Heidelberg: Zero Waste

For (re-)filling your kitchen cupboard and shop for un(pre)packaged food head straight to the northern shore of the Neckar river, to the Neuenheimer Markt market place. On Wednesday mornings (until 1 pm) a farmer's market is held here, but a few steps away you will also find the city's only package-free supermarket dubbed Annas Unverpacktes ("Anna's unwrapped goods") which with its outer wall made of turquoise tiles looks like a converted butcher's shop from the outside. As all zero waste convenience stores I've come across so far it's strictly vegetarian, but omnivores simply walk outside and turn left to find an artisanal butcher's shop at the next corner.

Until some years ago the Metzgerei Blatt was working according to the Neuland principles of animal welfare in meat production which are close to, but not fully organic, and in 2015 turned to fully organic principles. The shop was closed when I went there (as it's generally closed on Wednesday afternoons), but the owner assured me that the staff would fill my purchase into my own clean boxes as long as they were intended for personal consumation (instead of catering a bigger crowd). Ready-to-eat meat dishes are also available to take away.

Directly opposite the Neuenburger Markt there's also a shop of the local wholefood bakery Mahlzahn named after the dragon in Michael Ende's famous children's novel "Jim Button and Luke the Engine Driver". Here the shop assistants will happily put your bread, rolls, sweet and savoury pastries into the bags or containers you present.

The bakery workshop itself is located in the Weststadt neighbourhood where you also can buy a small selection of loose-weight seasonal fruit and veges and assorted pre-packaged organic food items to supplement your breakfast, lunch or coffee table. When I went there in hope for an early organic breakfast it however turned out that this bakery doesn't follow the zeitgeist to serve coffee and snacks to eat on the spot everywhere -- no coffee machine here, no bar tables. (The rolls were delicious nevertheless.) Mind you that this bakery does not use white flour at all.

Altogether there are four Mahlzahn shops, all with identical opening hours, the third one located in the neighbourhood of Rohrbach, and the fourth in Handschuhsheim (literally: "glove's home").

In general you will have difficulties to find organic bakeries not willing to fill customer-provided clean bags and boxes, and the new (in 2023) Zeit für Brot shop thankfully make no exception.

To buy all items for a zero waste breakfast at one stop head for the city's branch of the Denn's organic supermarket chain: The staff at its meat, dairy and bakery counters offers to fill cheese, cured meat products, sausages and bakery items into your containers. If you buy a coffee drink on the go in your own cup you'll receive a 30 cents discount, and you can also buy lunch to take away in your own jars instead of having it at the self-service bistro.

The other nationwide operating organic supermarket brand, Alnatura, operates three branches in town. They do not have a dedicated focus on zero waste, but there's a slowly increasing assortment of food in returnable glasses (e.g. mayonnaise, "canned" corn and other preserves, or vegetable spread) apart from unpackaged fruits, vegetables, and bakery produce. Unfortunately you must be familiar with the glass types to find them, and they are always among the most expensive options.

If you prefer independent shops the two Fair & Quer supermarkets in the neighbourhoods of Handschuhsheim and Wieblingen are worth a try. Unfortunately I did not have the chance to visit them (as advised by my Mastodonbubble), so I cannot say whether their waste and package reduction measures exceed those of comparable dedicated organic supermarkets in Germany. The shop in Wieblingen offers organic lunch Monday through Friday from noon to 2pm.

Student initiatives

I wasn't much surprised to hear from my Mastodon bubble about zero-waste and repair initiatives run by the university's students' parliament. Unfortunately I have not had the time to visit the campus, but I happily list them here: The self-service bike repair shop Urrmel and the package-free organic food co-operative Appel un' Ei. The latter is located between "Chez Pierre" and "Café Botanik" at the university's main refectory and is regularly offering lunch made with produce from a communal market garden.

