real into history ah, the cities, the mosaic of different people and languages. a ron's mountains reveal unparalleled beauty that as well. yeah, the scenery is magnificent particularly warm in our position is exceptionally ah, a special look at a special country. iran from above. starts december 27th on d, w. ah, ah, ah ah hello and welcome to this special christmas edition of check in every year in

december, germany is transformed into a huge winter wonderland. almost every town opens at least one christmas market. everywhere you go, the air is filled with a scent of roasted almonds, sausages and mold wine. these days you'll find christmas markets all over the world, but its origins lie in german speaking nations. free corona, germany boasted, at least 3000 christmas markets. last year 2020 all the market stayed shut. now many have reopened, mainly in northern germany, where the case rate is currently lower than in the south. we take a look at 3 of the most gorgeous christmas markets of 2021. we take you along on a tour of christmas kits in cologne,

lew back and berlin. we reveal the art of crafting a hand made icon and dressed and stolen or fruitless. and we attempt to solve the mystery of the christmas pickle in that a german or an american invention. oh, we start off at the christmas market at cologne cathedral. the tree at the center of the square is 25 meters tall. it surrounded by a canopy of lights comprising 70000 eli d's this year the stand and machin, or star girls who help visitors are also carrying out spot checks. good evening, we are checking whether you are vaccinated or recovered with the stand and mention, ensure people abide by the corona, virus restrictions only those who have been vaccinated against cove it or recovered

from it can visit the market and the costume girls scan people's proof of vaccination and issue stamps that are valid at cologne's other christmas markets to have a pleasant evening. by in this 2nd, pandemic winter checks are essential. but how do people react to them? daphne? and so each day i mentioned that the markets i've worked. people have always welcome to chess indian not so far. no one has gotten upset or anything. he goes with a stamp on your hand, you're ready to set off and see the sites. ah, did you know that the christmas market at cologne cathedral is the largest in all of germany? before the corona virus outbreak, 4000000 visitors flocked here and just for weeks this year, organizers expect only half as many guests. but that hasn't dampened both mood. the

one we live a lot less crowded than normal and we come to the cologne christmas market once a year. or if you are folks, or if there's still a nice holiday movie, we wouldn't want to miss any time here. it's very quiet you to corona, but the atmosphere is really pleasant. i will always miss agnes. i must say it's quite nice. i don't put you in a christmas mood soon. the lights are nice. the music to a good variety of stalls. i mean it's, we get interesting cuisine in the netherlands, but the german food is much nicer. it's lot more stark out, which i'm very fond of. but i love the, the potato pancakes that they have here is fantastic. and the, the luck from lexia. it's fantastic. yeah. and obviously the brought me those grilled sausages. waffled gingerbread and candy canes are classic treats sold

at every german christmas market. but cologne has things you won't find everywhere . you can have a photo taken with a loved one under the mistletoe. maybe even steal a kid, according to british traditions, that brings luck, or by a love law. you can attach it to one of the bridges over the rhine and cologne, or somewhere closer to home, to show that your bond is everlasting. the mugs used to serve, mold wine or another nice souvenir. there is a new design every year. the taste of cologne's organic mold, wine also undergo subtle changes. it is, and i had went to a special about our mode wine is that we offer red, white and rosy varieties. excellent. my refined by a team from the christmas market that includes somebody for fi maps. mm. and what would christmas be without music? other cities may have cancelled their big on stage events,

but the people of cologne loved singing too much to do that even performing carnival songs at the christmas market. so join in and sing along. ah ah, here are the 3 things you really must do at cologne's christmas market. to take a photo under the mistletoe sample, some organic mold wine, catch a show and sing along loudly. ah. 2 german bakeries operate at full capacity and run up to christmas loo producing treats such as gingerbread from nuremberg. and ah!

