there are medieval markets just —
Dominic: all year round like this, but without the Christmas spirit and you drink it cold, basically.
John Daub: I'm really starting to love Germany. Medieval markets without the Christmas spirit. So you just drink — basically.
Dominic: We are maybe even — there are also — also the — the people who visit the market —
John Daub: They also wear like the lady in the hair.
Dominic: Yeah, they all were — this is in my village, for example.
John Daub: So I would be the — do they have jesters? I could be the court jester — the one with the jingle bells. The jingles on his head and he has to dance like the monkey. I could do that. I can't do the — I can't do the other parts.
Dominic: If you drink more of this, it tastes better.
John Daub: I would hope so. It's not bad. It's kind of fruity. It's got a — it's got a fruit taste to it.
Dominic: Honey.
John Daub: Taste, taste. It's got a — right, honey. Smells like alcohol. You want some alcohol? Are you the — go ahead and smell. Hold it. Hold it, baby, hold it. Are you the designated driver tonight?
Dominic: But on the right side.
John Daub: On the right side, right? She's on the right side of history too, right? I'm on the wrong side. Cheers. We have some more medieval — medieval drinkers here. So this comes with the same recipe. I wonder — probably it's made of mead. It's really strong. Honey, honey, honey, honey. She doesn't know what I'm — sometimes she just — honey. I think she's hungry. Oh, she's behind me. Honey, honey — do you — are you hungry? Yeah. You still got the sausage. All right, I can eat a little bit more. Do you want to do a part two tomorrow? A little bit maybe. Yeah. You eat half. It's okay. How is — how is your drink? The non-alcoholic one? It's so good. It was so good. Yeah, it's sweet, but it's so good. Yeah. It smells so nice. Smells so nice. So does this.
Dominic: It's always good for jet lag. It's against the jet lag.
John Daub: Yeah, I am slightly jet lagged. Literally, I went to the airport at midnight. The flight took off at 4. We didn't sleep. I didn't get — I got to get about an hour of sleep on the plane. We changed planes in Dubai and then we arrived in Germany right before 12 o'clock noon. We checked into the hotel early and then we got ready for the meetup. We haven't really slept, but Kanai looks — still looks good. Always looks. Hey now. Hey now. This is my second — this is only my second drink. Give me one more and I'll look — I'll look 20 years younger. Yeah. Ah, yes, a monster for Gretchen. Does this not have a name though? Just medieval drink. Mead — mead — M-E-A-D, right? M-E-T — meet me at — oh, they haven't got a sign. Oh, well then I didn't see the sign. They gotta write that medieval. You know what? In the Middle Ages they needed neon lights like we have in Japan. You really can't see Met — which is in the center of your screen. That's what this drink is. And there is the — I don't know, I guess — wench. I don't know. What are they? Beer — when alcohol wenches. I used to read medieval works in — nowadays it's not a good thing to call people but in the Middle Ages wench was a real word. I believe. I don't — I — I could be wrong.
Dominic: No drunks.
John Daub: Yeah. I don't know what the medieval lingo was for the beer ladies, but it's nice to see people. What do you think about this? The mead? What do you think about it? So it's — it's — it's really pleasant tasting aftertaste. I'm surprised — at my first sip of it, I was like, whoa, this is kind of strong. And then after the three or four sips, it grows on you. Yeah, yeah. And then better and better — then maybe the hot drinkers — okay.
Steve: There's —
John Daub: On the surface it's very similar — it's — it's sweet. But it's similar, I think, to hot sake. Yeah. Yeah.
Dominic: Has a little bit —
John Daub: You can see when — when the nice woman — I don't want to call her a wench anymore. I don't actually know what the meaning is. Is — I just think I've read it —
Dominic: The same word like "Die" in German.
John Daub: Yeah, it could be. But if you look when she serves it, it just comes out steaming hot. It's just like a glass of atsukan which is a hot sake.
Dominic: Do you know the — the thunder god Thor?
John Daub: Oh, Thor. Yeah, he's a hammer.
Dominic: There's a drink called Thor's Hammer.
John Daub: Yeah.