• Annas Unverpacktes, Ladenburger Str. 37, Tue-Sat 10-18:30
• Bio-Metzgerei Blatt, Ladenburger Str. 41, Mon-Fri(Sat) 8(7:30)-13, Mon-Tue,Thu-Fri 15-18
• Vollkornbäckerei Mahlzahn Neuenheim, Ladenburger Str. 15, Mon-Fri(Sat) 8-18:30(13)
• Vollkornbäckerei Mahlzahn Weststadt, Gaisbergstr. 74, Mon-Fri(Sat) 8-18:30(13)
• Denn's, Bahnhofsstr. 33, Mon-Sat 9-20
• Alnatura, Langer Anger 7-9, Mon-Sat 8-20
• Alnatura Weststadt, Rohrbacher Straße 73, Mon-Sat 8-20
• Alnatura Altes Hallenbad, Poststraße 36/5, Mon-Sat 8-20

More to try

Here are a few more shops which I found during my research but didn't manage to visit myself:

• Vollkornbäckerei Mahlzahn Rohrbach, Rathausstr. 1, Mon-Fri(Sat) 8-18:30(13)
• Vollkornbäckerei Mahlzahn Handschuhsheim, Mühltalstr. 2, Mon-Fri(Sat) 8-18:30(13)
• Fair & Quer Wieblingen, Adlerstr. 1, Mon-Fri(Sat) 8-20(18)
• Fair & Quer Handschuhsheim, Steubenstr. 52, Mon-Wed(Thu-Fri) 8-19(20), Sat 8-16
• Appel un' Ei, Im Neuenheimer Feld 304a, Mon-Thu 16-18 plus usually 12-14 outside the semester break
• URRmEL, Im Neuenheimer Feld 706, Tue,Thu 16-20 outside the semester break, Thu 14-20 during semester break, PH closed

Closed

You may still find references to the following organic grocery on the web, but be assured it's no longer there:

• Apfel und Korn, Märzgasse 16 (convenience store)

Munich: Chains good enough not to be boycotted

Organic and fair is going mainstream, and you will have to go a long way to find a big food retailer not stocking at least some appropriately labelled items. As long as you avoid the cheapest textile retailers you will also be able to needle-pick organic cotton fig leaves covering up for otherwise not exactly fair, social and environmentally conscious behaviour in many fashion outlets.

So even if you happen to be stranded in darkest suburbia, you will be able to survive somehow. In the Munich metropolitan area however, you have the choice of leaving your money at retailers more conscious than average. Some of them are local chains, others have outlets or franchise takers everywhere in Germany and sometimes even abroad.

Food and necessities

There's a wide range of organic full retailers as well as smaller organic supermarkets, so chances are good that you will find one in your vicinity. Most malls however, with their exchangeable shops and brands, stick to conventional supermarkets, and – here's your choice – a smaller health-food store (Reformhaus), often of the Vitalia chain. Larger and newer branches even offer a coffee or snack bar. Although some stores are up to 80 percent organic, check for organic labels, as up to half of their goods on sale may be conventional.

The DM Drogeriemarkt drugstore chain is being managed according to anthroposophical principles in such a successful manner that new branches have been popping up in almost every newly or re-opened shopping complex during the past years. It has always had a focus on organic and eco-friendly products (alongside the conventional stuff) and is most certainly the reason for that its competitors Müller and Rossmann now also stock a wide range of organic dry food products, sweets and drinks, as well as natural cosmetics. While the big Müller branches stock an impressive selection of natural cosmetics brands and recently stepped in for DM as a reseller of the Alnatura food brand, DM has a broader focus, with a series of eco-friendly household items such as nappies, detergents, dishwasher tabs, or organic cotton pads of the "nature" own-brand alongside the own-brands "DM Bio" (food), and "Alverde" (cosmetics and toiletries). In addition DM branches sell a growing selection of reputable organic and eco cosmetics brands, such as "Weleda", "Lavera", "Sante", "I+M Berlin", "Dr. Bronner" (all products fully natural) or "Eos organic", "Dresdner Essence" and "Kneipp" (watch out for eco labels). Products of the "Alnavit" brand for nutrition and allergene avoiding food and sweets are usually organic, as are the own brand of the vegan supermarket chain Veganz. Since they kicked out Alnatura as their exclusive organic food brand a variety of products by various organic producers has been showing up in the shelves. For detergents stick to products of the "Ecover" and "You" brands. Also a word of warning towards the nature washing detergent: It's labelled with the Blue Angel environmental label, but nonetheless contains synthetic perfumes which accumulate in your clothes.

Thus said: Fresh food aside you will find everything you need for a daily eco-conscious lifestyle. It should however not go unnoticed that DM own brands comply with minimum standards for organic food and natural bodycare only. Food products complying with higher organic standards such as the biodynamic corn products by Alnatura were replaced when the chain rearranged their product selection. DM is said to treat its employees fairly, though this may of course vary with the branch management. And if you are not satisfied with a product (like I was with the washing liquid) or simply bought the wrong one they guarantee that you may return it in any chain store, opened or sealed, even without receipt. I did it, and it always worked like a charm.

