Romania’s Bucharest Christmas Market 🎄🇷🇴 | Stunning Lights, Street Food & Real Experience

We made it to the Bucharest Christmas Market. And it is wonderful. Hello guys. Hello. Romania is very beautiful. Mmm. More spices. This is amazing. And it's my kind of dessert. Fried dough. Cream. Jam. Pretty stuff. It's just... Subscribe to follow along. Hello. Welcome to another Christmas Market video. With Keith and Deb. We are in Bucharest, Romania and we are going to go to the biggest Christmas Market this city has to offer and it just opened yesterday. Just opened. It was raining yesterday so we're going today. A cool thing about Romania and Christmas is that their Independence Day is the first of December which means that they love leaning into the holiday season as part of the like Independence festivities. So we've actually been in Romania for a little bit and we are leaving tomorrow. Yeah. And that being said, we haven't had to get cash out because everything has taken card including the transit. So we don't have any cash so we're really hoping the Christmas Market takes card. Step one. We have to get a metro. And this kind of like old communist looking run down. Keith, you can't go there. Oh. Jesus. That's going up. You scared me. Oh, I saved you. That was the exit, folks. Now we're in the metro. I am being optimistic but it is a Sunday and a holiday and it's very quiet. Keith's worried the market's going to be closed but it just opened yesterday and it's a weekend so I'm thinking it's going to be open. But things are closed on Sundays and it's so quiet. It's either Sprepiata Uniri 1 or 2. Look where the exit says. It says exit at the green sign. You're right. We took the right exit after all. We found our way. What I was going to say is we are going to the Constitution Square is where the Christmas Market is. And it's right across from the Palace of Parliament which if you've heard of it is like this giant parliament building. Humongous. Bucharest. So, in doing my research, the Christmas Market opened yesterday but nowhere did it say on Instagram, on their Bucharest visitors page, all these things, what time it opens at. So that's what I'm a little worried about is we're here a bit before sunset. Yeah, because we figured before sunset so we can get to the early and then maybe just enjoy it in the early, you know, better lighting too. I don't know. Also, we were excited to go. But so that being said, now I'm like, uh. We might be stuck in limbo. We don't hear any Christmas music yet which is not a good sign. We're two hours before sunset. We are speedier walkers than we expected. We're getting close and it's beginning to look a lot like it's closed. That's not true. I have optimism. We hear noises. Smell food. I have optimism. The lights are on in there. I think they're maybe just opening like at least now or really soon. I hear Christmas music, guys. It's a good sign. Okay. It is open which is very exciting. This is the Bucharest Christmas Market or Bucharest Christmas Fair. Biggest one in the city and I'm very excited to go explore. Watch the cars. Wow. Well, folks. It is huge. There are tons of food stands. There's roller coasters, a Ferris wheel, a massive Christmas tree and lots of lights. This is sweet. I think because of the overcast weather, it's going to get dark pretty quickly. So the Christmas lights are turned on. Yeah. This is so nice. Well, compared to the one in Sofia. Which was beautiful. But very small. It's a lot bigger. But this is huge. Also, what a setting, huh? Alright, folks. We got ourselves two mulled wines to start off the night. Smells really nice. Smells nice and strong. It's called... It's not mulled wine here. Glu wine. It's called Vin Fierte. So like strong wine. Oh, it's very fruity. It's very good. I like this one even more than the one in Sofia. It's so funny. The first sip, the very first sip, like you inhale the alcohol. Because you don't want to burn your tongue. It makes my eyes water. It's really good. We have been walking around and this place is giant. And there's mulled wine, or what is it called again? Vin Fierte. All over the place. We'll probably try a few different ones. That's nice. Honestly, it's not as like... To me, it doesn't taste as strong as usual mulled wine. It more tastes cider-y. I really like it. This backdrop is amazing. This place has so much variety. It's very Romanian. To point out, the food mainly, in the center here, you have burgers and more international food. There is sadly a Domino's pizza. But the rest is Romanian, which is pretty cool. So, yeah. This does really well. There's good music playing right now too. And they have live music later. Well... We finished our