and not forgetting tito from dresden. this fruit love usually sells like hot cakes at the dress inch. pizza mocked not this year, though as the market remains shut, due to the karone of iron. in a report from the archive we show you once again how check in reporter lucas steger learned some tricks of the trade from us teachers. baker, before the pandemic hit injuries nurse a very proud of this story. a cake like fruit bread this christmas specialty even gave the market its name. the old german word for showing it's only original stolen . if it's baked in, one of the 150 bakery in and around please. and it has to have the steel of the shore protection association. i'm going to learn how to make

a real stone masturbate group. and krista is my boss, and i am his apprentice. oh, why is the stone protected down whisker should it has to be protected so that not any old baker in germany can call their fruit cake devised and stolen and blah pick . when does f m b o? so we got the idea for this seal, which every baker in his geographically protected area, again, jacob, diesel, beg, old dad jackie, a coffee shop if it's lock is spot before they do for they have to ensure their quality meets our standards. inch placement winds on forestall inflation, which ingredients have to be in it is much one for the northeast original dresden christmas stall and ingredients are always measured in relation to flour. fruit akilah, 8 to 500 grams of butter will come with a little smile. and alamba, we have a recipe that we have to follow from the 65 percent, sal tanis, we're sorry, 15 percent sweet and been almonds and 25 percent. candid lemon and orange peel. i'm

shot if and fanciful 10th it's hard work. the other stolen has its price. josh does not sign and we have to earn it will be no with him off. it always is the bowls of your hands. bend your fingers again and back again. what gonzalez' yar can exactly it's me had used the bulls of your hands. yeah. like a massage yard. that's why vegas is how healthy like i oh, i think isn't that she should have said i don't think band is impressed with me. our so sir, that now we pulled the corners in and then finish it off, pressing it together, loose through it to some. but they always though i'm not a natural annika discount, will manage, it would be more keep rolling it and pull it always rolling off. what does it by itself aligned to the galaxy? the next please do with us. it doesn't take a lot of effort. and murphy did we dropped dead on to $500.00 stolen a day,

almost done so thick that these are 8 low. so he's taking his out of the island so we can put am sam, your class? i'm cheap. making stone is good exercise 1.8 kilograms in each n him of nit. darby around time. though, this is the final product. ours just needs the finishing touches more butter. natalie was talking popup so pushed off of it when it was like a backup folder. the, i'll show you that action a bunch of people that are more on the site and still map it along form of ill and the grand finale icing sugar. good. that's enough. sugar's, good always. but too much is unhealthy. good. a synthetic i phone doesn't value

since an original dresden deshauna went from the l made by the apprentice. ah, our next stop is the historic old town of lou back home to one of the oldest christmas markets in northern germany. it was 1st mentioned in historical documents from the mid 17th century. we don't know precisely what the stalls were offering back then, but we can tell you what lou baxa tops these no sellers are today. from western germany we had nor to lu back. the whole thing gate is the hands, the attic cities, most famous landmark. it's image can be found all over lou, back christmas market. ah, the medieval old town provides the perfect backdrop for festive events. yet things are much quieter here than in cologne. the city band all stage shows to prevent

large gathering and has been produced strict safety measure how much do they can do back decided to impose a mosque mandate in the, in a city and to visit the market? is it is, must be either vaccinated against ovid or have recovered from it. they must present their id and approve the vaccination or try infection by can even knock by. so there's a high level of security. i've got something are visitors and operators really value in times like these safety play such a big role. this is another factor which contributes to that sense of safety. is that this year there are simply far fewer visitors. ah, in lieu back is an old trading and seafaring city that's always been well connected internationally. maybe that's why visitors come from all over

the i come from sweden time from cuba. i'm from venezuela. if i come from brazil, i'm from thailand. from brazil, wine and international, the round of mold wine among friends. though, in lou back, you should also give the foyer song and bow and try. but be where it's alcohol. content is quite high. on the bench about point sang and bowler is the sugarloaf on top, it's ok hyper rum and then from bait until the sugar life is melted from the recipe . red wine, orange like you have certain spices, i rum and mall. why it has to convert to own home environment? there's nothing like a mungo foiled song and bowl to warm your heart on cold days. with