Dominic: I don't know what's inside, but one order it and he said "I want one hammer of" — so yeah, maybe it's hot liquor and —
John Daub: Check it out — it's steaming. That's how hot it is coming out of those medieval-looking mugs. It's awesome. What do you — what do you think of this? It's very sweet. Yeah, it's very sweet. But I like it. You like it — grows on you, right? After a while. After the first brew. Yes. Yeah, after the first Gluhwein. Yes, very true. It is a pleasant taste. I do feel like — like this is pretty cool. Like this is what they drink is still — so yes, this is — wait, what I like — how long do these markets go on for? But like in one night, when does it — it starts all day and then it ends at midnight — 9 o'clock. Okay, not so long.
Let us, before we end the live — the 70-minute live stream — but let's go to some of the stands and show — I want to show you some of these amazing stands. So let's go ahead and — and just show you. I'm gonna turn the camera on so you don't have to look at my mug. Drinking mead. Do we put a deposit on this too? Okay, we'll bring it back after. All right, we're gonna start from the front and then work our way back. I — I don't know. Sorry. I'm holding the Olympic torch. It looks like people are getting away from me holding a camera. Speaking of the Olympic torch, it's just one that's on the table right there. That's pretty funny. Good segue, John.
All right, these little huts. Each one of these huts serves something different. And we're gonna start from this hut and we're gonna just — just stick around because it's gonna be pretty interesting. We're gonna pan from hut to hut and show you what's inside of each one. All right. And each one of these huts has like a — oh, my gosh. That guy looks like he's from Harry Potter. Wow. He's selling stuff. He looked like it was from Harry Potter. And this is selling some jewelry — no, pottery from the Middle Ages. And this — this hut has a beautiful red light in there. But they're also serving something. I don't know what it is, but she's got a cape on. Looks like potions. What? Wait, hold on a second. These are potions. What — what is others? Potions.
Dominic: I think this is liquor.
John Daub: A liquor.
Dominic: But I will take a look. Maybe it's something nice.
John Daub: Oh, really? Can I film this? I guess so. Hold on. Follow Dominique. Look, she's — there's like a — a distillery. And then there's like potions. Looks like it could be liquor. I don't know. Is it potions? Okay.
Dominic: Liquor. Hard liquor.
John Daub: Hard liquor. Not — not magical potions.
Dominic: No magical potions.
John Daub: There's magic in the liquor. So there are different kinds of like — like schnapps and booze, but it looks like — interesting. 20 alcohol, 23 alcohol. Everything is about 15% and higher. Whoa. Are you buying vials?
Dominic: Yeah. So we can — maybe we share it so we can try both.
John Daub: Yeah, get vials — get some vials of — of potions.
Dominic: Some potion. It will —
John Daub: Potion vials. Look, and she's — she's filling the vials with potions. This is magical. This is more than schnapps.
Dominic: This is the cost —
John Daub: Wow. And they're unlabeled. You don't mix them. Wow. So, Shlomo — the — the market — everyone can speak — everyone seems to be able to speak English, so don't worry about it. Everyone — everyone —
Dominic: English.
John Daub: Yeah, it's bilingual. Wow.
Dominic: Then let's try it in the live stream.
John Daub: Thank you. Thank you. Drink it on — what if you disappear? Just — what if you disappear? What if — what if you turn into a — a gargoyle or — oh, whoa.
Dominic: I think it's John's turn.
John Daub: Oh. What? Wait, after that reaction — I don't know. I don't know, man. After that reaction, I want to see it live. Oh, seriously, Kai — seriously. Is it? Oh, well, now that you said that. All right.
Dominic: That's the hot stuff, man. Very tasty. Is it tasty?
John Daub: This is — this is what Christmas was before it was Christmas. Yeah. You better cork that potion. I'm turning into something else. This is an evil potion. I'm gonna take one of these from Peter — Jennifer, they have another one. Is that a good one or an evil one? How do you know what it is? Are you sure that was evil? The last one's very evil, so I —
Dominic: I think this is the good one.
John Daub: All right, let's try it.
Dominic: Okay, I take the half.
John Daub: All right. You could take more than half if you want. Maybe it — only that's not a good face. If — if — that could be a meme.
Dominic: Oh, my God. Maybe this is the thing — the picture for the live stream. You have to try this. There's no —
John Daub: We call this in the science world wafting.
Dominic: I told my Japanese friend there's no rest at Oktoberfest and there's no rest at Christmas market either. You know, it's a bit — not so — it's a bit better, though.