If you for various reasons do not like dedicated organic supermarkets but find the search for sustainable and eco-friendly products in conventional supermarkets tedious pay a visit to the shops of the Fulda-based supermarket chain Tegut. The company took over the insolvent Basic supermarkets and converted most branches to predominantly conventional shops.

Lunch, snacks and coffee

The remaining branches of the Basic brand have a self-service coffee and lunch bar, but the entrance area of a supermarket might not be the place for a read or chat while having a coffee.

Munich also has a few branches of the coffee house franchise Black Bean serving exclusively organic coffee. Unfortunately only the coffee itself (and some soft drinks) are organic – no organic milk or pastries. However, since the Maxvorstand branch closed spring 2020 I am not aware of the status of the second branch in Schwabing. Black Bean branches offer free wifi.

Another Munich-based coffee chain franchise has been growing with new openings even during the covid pandemic: Coffee Fellows offer their coffee drinks both, in creamware, returnable Recup coffee cups. The chai latte is fully organic as is all the milk and if you watch out for the "bio" label you will also be able to have an organic softdrink, unfortunately from one-way plastic bottles. This chain has been expanding a lot recently and you will find them preferably in the vicinity of transportation hot spots like train stations, airports, fuel stations and shopping malls.

Interestingly one of the major bakery chains in Munich is an organic one: Hofpfisterei branches will usually sell you organic sandwiches (made of typically German sourdough bread) or pretzl with butter ("Butterbrezn" is not just a children's favourite), but on less frequented locations they may be outsold by early afternoon. In this case you can still buy organic spread (cheese or vegetarian) or sausages along with your breadrolls or opt for a sweet pastry. Most shops offer organic coffee-to-go, mineral water and softdrinks, and the bigger ones usually have a bar table or two. Both, the Hauptbahnhof and the Ostbahnhof train stations have a Hofpfisterei branch, although the latter one is closed on Sundays. An hour before closing Hofpfisterei offers a discount on breads, breadrolls and pastries, and many branches cater for the early bird, often opening at 7am.

For hearty Mexican fast food head for one of the Pureburrito branches.

Clothes

Both, the C&A and H&M fast fashion chains have been extending their range of products made from organic cotton, recycled and eco-friendlier materials in the past years. C&A shops label their sustainable collection clearly visible on the price tag (look out for small hearts and the "Bio Cotton" string), but the product range is restricted to basic items such as t-shirts and underwear, and apart from this unreliable. Kids and teens are better catered for than adults. Since they are only randomly presented together you may find yourself fine-reading labels.

H&M covers a broader range of sustainable products – you will even find the occasional dress for women. But since most of them are made of mixed garments containing not biodegradable plastic fibres and there's no cradle-to-cradle concept they are just better than nothing. Products of the "H&M conscious" brand can be distinguished by their green tag. They are presented together in separate areas, both, within the women, kids, and men stores, and hence easy to find. According to Greenpeace both companies had been taking serious measures to reduce hazardous chemicals in the production process and to introduce fairer production during the 2010ies.

• Reformhäuser (Reformhaus health food shops)
• Coffee Fellows
• Black Bean
• Hofpfisterei
• DM-Drogeriemarkt
• C&A
• H&M

Closed

• All Munich branches of the San Francisco Coffee Company franchise

Lisbon: Supermarkets and Zero Waste

The bigger conventional supermarkets seem to have at least a small selection of organic dry food, often conveniently assembled in a dedicated and marked shelf. But while obtaining a package of organic biscuits and tea bags is easy, you may wander a long way without spotting any opportunity to buy fresh fruits and veges, leave alone dairy products.

The first solution which may come to a traveller's mind is the upmarket department store of Sunday-open El Corte Ingles at São Sebastião tube stop. And indeed: In the middle of its food court there's a small organic shop-in-shop area with a separate fridge and a fresh fruits and vegetable section. Here I found the most expensive bottle of UHT milk I've seen so far, at a price tag of about 3.65 euros (fresh organic milk seems to be completely unavailable in Lisbon). Needless to say that the selection of dry food is very upmarket, including organic advent calendars before the Christmas season, so you will easily find a consumable gift, while you may breathe in deeply for the price tag of everyday food.

