Friday, 18 February 2022
If there is a European city where it's absolutely unnecessary to compromise on
sustainability when travelling, this is most certainly the Danish capital.
Even if you – like we on our
train travel from Munich to Trondheim, on a one-night stop-over, with too little time for up-front research – are willing to take your usually organic diet with a grain of salt, relax!
It's as simple as keeping in mind the following three brands: Irma when it comes to provisions and daily necessities, Emmerys for a coffee or lunch break and sandwiches, and the Guldsmeden Hotels for a comfortable night in style. All these three chains have sufficient branches within the city that you always will find one.
Where to stay
As long as your budget isn't really tight, thread yourself with a luxury night in one of the owner-run Guldsmeden hotels. The rooms in these design hotels are all carefully designed in a way that makes you feel to have much more space at hand than you actually have: The huge canopy bed is separated from the sitting area with a wall, the bath rooms are all equipped with both, (a small) bathtub, shower and sink, and since everything is decorated in a blend of Balinese and Danish design, with a focus on longevity and sustainability there's always a feel of tropical holiday over it, no matter what the weather is like.
As a guest you are encouraged to take with you your used vanity set, tooth brush, salt deodorant and other small bathroom items for prolonged use; the luxury natural bodycare which is provided in big dispensers at the bathroom can be bought from the hotel reception or from the webshop. Organic coffee and tea is provided on the room, including tiny pyramid packs with organic milk. Unfortunately one-way paper cups are provided instead of re-usable glasses or cups. This is justified as a fire protection measure which I – given the inflammability of paper compared with glass or steel – find hard to reasonably believe.
This time we stayed at the
Babette hotel at Esplanaden, opposite the Kastellet fortress and park, with its beautiful orangery-type entrance area and a branch of the famous Skagen seafood restaurant serving as the hotel's restaurant.Although the restaurant has a focus on sustainability it's not dedicated organic. While the food itself -- the luxury form of fish-based fast food -- was both, tasty and filling, their drinks menu did not include a single organic item, and the wine selection was outrageously disappointing. There's a 10 percent discount for hotel guests.
Breakfast at the Skagen facilities is a different affair: A 100 percent organic, tastefully arranged buffet where every single item is worth a try. Unfortunately they did not serve my favourite muesli from earlier stays in Oslo and Kopenhagen: toasted and caramelised cubes of yesterday's flavour-rich dark-brown bread, blended with seeds and nuts.
Like
other hotel commodities as bicycles and the entrance to the beautiful roof-top spa breakfast is not included in the price for the night.
A few years ago we stayed at the smallest (and eldest) of all Guldsmeden hotels, the
Carlton 66 in the former meat-packing district ("Kødbyen") of Vesterbro. This intimate bourgeois city villa with its narrow stairs is a truly romantic affair, but a word of advise if you come with heavy baggage: Unlike in other countries hotel staff in Scandinavia is treated equal. So -- while you may kindly ask for help if you are of delicate health -- do not expect them to carry your luggage.
The Carlton is only a short walk away from the Guldsmeden's business hotel, Axel. If you stay at the Carlton and fancy a drink at a hotel bar or wish to use their luxury spa, treat yourself with an evening stroll.
Where to eat (and have a coffee)
If the hotel breakfast at one of the Guldsmeden hotels doesn't match your budget, there's no need to dispair: Find one of the numerous branches of Emmerys cafes and bakery shops (There are so many I won't list them here) and treat yourself with their fully organic bakery items, both to have on the spot and to take away. In addition to classic Danish brown sourdough breads and rolls they also make interpretations of Italian and French white breads and rolls. While some places have special breakfast and lunch menus, you may always have different types of Danish smørrebrød and Italo-American-style sandwiches, both with and without meat and/or cheese.
Unfortunately salads and fruit drinks to take away are still prepared and sold in one-way plastic cups, and there's no deposit scheme for cups or bowls.
If you have sufficient time, rather opt to take a seat and be served your drink in glass or earthenware. And be sure to add one of their gorgeous sweets to your coffee order -- if only a piece of their famous white brownies.
Where to buy provisions and daily necessities
Whether you are shopping for provisions or plan a picnic in a park, a branch of the nation-wide operating supermarket co-operative
Irma is usually just around the corner. While
other supermarket chains lately have started to advertise with their
small selection of organic and fairly-traded goods as a cover-up for their generelly unfair and planet-threatening practises, this chain has truly been working towards a more sustainable lifestyle in Denmark for years: Although most items sold here still is conventional produce, you have clearly marked organic alternatives for almost all products at hand, placed in a way that makes it easy to choose the more sustainable alternative in the first place, without much reading. Still, also shopping here requires attention to organic labels and some abstinence if you want to reduce one-way plastic.