John Daub: This is — this is a Christmas market.
Dominic: I don't know.
John Daub: This is evil market. This is evil market. This isn't a Christmas — Christmas. I came here. Evil market, evil spirits. But you look happier now.
Dominic: Yeah, you get happier if you drink it somehow. I don't know why, but you get happier. So nice.
John Daub: I like your thinking, man. Yeah, I like your thinking.
Dominic: Yeah. I was hoping your chat — like is not —
John Daub: Oh. Oh. Mine's the one that's mostly filled. Yeah, that's how you know. Thank you, potion woman. I don't know what else to call — I don't want to make her mad. He's just evil. Oh, I could — if I had a lighter and I went like this, I would make a flame. That would put this — all these huts down.
All right, we gotta check out these other huts. That's what I promised. Oh, my — oh. Whoa. Ah. Where's Kanai? All right, this hut is steaming. What is this medieval hut of beauty? Let's take a look here. It looks like it's written from a medieval book in German. I can't read this handwriting, but they've got a tongue — a tank of — of other booze. Oh, these are — is that the Holy Grail? That's the Holy Grail. Is that the Holy Grail? That looks like the — the Holy Grail from Indiana Jones. Only the Covenant man shall pass. And he picked the one made out of wood. No, no, no, no. Do you want to try and try?
Dominic: No problem.
John Daub: Only the penitent man shall pass. Okay, next one. It's — it's getting more and more crowded, but this hut is fish. All right, I want to get a look at the fish. I don't know what's going on. All right, we're going to — excuse me. They're talking a high voice. They might think I'm a lady and actually — excuse me. Thank you. All right. Butter fish.
Dominic: Where's the rest of the people?
John Daub: So you can see the — the lady in the background. You have to wait a little bit. Oh, he opens up the thing. Oh, like — right — right now. Oh, I missed it. Oh, dagnabbit. All right, I gotta wait. When he opens it up, then you can see what's inside there. But he won't open it up unless you order it. So we gotta wait for somebody else to order it or we're gonna order something. You want some fish? Oh, oh — oh. He's cooking it like medieval fish. It's a salmon, but it sure looks good. Yeah.
Dominic: I hope you know where to go home to.
John Daub: The plate looks delicious. Kanai, you want some fish? Yeah, she's so hungry. All right, you can order it. Okay, hold on. Oh, the rain is starting to come down. It's really starting to rain. Guys, this is going to be the last — whatever. I think — it's not going to snow, is it? I just ate the napkin on this sausage, and I got the potato and cheese. You did it. Did you order in German? Oh, it closes so fast.
Dominic: It's the leek.
John Daub: Wow. It's good. But I put a lot of ketchup on the German sausage. Yeah.
Steve: Soda.
John Daub: It was a — oh, thanks. Thank you. All right, show us what you got. This fish. Medieval fish. This market is evil. Oh, my God. I can hardly stand up. Holy — holy. Oh, look at that fish. It looks beautiful. Oh, my word. Look at that piece of salmon. Well said. Well said. Look at that. All right, let's give it a try. Yeah, we should have moved. Let's move it. Let's get out of here. That's rude, too. Let's move to — yeah, that's right, Kanai. Let's move to a dark area where no one can see us what we're eating. Oh, let's go. Let's go over there where the — those ladies are. Ah, now we're talking. We got it. We got some light going on here. Yeah. Oh, look at that steam coming out of it. Medieval salmon — German sushi. Well, so to say. So to speak. The face says it all. So good. You're giving some to the people. Yeah. It's one for you. And inside there is potatoes with cheese. I'm still working on my mead — my mead. Ah, this mead is getting better and better. Kanai is eating — yeah, just eating the salmon with cheese potatoes that we just ordered from a medieval guy. Very good. Delicious. That smile says it all. There you go. So there you have it, everybody. This is the market here in Munich.
I'm gonna give you the last 20 seconds. Yes. We just spent 83 minutes walking the three different markets in Munich. This is crazy. I'm gonna spend the last 20 seconds giving you an inside look at where we didn't go because it's too crowded now. So thanks for watching, everybody. Enjoy this. Medieval Christmas — medieval is evil. Depends what you're drinking.
Steve: Wow.
John Daub: That's a lot of fun. Merry Christmas from Munich. See you tomorrow.