Good to know: There's a row of gravity bins from which you can fill unpackaged grains and nuts into your own containers, and the uncooled fruits and veges also come without packaging.

A small selection of shelled nuts as well as extremely tasty olives can be bought by the gram from Pigmeu da Ribeira, an upmarket delicatessen stall located in the central aisle between TimeOut and the traditional market at Mercado da Ribeira. Their main business is to offer a snack of cured meats, cheeses and olives from small-scale organic farms or a sandwich together with a glass of wine, everything extremely tasty and a pleasant alternative to much of the heavy food served in town.

But you can also buy bottles of natural wines, vacuum-packaged cured meat and cheeses, a small selection of preserves and seeds of flowers and vegetables. Everything here is organic, many products even biodynamic, but the price tag is quite heavy: The average bottle of wine goes between 20 and 30 euros, while the wage slip of the shop assistants remains at 800 to 900 euros a month for eight hours shifts.

From one of the people working here I got the crucial information that there is a small chain of 100 percent organic supermarkets in and around Lisbon: Miosotis. One of their branches is only a few steps away from El Corte Ingles, and it is huge. The bakery booth, the fruits and vegetables section and a decent row of gravity bins with dry food support a zero-waste lifestyle. Whether you need body care products of household chemicals, want to buy a bottle of organic port wine, or seasonal sweets, this is the first address to go. They simply have everything organic you need – except for fresh milk.

As its counterparts in much of central Europe the supermarket has a self-serviced cafe cum restaurant offering lunch and snacks. It's however closed in the evening.

If you prefer small crammed health food shops, the Bomercado near Largo do Terreirinho (a mini tram stop of number 12E in the old town) may be for you. Given the size of the shop, the selection of fresh produce is limited, and there are probably more imported products from German organic producers than from Portuguese ones, but you will find both, sufficient food and body care to survive.

Clothes and textiles

Zero waste is not only about the packaging of products to consumate, but also about re-using and up-cycling of long-living goods such as clothes. When I walked the streets of São Antonio/Misericordia I noticed a shop window presenting linen shirts which at once left the impression of being both, comfortable and long-living. I came back to Stró the other day to discover that there was more to it: beautiful caps, scarfs and pillow cushions made from natural fibers only, linen, wool, and cosy cotton jersey. For the scarfs, caps and home textiles traditional re-used fabrics and fibres as well as vintage dead stock fabrics made in Portugal are being used. Given the quality and longevity of these products made by small-scale producers in inner Portugal, they are very reasonably prized, even cheap if you're going to use them for a decade or longer.

There's a second Stró shop almost around the corner, and if you should be unlucky enough to arrive at one of the shops during lunch break, head for its sister shop as their breaks are not overlapping.

• El Corte Ingles, Avenida Antonio Augusto Aguiar 31, Mon–Thu(Fri–Sat) 10–22(23:30), Sun 10–20, PH closed
• Pigmeu da Ribeira, inside Mercado da Ribeira, Avenida 24 de Julho 1200, daily 10–23
• Miosótis S. Sebastião, Rua Latino Coelho 89, Mon–Sat 9–20:30, restaurant Mon–Sat 9–17
• Miosótis Lumiar, Alameda das Linhas de Torres (inside Mercado do Lumiar), Tue–Sat 9–20
• Bomercado, Rua dos Cavaleiros 10, Mon–Sat 10–21
• Stró, Rua da Escola politécnica 80a-b, Mon–Sat 10:30–13:30, 14:30–19:30
• Stró, Rua Nova de São Mamede 66, Mon–Sat 10:30–14:30, 15:30–19:30

Mannheim: Cafes, gastro pubs and restaurants

Eating out organic in Mannheim is different than in other cities: First it means vegetarian and vegan-friendly (almost) without exceptions. Second there seem to be no places serving national kitchens – no German Wirtshaus, no French cuisine, no Turkish fastfood and not even a mock Italian place. And finally organic here means organic for everyone, not just for a wealthy, hip and urban clientele. As a result you may miss cleverly designed cool places as much as refined coffeehouses or classy gourmet restaurants. The good news is that Mannheim's organic restaurants and cafes are extremely affordable.