What to do
If you love tea and fancy a short travel in time, pay a visit to A. C. Perch's Thehandel from 1835. In the tiny shop of the royal warrant holder shop assistants with dark-green aprons measure high quality loose-weight tea into paper bags, needless to say using shiny brass mechanical scales. The bags are lettered by hand and closed with rubber bands. Not all of the teas are organic, but you have a great assortment to choose from, and you will also find organic ginger snaps.
If you have sufficient time and are in the mood for having tea of your choice (or organic fruit juice) in style enter A. C. Perch's Tea Room next door (it is advisable to book a table in advance). The food is not dedicated organic but do not hesitate to enquire about organic ingredients on the menu.
The entire venture is a small Scandinavian chain, with two more tea rooms in Aarhus and the Norwegian capital of Oslo, and
tea shops at CPH Airport, in Aarhus, and in Oslo.
The Danish love sausages and hotdogs, and if you do, too, there's no reason to spend your money on mediocre conventional fare: Amid the pedestrian zone of Strøget, in front of Holy Ghost Church, you'll find a fully organic hotdog stall:
Den økologiske pølsemand ("The organic sausage man"),
offers vegetarian and beef or pork sausages with organic veges and condiments, in an organic roll, as well as organic soft drinks. You should find a second stall in Christianshavn, in front of the Round Tower, but I hadn't time to check this out.
2022-02-18 11:00:00
[Copenhagen, Kobenhavn, Kopenhagen, Oslo, Aarhus, organic, fair, vegetarian, vegan, cafe, takeaway, coffee, tea, snacks, breakfast, lunch, hotel, accommodation]
[direct link · table of contents]
Thursday, 28 October 2021
Nuremberg has a lot of independent small shops worth visiting in the main pedestrian area of the city centre (as long as you avoid the lanes occupied by global chains), and quite a number of them care about sustainability, fairness and the environment in some way or the other. The following shops except one are all located within walking distance within the city walls, and the list is totally biased, doing injustice to shops I simply did not recognise.
Nuremberg traditions
Drawing from Nuremberg's history as an important medieval trade centre on the crossroad of horizontal and vertical trade routes is the
Wurzelsepp herbalist shop.
In fact the
shop was established in 1933, and you may question whether this should be positively connoted advertisement. I at least would have preferred to find a discussion of the shop's history in the Third Reich on their website. It's missing, so all you are left with is this beautiful
shop, a realm of spices, teas, dried herbs, natural body care and perfumes, real frankincense, hand-made sweets, and more. Roughly estimated a quarter of it is organic, so check for labels or ask the helpful staff.
The abundance of exotic spices from the spice route traders and honey from the nearby forests caused the rise of the profession of the
honey cake bakers ("Lebküchner") in the medievals. So even though Pfefferkuchen or Lebkuchen are a Christmas tradition you probably do not want to leave Nuremberg without locally produced gingerbreads. From end of October through December they are easy to find in every
organic grocery, but off-season your best bet is the
gingerbread shop Wicklein
which
offers a small selection of
organic varieties. They can be distinguished by their packaging with a fir green "bio" label. Unfortunately none of the tempting gingerbreads by the piece are organic.
Both shops are directly located on Hauptmarkt and keep open on Sundays during Christkindlesmarkt advent market.
Fair trade
Nuremberg proudly presents itself as a Fairtrade Town, and unlike in other cities fair trade shops can be found in the middle of the urban city centre. They are run by volunteers from church parishes, and traditionally offer a selection of sweets, herbs, spices, tea and coffee, dry goods, jewellery, fashion items, body care, stationary, home textiles, candles and other colourful gifts. Eatable items are predominantly organic, gifts and household items often made from recycled materials. Fresh food is not available, though both of the following shops sell bananas.
Lorenzer Laden (often referred to by its abbreviated form, Lola) is an intimate place. Tucked away in a small alleyway East of Lorenzer Kirche it is totally secular in its presentation, and although its product range overlaps to some extend with that of Fenster zur Welt, you will find a lot of things only in this shop. The Lola shop is also a hub for customers of a Community supported organic farm.