a trip to lubbock at christmas time just wouldn't be as sweet without a visit to cafe nita vega. here you can get a taste of the festive holiday confection. lou back as famous for mars of han monte pong bush aid to that. at marson pan consists mainly of 2 ingredients, f, a, c, almon pot, and sugar hamas upon yet sustained. we in neither egg, i still make it the traditional way, guns i and tati said that he gives the mars a pan that roasted aroma west. we still roasted an old, copper kettles and i in west caisson glister. then we add a secret ingredient like line as to which i can't reveal it perhaps. but a small exhibition does reveal the firm's history. in 18 o. 6. johan georg, anita aga, opened a cafe. soon afterwards he started to make mars a pan, often pressing it into moulds like these. and this is his original recipe.

though, unfortunately, the secret ingredient is written on the back. mars the pan can be formed into virtually any shape, like these live sized figures. for instance. incidentally, the man with a top hat is johan georg, neither vega himself there's even a replica of lou backs, old town made almost entirely of martha pan. so these are the 3 must do that lu backs christmas mar ah. samples and lou back mars pam sipped some boiled song and bola and enjoy the flare of the old town with german christmas. markets are

also a great place to find tree decorations and not all of them traditional christmas pickles. for example, this is a trend that comes over to us from the united states. the pickles are really popular. they're apparently because they're thought of as typically german. but you won't find them on many trees here. d, w reporter halley rollinson set out to solve the christmas pickle. mystery. ah, yes. the christmas pickle. a beloved in time under german tradition. at least that's what i was told. but i'm in berlin at cody b. germany's biggest department store and i can't find a single one in these christmas trees. are all the pay. oh, but luckily i brought my own, but let me back up where i come from united states. many people think that all

germans hang a single pickle on their 1st mystery. even many american families follow this so called german tradition. so according to this tradition, the 1st person to find the christmas pickle on the christmas tree, yet an extra gift. but to be honest, i haven't seen or heard of a single christmas pickle in germany since i've lived here. so i'm going to ask some germans during their christmas shopping if they've heard of it. bang indeed, are you, hey, a christmas pickle on your christmas tree. this year i not spell it out. that must be a tradition elsewhere. it's not a german tradition. pardon me, do you mean transformed cucumber is not my favorite vegetable music? christmas. gunter christmas pickles? no, no. what's the christmas picking up? we'll give. what do you do with it? i even had to explain it to santa and germany. in fact, 12016 survey found that 91 percent of germans had never heard of it. so if this tradition isn't german, where does it come from?

and how did it end up in the united states? with a little christmas magic, i'm headed to the small german mountain village of now share in their india to explore that a bit more. if anyone knows the origin of a particular glass ornament, it's the people of lucia. they've been blown glass here since 1597 and producing ornament since the mid 19th century glass blemish ion hopper land is the 4th generation to take over his family christmas ornament. business he hand makes and sells glass ornaments, including the christmas pickle to buyers worldwide. but actually, he only learned about the tradition in recent years and a visit to california. i was asked and also you also make christmas pickle things. i just laughed, but then someone else asked me the same question until a 3rd. and i started wondering what is it with these christmas pickles? of answer one, explain that it's tradition and germany hang a pickle on your christmas tree. and thus, every american knows,

this was modeling. nobody in germany. doses cried little girl that made him curious . so he came home to search through his grandfather's glass molds from the 19 thirty's shop. not these of my found this gurkin old. since then, we've been producing these glass pickles. oh, now he sells pickle. ornaments to customers in places like japan, norway, switzerland, and of course the united states. but if he just learned about this, tradition, them, where did the story start? well, there are handful legends surrounding the origin of the christmas pickle. one sense that a prison guard took pity in a starving german born soldier during the american civil war and allowed him to eat a single pickle. with this act of kindness, he was able to survive and began hanging a pickle on the street each year. some say it was this man frank w bulworth, who needed a gimmick when he began importing ornaments from germany to the u. s. in 1880 s. but maybe i need to ask someone who knows this christmas town the best. so i'm