Inner city

For breakfast (or a snack or coffee during the day) head for Bio-Bäcker Bihn on the ground floor of the Stadthaus housing the city library and other communal facilities and staging the city's part of the Mannheim/Heidelberg International Film Festival. Enter the complex from the north-eastern entry facing Paradeplatz, and you'll find the unpretentious bakery cum self-service cafe at the right hand site. The breakfast options served on work- and Saturdays until noon are sufficient for two not too hungry ones; you can choose from a menu which also boosts three vegan varieties or combine yourself. Coffee or tea on the go is possible, but you should rather bring your own refillable cup (or buy one on the spot) as a one-way paper beaker righteously will be charged with 25 cents. For breakfast, lunch or in between freshly prepared sandwiches are available, too (though no longer in the evening). The coffee comes from an automat, and the rather cheap-looking interior design maintains a low threshold. If you come with a family or friends pay together which will give you a small discount (10% above 20 €, 12% above 30 € and 15 percent of a total above 50€).

If you fancy a better coffee in the Schwetzingerstadt neighbourhood you may step by Eddie's, the city's zero waste grocery store.

For an organic coffee, spritzer (of fruit juice and sparkling water) or wine head for the north-western neighbourhood of Jungbusch. The vegetarian, vegan-friendly gastro pub Kombüse serves Mexican-style fastfood as well as a daily changing soup and main course, on availability (but not reliably) using organic veges. It keeps open until late and may give you an impression of the city's subculture. The place also offers a take away service, but kindly invites guests to bring their own re-usable cups and jars. You will be charged the extra expense if you insist on one-way packaging.

South of the main train station

Interestingly the hippest and most expensive places aren't located in the very city centre but south of the railway tracks. The first one is the Glückstein in Lindenhof south of the railway tracks, a short way from the banks of the river Rhine. This organic vegan restaurant took over from Frankfurt-based raw eatery Rohkosteria. You can choose from the menu which still contains a lot of raw dishes (bowls and salads, burgers, wraps, falafel, vegetable "pasta", smoothies, shots, cakes and cookies), and two warm and filling daily specials at 8 EUR (I had a simple, yet very tasty lentils-based lasagna). Although the place is open in the evenings no alcohol is being served here, and you can also have caffeine-free lupin-based "coffee" drinks. The pleasantly designed interior and the unexcited atmosphere make it an ideal place to stay for a while.

If you have a bicycle take the chance to visit the neighbourhood of Neckarau where you will find two real gems: The first one opened in 2019: Hedonist is another modern, thoroughly designed eatery, friendly, but less homely than Glückstein, rather the type of place where you expect busy business people to have a recreational and healthy lunch break (but no worries, the audience isn't that uniform). You can buy everything to take away, much of it in returnable glass jars with a deposit of 2 EUR – salads, desserts, falafel and burger sandwiches, pasta, but also German-style pork and fish main courses. On weekdays a set menu consisting of a main course and a dessert is available at lunch time. On the Thursday I was there it was (very filling and quite dry) falafel with some salad, a spoon of pickled beetroot, a small amount of lentil salad, prefectly crisp potato chips and tasty (though too cold) potato salad. While the food is being served guests may collect the generous glass of dessert from the fridge. I had the so-called cheesecake which wasn't actually a cake but a cheese cream with oranges and sponge biscuits. There were also tiramisu and blueberry or raspberry mascarpone cream. The entire vegetarian meal came at 8 EUR, if you choose a fish or meat main course the price tag increases to 11 or even 15 EUR. There's also a rack of selected wines, pickles and condiments to buy home. The place is fuelled by renewable energies.

Right next to the Hedonist you'll find the second place, a carefully curated and decorated cafe cum wine shop cum organic delicatessen dubbed Bittersüß ("bitter sweet"). Too beautiful to call it an owner-run organic grocery store you can buy all daily necessities here – fresh fruits and veges, and dairy products as well as organic bodycare. But on top of all this you'll find French sweets, selected cognac and other spirits, an abundance of wine, delicate chocolates, and last but not least the delicious products of the organic ginger bread bakery Friedmann in the same neighbourhood. Between noon and 2pm vegetarian lunch is being served on weekdays – the daily changing menu you'll find on a hand-written piece of paper at the cashier desk.

North of the Neckar river

Bicycle lovers must not miss out the city's first bike cafe in the Neckarstadt north of the river Neckar. The Café Flamme Rouge (dubbed after the red flag displayed one kilometer before the end of a bike race) was established in 2005 and serves organic bread and rolls from the Lummerland organic bakery with biodynamic vegetarian spreads, partially organic coffee, home-made pesto, pancakes and a lunch dish (the menu changes on Mondays and Thursdays).