Probably easier to find is
Fenster zur Welt ("Window to the World") near Hallplatz. It's also the bigger one of the two, and consequently offers a bigger selection. They do not hide the fact that they are a parish enterprise but there's definitely no proselytisation ongoing.
More sweets, wines, coffee and gifts
The cosy confectioner's shop Chocolat close to Weißer Turm is a paradise for chocolat lovers. They offer a huge range of high quality chocolates of international provenience, often fairly traded, and to a noteworthy part organic. Check for labelling or ask the friendly ladies behind the bar. You can also treat yourself with a hot chocolate, though it's not organic.
The entrance is facing Hutergasse, so do not be fooled by the address.
Another of the many small individual shops in the old town is Die Maulbeere, a florist's cum coffee cum sweets shop cum cafe.
Once a start-up, nowadays a veritable organic specialist's chain, MyMüsli has a store near Hauptmarkt where you can buy dozens of cereals and porridges, and of late tea and coffee. They also offer free wifi.
Regional food specialities, wines, condiments and more, all produced by small-scale farms and artisanal manufacturers can be found at
delikatEssen at the Weinmarkt around St. Sebald church, another small owner-run delicatessen. If you insist on organic certifications you have to select carefully, as seems still to be the norm for this type of shop. Note that it is closed on Mondays.
If you fancy wine and a bicycle ride to the North-Eastern edge of town step by Die Weinhalle near Nordostparkt which I personally have not visited yet -- it was recommended by a friend. They specialize in natural wines, and a good selection of organic ones are among them. Alongside you can choose from a selection of delicatessen -- Italian antipasti, coffee, chocolates, etc., among them many organic ones. In the webshop you'll find organic products with a simple search for the "bio" keyword.
If you happen to be in Nuremberg in December, don't miss the
annual sustainable winter market Winterkiosk at the Kulturwerkstatt auf AEG cultural centre near the tube stop Eberhardshof. It's always happening on a weekend, in 2021 on the 4th and 5th of December.
Stroll around and let you inspire from art and handicraft. Most eatable and drinkable items are organic.
The market charges a small entrance fee of 5 EUR for adults. Note that in 2021 a covid-19 vaccine certificate is mandatory.
If you wonder how a luxury organic department store looks like visit Grüne Erde at Hallplatz, a branch of a small Austrian chain. Traditionally they sell fairly produced furniture, bedding, cushions, home textiles, bathroom items and interior design stuff, all made from sustainably sourced natural and often organic materials. It would not be a department store if it did not offer luxury organic bodycare, candles, chocolates, sweets, dry goods and delicatessen as well as a small selection of liquors. Recently they added fashion basics like t-shirts to their sales mix. A pleasantly silent and nicely smelling oasis after a busy day -- until it comes to payment. They will ask you for your name and address to send you their catalogue and track your purchase, so be polite and tell them you do not want to be neither registered nor tracked (unless you really want it). Usually the shop assistants will comply without further questions, so don't feel tricked into giving details (or be prepared to give false information).
Fashion
See here.
Ceased to exist
The following places shut down and were replaced by other, not organic ones. So don't be confused when you find references to them on the web:
- Frankenfein, Königsstr. 78 (partially organic farmer's shop cum delicatessen)
2021-10-28 17:30:00
[Nuremberg, organic, fair, fashion, spices, deli, gifts, shopping, bodycare, confectioners]
[direct link · table of contents]
Tuesday, 12 October 2021
Apart from the omnipresent fast fashion stores of H&M and C&A where it is, according to Greenpeace's Detox Catwalk, morally acceptable to buy cheap organic clothes, Nuremberg offers a selection of concept stores of smaller independent fashion labels with sustainable approaches. Although very different they have something in common: awareness for the environmental and social impact of fashion right from the start, durable products eco-consciously made in Europe, and slower fashion cycles.
Of course, all of them sell online as well.
For streetware and young designer labels opt for Glore north of Weißer Turm, on your way downhill to the river Pegnitz. This is the place to look for fresh, exciting styles and vegan fashion, both, for men and women. All items on sale are certified, bearing trustworthy organic and fair-trade labels. They also have a small range of organic bodycare on sale.
Colourful ethno-inspired clothes for women, predominantly made from organic materials can be found at
Gudrun Sjödén at the eastern end of Josephsplatz. The Swedish designer is an eco fashion pioneer, and presents her collections on models of all ages. Apart from clothes you will also find home textiles.