mulled wine. And it was very good. I have to say I'm feeling it already. So that probably means we should get some food. And what's really cool that I have learned, now that we've been to... They're doing a sound check for music later. Now that we've been to two Christmas markets, is that the one was a specific German Christmas market. And this one is a Romanian Christmas market. And so a lot of the food is traditional Romanian food, which is very exciting. So I think that's what we're gonna go get to eat. And then we'll keep exploring with you. There's souvenirs. There's little craft stands. And desserts. It's amazing. There's so much to do and see. So we're gonna continue with you. Turns out, folks, there is restrooms, port-o-potties here. That's great news, considering in Sofia I don't think there were any. People were drinking nice mulled wine and beers. And it's a party, so... Gotta have toilets. That's good. Let's get some food. We're gonna start our food with a traditional dish called boules, which is polenta and cheese mixed together with sausage or hot dog on top. And then a traditional sausage. Because we're here. And that's what this place offers. And it's speaking to us. Okay, so we got some cutlery. It is all plastic stuff. So maybe we'll try and keep these in case we get more food later. Alright, try it, Dev. Okay. The boules, everybody. So this is polenta with cheese. It's really good. It's very buttery. Oh, it's buttery? Yeah. And cheesy and delicious. Super rich. Wow. But it's really good. Okay. So they literally took us... The sausage. And they literally took it and deep fried it again. So super healthy food we're having here. But this looks good. I took a big bite there. Sorry about that. Very good. Very salty. Both dishes, delicious. But salty. So that's why you're gonna need some more mulled wine after this. To like balance it out. Oh, together. That's rich. Very good though. Last bite. This has been really freaking good. Unhealthy, but good. Alright, we're now gonna do a lap and show you some of the things they offer here at the Christmas market because there's a lot of options. Alright, we're back at the entrance where we started. And going along this way, similar to where we got our food, there's another section of traditional Romanian food. This next section is souvenirs. I think traditional Romanian souvenirs. So pottery, some woodworking like cutting boards, leather belts, lights, Christmas decorations. All this in this little section. By the way, I know you've all been on the edge of your seats here. Everywhere takes credit cards. So we have been good to go. There are more souvenirs, trinkets, fridge magnets, candles. Tons of stuff you can get. And actually quite a lot of space. There's a lot of room for a huge crowd, which I appreciate. There's rides and talking reindeer heads. And a huge stage. There's also cotton candy, crepes, chimney cakes, pizzas, and lots and lots of wind fjerds. There's meat and artisan cheeses and jams and donuts and hot chocolate and coffee and bubble tea. This place has so much to offer. And it's been a lot going around. And I think we deserve another mulled wine. So we're going to go to a different stand and try another one. We went to that stand specifically because it looked homemade and cute. And then it's a classic one of those things. No one was there. And as soon as we got it, then everybody came. I guess that's how it goes. This one was also fun because we got to add orange and apple slices to it. Mmm, it smells good. Mmm, more spices. Ooh, definitely more spices. More nutty, for sure. I love this. Every single one at this place is different. That's so fun. Cheers, Keith. Cheers. The Christmas lights have turned on. And it's officially the beginning. It's getting busier. Cheers in Romanian is Noroc. Noroc. There's a DJ. And I think because there's a whole month of this, they're playing some not-so-Christmas music. So it feels kind of clubby. But the lights behind me are actually so beautiful. So if you want to experience the lights, come after, like, 4.30 and it'll be like this. Hello, guys. Romania is very beautiful, yes. We're in line for some more food, some more traditional Romanian food. And as it has gotten darker, it has gotten busier, as in we are in a line now. We have some more food here. Another traditional Romanian dish. We have a big thing of polenta, five sarmales, which is like a pork wrapped in cabbage and then in a big sauce. You saw there. It looks delicious and amazing. Keith and I are sharing this. I'm going to try my best to get a piece with one hand. The cabbage is really staying together. It's really nice. That's really good. And the polenta, probably