Also located in Neckarstadt Ost the Café Pfau has a focus on regional, but unfortunately not organic ingredients. Organic products are used in the kitchen here and there, and the milk is always organic, though neither the (locally roasted) coffee or tea.

• Bio-Bäcker Bihn, Im Stadthaus N1, 1, Mon–Sat 8–19
• Alnatura, N7, 12, Mon–Sat 8–20
• Kombüse, Jungbuschstr. 23, Tue–Thu 11–23, Fri(Sat) 11(17)–1
• Glückstein, Lindenhofstr. 62, Mon–Tue(Wed–Fri) 12–14,17–21(22), Sat 17–22
• Hedonist, Friedrichstr. 8a, Mon–Sat 11:30–21
• Bittersüß, Friedrichstr. 10, Mon–Fri(Sat) 7:30(8:30)–18(13)
• Café Flamme Rouge, Lenaustr. 27, Mon–Fri(Sat) 8(9)–18(15)
• Café Pfau, Lange Rötterstr. 76, Tue–Fr(Sat,Sun,PH) 9–14(17)

More to try

The following place I had on my research list but could not make it there:

• Kleines Café, Eichendorffstr. 8, daily 9–18 (organic eggs, lemonades, and tea)

No longer organic

The Wohnhunger gifts and things shop does no longer offer organic soups or stews for lunch, and does not use organic milk for their coffee drinks. The coffee itself may occasionally be organic (as they also sell organic beans) but usually isn't.

Closed

Of the following places you may find remnants on the web but be assured: They do no longer exist.

• Café Vogelfrei, C3, 20
• Bio-Bäcker Bihn, M3, 7(moved to Stadthaus)
• envita Bio-Restaurant, Im Stadthaus N1, 1 (replaced by organic bakery Bihn)
• Hellers Vegetarisches Restaurant & Café, N7, 13–15
• O’ Dog Café, M5, 8 (Hot dogs)
• mundgrün veganerie, T3, 7 (vegan) (preceeded by Sonnenblume Naturkost)
• Veggie-Stadel (formerly Bio-Stadel), Lindenhofstr. 62 replaced by Rohkosteria
• Rohkosteria, Lindenhofstr. 62, replaced by Glückstein
• Bio-Bäcker Bihn, Kurfürstenstr. 7

Organic Bremerhaven

Located at the mouth of the river Weser, the port of Bremerhaven has been ensuring the hanseatic city of Bremen's access to the sea for sea-going ships since the 1820ies. While the container port (and unfortunately also the cruise ship terminal) continue to be important sea hubs, the historic ports of the Havenwelten ("port world") with maritime museums of all kinds make the family-friendly city a perfect destination for everyone interested in science, ships, and (e)migration.

A destination of the easy-going Weserradweg bicycle route Bremerhaven can not only be reached by regional train from Bremen, but also comfortably by bike.

Eat, drink and sleep

Since the Findus cafe and restaurant re-invented itself as an organic bakery during the covid-19 pandemics and staff shortage has been prevailing there was a period of time during which it was impossible to find a place to have (predominantly) organic dinner.

Fortunately this has changed Tuesday through Saturday as the restaurant of the sustainable Hotel Bremerhaven, the Übersee, is offering coffee, dinner and a drink in style with a view at the marina again. If you ever wanted to taste the sailor's one-pot dish of lobscouse, this is your chance (to make sure that the corned beef used that very day is organic ask whether it comes from the "Hof Icken" farm, a regular supplier to the restaurant). While omnivores may have the pleasure of feasting on a small selection of dishes typical for the region, vegetarians and vegans are catered for with salad, curry, pasta and/or risotto – and a regional soup.

The bar menu offers organic options for all types of beverages, even spirits: Scan the menu for the "bio" keyword to find them.

The hotel itself takes a lot of efforts to reduce the carbon footprint of your stay, and tries to make sustainable choices for you, including organic options for breakfast. Unfortunately you have to be a hotel guest to have breakfast here as the bistrot opens to the general public in the afternoon.

For (a late) breakfast, lunch or a very early dinner take the chance to eat out at the cafe cum restaurant of the Deutsches Auswanderer­haus, a museum dedicated to German emigration to the Americas. Referring to the mass catering to emigrants the restaurant is dubbed Speisesaal ("dining hall"), with an interior design hinting at the impersonal and overwhelming feel of refectories without creating an unpleasant atmosphere. During the warm season a spacious outdoor terrace facing the quays of the so-called new port in the Havenwelten area adds a beautiful view to extremely tasty food.