A few steps away in north-eastern direction, south of Karlsbrücke you'll find Deerberg, a concept store of a family-run business which started as a mail order firm for sustainably produced shoe-wear. Since they have been extending into clothes for women sustainably made in Europe which is the focus of the store. Unfortunately there are still few organically produced textiles, and the styles are comparatively boring, but the shoes are worth a look as long as you do not shun leather.
For children step by
Lysu, a cosy specialised shop offering fairly traded clothes, toys and accessories made from organic and natural materials for babies, toddlers, pre-school and elementary school kids. The shop is tucked away in Obere Wörthstraße, on the southern shore of the river Pegnitz, opposite the Trödelmarkt island. Like many other small shops also this one is closed on Mondays.
2021-10-12 13:00:00
[Nuremberg, organic, fashion, shoes, fair, vegan, bodycare, shopping, covid, corona]
[direct link · table of contents]
Sunday, 19 September 2021
On our summerly train travel from Munich to Trondheim, coming from Copenhagen, we had to reach the night-train in Malmö. Due to the pandemic we decided to buy provisions in Copenhagen and take an earlier regional train to Malmö, leaving us with the time for a stroll and a coffee break. And although I had not done any up-front research it turned out to be pretty easy to find a nice cafe serving at least partially organic food, just by keeping my eyes open. Having said this I am conviced that, with more than just one to two hours at hand, you will find many more places.
The first place I found was Café Holmgången in a narrow alleyway in the old part of the city, Gamla Staden, located between the Malmö C and Triangeln train stations.
The cafe itself was empty at this sunny afternoon during the week, offering raw cakes, some basic vegan lunch dishes and sandwiches, and also some outdoor tables, sheltered from rain by the passage. The service ensured me that most ingedients (though not all) were organic. We had an Italian-style espresso made with a proper pressure machine, and the cakes aside turned out to be surprisingly light and fluffy compared to other raw date-based cakes. The cafe itself is self-serviced, simply step inside, order and pay, and take the plates to the seat of your choice.
Proceeding west-bound to Davidshallsgatan we found a second, 100 percent vegan day cafe, Farm2Table, currently a bit invisible due to construction work in the street in front of it. Hadn't we bought provisions for the train already, we could have ordered them here: homemade sandwiches, bowls, smoothies, coffee drinks and Belgian waffles, predominantly made with organic ingredients.
And if you happen to need a new pair of sustainable jeans (or repair your old pair of this brand), a branch of the Swedish slow fashion chain
Nudie Jeans is just a few steps up the street.
2021-09-19 21:30:00
[Malmo, organic, fair, vegetarian, vegan, cafe, takeaway, coffee, snacks, lunch, fashion]
[direct link · table of contents]
Monday, 30 August 2021
For an organic day out into the countryside around Munich you might as well choose a destination with plenty options for organic food and even an overnight stay with organic breakfast at the destination: The Panoramaweg Isar-Inn bicycle route starting at Marienplatz allows you to reach such an area by bike in only 30-40 kilometers. Simply follow this route to Moosach and from there to the organic hamlet of Herrmannsdorf as part of the municipality of Glonn.
Don't expect a bicycle highway -- the parts of the route shared with cars have a tarmac underground,
but the rest are sufficiently wide gravel pathes with occasional pitholes. Nevertheless it is much more pleasurable to go here and marvel at the moraine landscape instead of using the main roads where you may be scared for your life as cars will frequently overtake you too fast and often with too little margin. It's also advisable to have a navigation app or map with you as the signage especially within build-up areas is sometimes insufficient.
Public transport isn't much faster -- an up to 1.5 hours affair (one-way) by public transport from Ostbahnhof station. Take a regional (faster) or urban train (S4) to Grafing Bahnhof, and continue with bus no. 440 to Westerndorf stop. You may take your bike on the train when buying a separate MVV-Fahrrad-Tageskarte bicycle day ticket, but not on the bus.
The Herrmannsdorf organic farm
From Westerndorf its only an about ten to 15 minutes walk (or a few minutes on bike) over the fields to the Herrmannsdorf farm, founded by meat-industrialist-turned-organic-farmer Karl Ludwig Schweisfurth and now run by his family. In addition to the organic farm with pigs and chicken roaming before the eyes of the visitors the hamlet houses an artisanal bakery, brewery and butchery, a coffee roaster's shop cum cafe dubbed Merchant & Friends, a kindergarden for the employees and a cooking and practise school offering day courses for visitors who want to learn the basics of the trades practised here at the farm. There's also an organic farm market, the
Herrmannsdorfer Hofmarkt with an outdoor garden café open when the weather is nice.