meeting la shamir, nor, but sits man at elliotts park last winter. founded in 1853. this is the oldest still existing glasses in town, mister mer 0. the tradition of the christmas pickle is determined by not school go home. we were confused assistant, a christmas pickle up. what's that? that's what we learned that abroad and people are convinced the christmas pickle is an essential german christmas item made. and lucia is personally, i think some clever marketing guy invented this. one site is opposite amazon. lucia has been making glass pickle, square feet, simply because foreigners believe it's a local specialty of motor convicts to corker. ok, so i still don't have an exact answer, but there might still be hope i'm going to talk to gary ross, a local who came across the pickle tradition in his research for a magazine and marcia glass. so what can you tell us about the history of the christmas pickle help be should not be washed. i did some research and found out

that a some family tradition of giving that person i'm found the special christmas tree decoration on the tree, the 1st or largest gift on the screws, so that the as the getting to the on dark, that's how the christmas break or story originator, why not squiggle mark so we may never know exactly where this pickle tradition comes from, but it certainly is a little bit of fun. and me, one day the germans will know what i'm talking about. but until then, i have an idea i our christmas theme tour of germany reaches berlin. the streets and squares of the capital are festooned with twinkling lights. and most of the cities, christmas markets are open again this year too. we counted more than 40. we take you along to the christmas market and friend of the red city hall in the downtown

district of meta yes, sir, lynn is the 3rd stop on our christmas tour this year. there are more than 40 christmas markets open in the capitol. the one in front of the hotel, hothouse, or red city hall, and the district of meta is one of the prettiest. like every year, visitors can lace up their skates and glide around the neptune fountain. the only thing missing the daily shows normally performed here but another crowd favorite is back again. the 50 meter tall ferris wheel. it's panoramic gondolas are heated. so riders stay nicely warm and have a view over the whole market. in berlin, everything's a bit larger than life,

like this huge christmas pyramid. it was crafted in the ask of bigger or, or mountains in the state of saxony, an area known for its traditional christmas ornaments. here, miners, wood carvings, reflected their longing for light. handicrafts from the ants could be ago, are sold at many markets, including in berlin. these are pyramids, incense, smokers, known as white mention, and even figures of the miners themselves. another well known motif is this little church. does this year does live his, his life and charge a motif used in many things, a guns on candle arches in pyramids o. as the pyramid itself, i z hyphen is effectively the capital of the ascii banga or, and the way of st. james, the salt root, the silver road, that's all cross ins. if'n over closet. that's likely why this little church is as

famous as cologne cathedral india. by nickos, his overwhelmed villa coronado. many germans placed these candle arches by their windows at christmas. they're called sped bogan, after the german word for floating hears. why does this in it's to joe with the minus button on to they came out of the mine that hang them minus lamps over the entrance back mother. thing that made it look like a floating, illuminated archer maiden. when done also, that's where the ship okens shape came from and done. who'd have thought that old traditions would play such a big role at a berlin christmas market today? but there's more you can even watch an artist, blacksmith at work, or find hand made jewelry. if you still need to buy a christmas present or to and

of course in berlin, we checked out a mold wine stand on your behalf. here they also serve, mean like the celts once drank them. it me is a honey wine that's been around for $3000.00 is because the kind we have this year is dryer and stronger than usual. it always depends on the honey that's used. honda of an adult if you think you're seeing things after a couple of glasses, that's not because of the me. santa claus really is flying over the christmas market. live and in person here in berlin. oh you are 3 must dues for the christmas market by berlin city hall take a ride on the ferris wheel. marvel at wood, art from the ask

a bigger and try some me. ah, but santa claus always has the last word. full of i have a merry christmas the least navi button ah ah, ah ah ah ah ah ah

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