The menu consists of two parts: Fully organic, predominantly vegetarian international lunch classics like pasta, stews, and gratins, and not necessarily organic maritime classics like fish soup or fish'n'chips. The organic dishes and beverages are all marked "bio" and can be recognised by the red font colour on the menu. Fish and seafood come from responsible sources. Naturally the milk for coffee drinks is also organic. Staff shortage may occasionally lead to slow service, so enjoy the view and be a little patient.

While the Speisesaal is open to the general public, the self-service restaurants inside the Klimahaus 8° Ost a few steps away can only be accessed with a valid ticket to the museum. The museum features places located on the same lattitude like Bremerhaven as an interactive journey through the (changing) climate zones of the earth and as such is highly recommended by itself.

Before or after the "journey" you can enjoy partially organic and predominantly vegetarian food (eggs and pasta are promised to be organic), organic orange juice and soft drinks at the restaurant Längengrad. Fish and seafood carry MSC certificates, and there are no meat dishes.

Approximately after half the walk through the museum, past the exhibition over the river landscape of Cameroon, you'll find Cafe südwärts where you can have an organic break with a "Lebensbaum" tea, a "Vivani" chocolate bar or a soft-drink of either, the "Bionade" or the "Voelkel" brand.

The museum's shop is accessible for non-visitors from the entrance, the so-called Havenplaza. It offers environmentally and socially resposibly produced gifts and dry food, but unfortunately does not serve (fairly traded) coffee.

To have an organic coffee not connected with a museum you have to walk longer south, to the Fischereihafen ("fish port"). Here you'll find a small owner-run café, Grethe's, directly located at the quay. All coffee and milk is organic here, as are most of the ingredients for their cakes and vegetarian food. You can have burgers, pasta dishes, soups and stews, and most drinks apart from a few spirits are organic, too. Unfortunately also this presumably lovely place with its art gallery located in a former motor workshop closes at 6 pm and keeps open only three days a week.

An organic coffee or snack can also be had from the self-serviced cafe of the ALECO Biomarkt in the neighbourhood of Lehe, an urban train stop away from the main station.

Food and necessities

The old town of Bremerhaven sports a cosy organic package-free shop, the Glückswinkel. As most dedicated zero waste shops it offers organic and responsibly produced small-scale regional food, sustainable household items and cleaning agents, clothes for babies and toddlers, repair sets, nice gifts and more – but also fresh organic produce of the Findus organic bakery a few steps away.

The organic supermarket nearest the main train station is Der Bioladen in the streets around Holzhafen, the part of town that from 1877 for about half a century was used to land and process timber. Note that these two traditional organic supermarkets close at 6 pm and are closed on Saturday afternoons.

To find an organic supermarket with more liberal opening hours you have to go to the neighbourhood of Lehe: There you find a branch of the regional ALECO Biomarkt chain which runs many organic supermarkets in the North of Germany.

• Übersee, Am Neuen Hafen 19, Tue–Sat 14–22
• Speisesaal at Deutsches Auswandererhaus, Columbusstr. 65, daily 10–18
• Grethe's – Café am Kai, Fischkai 57, Fri–Sun 12–18
• Längengrad inside Klimahaus, Am Längengrad 8, daily 10–17, closed Dec 24,25,31 and Jan 1
• Cafe südwärts inside Klimahaus, Am Längengrad 8, daily 10–17, closed Dec 24,25,31 and Jan 1
• 8° Ost, Am Längengrad 8, daily 11–19
• Glückswinkel, Bürgermeister-Smidt-Str. 196, Tue–Fri(Sat) 10–19(15)
• Der Bioladen, Friedrichstr. 19, Mon–Fri(Sat) 8–18(13)
• ALECO Biomarkt, Langener Landstr. 28, Mon–Sat 8–20

Closed

Bremerhaven's only fully organic day cafe Findus resettled its activities during the covid-19 pandemics and became an organic bakery only. There are plans to re-open the cafe in 2024, so check on location and/or ask at the Glückswinkel.

• Findus, Bürgermeister-Smidt-Str. 212
• Grünschnabel, Theodor-Heuss-Pl. 17 (organic supermarket)