In the entrance area to this beautiful delicatessen store cum upmarket supermarket you'll find the market booth of nearby organic market gardener Gärtnerei Schmid. Depending on the season you may walk over to pick organically grown flowers from their fields and pay into the provided cash box.
The farm also has its own upmarket 100% organic restaurant, the Wirtshaus zum Herrmannsdorfer Schweinsbräu, for meat lovers definitely worth the troubles of getting here. The rustic and newly refurbished restaurant offers high-standard traditional Bavarian and Austrian cuisine based on the freshest ingredients including the farm's famous own beer and assorted spirits. The elaborately hand-written menu may be difficult to decipher, and even if you can read it you may have difficulties to understand what you read as it is deliberately flavoured with Austrian food terms. So better ask if you don't feel adventurous. It is also advised to book your table for the restaurant (ring in on your way here if you forgot to do so a few days in advance), and mandatory if you plan to come on weekends or on public holidays.
The restaurant which also has an outdoor sitting area is closed 30th December through 14th January, 2020.
If you are wondering what you are going to eat stroll through the farm and greet the pigs and piglets. During the warm season you can also sit outside under horse chestnut trees: There are food stalls, but as the Bavarian tradition of beer gardens goes you may also bring your own food (not the drinks though!). For the home-made ice-cream in a cone (only available in the warm season) walk upstairs to the restaurant. A single serving comes at 1.80 EUR.
In May, before Easter and Christmas the farm gives host to its traditional arts and crafts markets. Especially the advent market is a pleasant alternative to commercial Christmas markets in town. On these days a free bus transfer is provided from and to Grafing Bahnhof, and you may book a tour through the farm or one of the workshops. There are also special tours for kids. All tours and workshops (also outside the festivals) can be booked in advance at the website.
Sonnenhausen
If you feel that a day tour isn't sufficient turn to the right instead of to the left at the bus stop Westerndorf, and follow the way to Gut Sonnenhausen, an organic and sustainably driven Bio-Hotel located in a carefully and tastefully restored manor. Although conferences, weddings and other celebrations are their main business bed and breakfast guests are welcome, too.
More to try: Westerndorf, Piusheim, Oberpframmmern, Glonn and Grafing
If you’re looking for a cheaper place to stay the Schmiedhof organic farm in Westerndorf has a guesthouse where you can enjoy eggs and cheese (and most certainly also milk) from the farm for
breakfast. Simply let the farmers know in advance that you wish to have breakfast.
For something different take a bicycle ride to Piusheim: On Thursdays, Fridays, weekends and public holidays the Glonntaler Backkultur organic cafe cum restaurant keeps open and serves 100 percent organic lunch, dinner and snacks using the gorgeous products of their artisanal bakery as well as other locally produced delicacies like the
cheeses of the local organic dairy Hofkäserei Stroblberg. Each Friday it's pizza evening starting at 5 o'clock, and if you're lucky you may step by while one or another cultural arrangement is taking place.
During the warm season there's also a spacious beer garden.
The bakery shop is located in the entrance area at the opposite site of the house, and on weekday mornings you may head for the bakehouse in Mühlenweg ("mill lane").
Glonntaler Backkultur also runs two Sunday-open bakery shops in Glonn and Grafing which are closed on public holidays that are Monday through Saturday. Both have in- and outdoor seating for a snack or coffee break. Next to the shop in Glonn there’s a small fair-trade gift shop dubbed Handfairlesenes. On occasions you may find it open outside the quite restricted official opening hours, so step by for handicraft and other fairly traded products.
Coming from (or heading to) Zorneding or Höhenkirchen-Siegertsbrunn there's a good chance that you will pass the village of Oberpframmern on your bicycle route. Stop by the
Maierei organic farm ("Dein Bauernhof" -- "your farm") with its 24x7 self-service shop. More products from the farm -- veges, eggs from hens of a dual purpose breed, home-made preserves, Christmas trees in December and more are available on Thursday evenings and Saturday mornings when the shop is serviced.
2021-08-30 18:00:00
[Munich, Glonn, Grafing, Herrmannsdorf, Oberpframmern, Piusheim, Westerndorf, organic, fair, lunch, dinner, market, bakeries, deli, coffee, hotel, accommodation, cafe, restaurant, pizza, ice-cream, Bavarian, German, cycling, farms]
[direct link · table of contents]