less buttery because it's like a chunk of polenta this time. Let's see. Clean, light, a nice mix with this. And then we do have some hot peppers if we want to spice things up. Oh, no. It's going to be messy. Big bite of sarmale. Very good. The cabbage has this like vinaigrette, like a vinegary taste to it, which adds like a layer of flavor. That's nice. This is so fun. This is so cool how unique it is. And I love how this market stayed Romanian, stayed with the theme of this place. Two tips. One, if you want it to be less busy, come just before dark because it is less busy at that time. Second tip is make sure you stay until dark because it is so much more beautiful with the Christmas lights. And the Parliament Building is lit up. It's incredible. Devin, why are your lips so purple? Because of the mulled wine. I even gave some of mine to Keith. And my lips are still like this. Wow. It's really beautiful now with the lights. It is stunning. Like we keep being like, where the heck are we? This is so magical. Yeah, it's beautiful. There's lots of culture, lots of happy people, and it's just vibrant. There's good music. It's really nice. This is really fun. I mean, this is our second Christmas market like pretty much ever. Yeah. I mean, we have some in Canada kind of, but not the same. These are European Christmas markets. They're kind of like different levels. Also, really good deals honestly on everything. Yeah, Romania. I think Romania specifically. It's a really reasonable price. I think this is one of the biggest Christmas trees I've ever seen in person. Look at that. It's a real tree, people. Is it? Yes. No. Yes. I don't think it's a real tree. I think they put branches together because it's too conical. It's too perfect. Okay, but it is real branches though. It's real spruce. Pot spruce. What is this Christmas tree? Pine? Spruce? I think both. I think you can get either. Yeah, okay. It's real branches, but it's too... Yeah, I know. It's too full. Way too full. Fair enough. Which is perfect. It is really nice though. Wow. It's tall. It's really sweet. There's like families with their kids on the Ferris wheel, and there's also just adults with their friends. And there's no age restrictions, guys. If you want to ride the Ferris wheel and meet Sir in the merry-go-round, you can. Hey, it's gotten a little busier, I've got to say, folks. Having a hard time moving through crowds. Okay, folks. Last but not least, desserts. I got Lagos, which is like Papanas. Now, those are... What are those things? Traditional Romanian food. Papanas is something that you get from a restaurant. It's like a donut, cottage cheese donut, with jam and sour cream on top. It's more of a restaurant food. This is a street food. And my mouth's watering already. What's it called? So, it's called Lagos. And it's essentially fried dough and then sour cream and jam on top. Holy moly. It's hot, fresh. The dough is sweet, like a beaver tail in Canada, without the seasoning, like cinnamon. It's a really good fried dough. Crispy, soft on the inside. Jam's excellent. Oh, this is great. This is a good one. You should come here and do this. Get this. Yeah. It's my kind of stuff, man. This place was really cool. Happy we came. Romanian Christmas Market. It's where it's at. It's worth coming to. Well, folks, that's a wrap. What an incredible Christmas Market. This blew away my expectations, especially because we didn't even know it was going to be open today. Yeah, that was kind of like, what a rollercoaster of emotions. Happy it was open. We do have an early flight tomorrow, so we are going to head out, but I think the later you come in the night, it is open until 10 p.m. every night, and there is live music, which we kind of heard the live music warming up, which was really cool, but that'll be later tonight, too. It's a party, it's fun, it was tasty, it was good, and it was affordable. Very affordable. For all the food and drinks we got, it was 51.58 Canadian for all the things we got. Yeah, good deal. Really good. A lot of fun. So thank you very much for watching, and we'll see you in the next adventure. See you soon, Merry Christmas. It's a national holiday here, so there's some people in bear suits. There's no rhythm to the drumming whatsoever, but the bear's got some dance moves. This is a traditional Roman holiday where kids dress up like little bears. They make a lot of noise, and they shake like this. I think I've made that up now, but it sounds like that's pretty much what it is right now. Happy Romanian Bear Day. And Independence Day tomorrow. Oh my gosh, true. It's Independence Day. They also have a lot of bears here, hence the bears. Some of the most bears in the world.