Friday, 05 January 2024
The Leipzig
Hauptbahnhof (main station) is not just
Europe's largest head train station with fine arched halls and a generous concourse, it's also home to
a Sunday-open two-storey shopping mall dubbed "Promenaden". The shops are predominantly branches of the same boring chains as everywhere but since organic products have been entering the main stream this mall not only gives you the opportunity to replenish stocks when everything else is closed but allows the traveller to quickly shop for organic provisions while changing trains or while the locomotive of their train is being exchanged.
The mall is situated below track level, just walk right away to the arrival hall and take the escalator stairs down. All shops mentioned here are located on ground floor, i.e. one level below the long distance trains.
Your first option is a 100 percent organic supermarket near the Western entry of the mall: The nation-wide operating Alnatura chain is running one of the smaller Alnatura Express convenience stores for last minute provisions here. It can be reached easily from track 2 by a moving walkway. Downstairs turn right (facing away from the tracks), and there you'll easily spot the fresh-green coloured shop – a provider not only of all daily necessities, but also of fully organic snacks and coffee on the go.
For those who wish to refill their drinking bottle with tea or infusion, the "Tea(bag) of the week" comes at the unbeatable price of 1 EUR. The staff will happily fill your entire bottle with hot tea water if you ask nicely. Unfortunately opening hours on Sundays are limited to the afternoon.
When you find it closed do not despair: Next to it a Rossmann drugstore offers a good selection of organic dry goods, preserves, drinks and natural body care, though less than the DM branch mentioned below. If in a hurry you can buy the following brands without hesitation: "Alverde", "Sante", "Lavera", "Weleda" (toiletries), "EnerBio" and "Veganz" (food, the latter is entirely vegan). Since 2020 the range of environmentally friendlier household items has been on the rise: now you'll find the entire list of grandma's cleaning chemicals in the shelves, both citric and acetic acid as well as soda, beeswax food wraps and more, and in 2021 the company launched their own brand of environmentally certified range of cleaning products, "ecofreude".
The Eastern-most part of the mall (to the right when facing the tracks) houses a branch of the DM Drogeriemarkt
offering an abundance of certified organic dry goods, preserves, drinks, natural body care and eco-friendly household chemicals (see here for a detailed description), in short: everything you need while travelling except for fresh and frozen food.
Still in the East wing though more central you'll find a Vitalia wholefood market which in addition to dry goods, sweets and snacks, toiletries and detergents also sells fresh food: Here you can get organic bakery items and and sandwiches, fresh dairy products and a small selection of organic fresh fruit and veges. Prices here are more upmarket than at the DM branch, and you have to check for organic labels, too, though to a lesser extend. If in doubt the staff is more competent than the one in the drugstore superstores and they are two hours longer open on Sundays than the Alnatura.
If in the mood for a good coffee a difficult question might bother the eco-conscious traveller: Should I have an organic coffee made by the coffee automat of the Alnatura snack bar or do I rather prefer a properly pressure-made yet conventional espresso in the beautiful bookshop cafe Ludwig on track level? I'd love to recommend the latter in this blog but organic ingredients are limited to organic syrup to flavour the coffee and iced tea of Coca Cola's organic brand "Honest". The coffee bar used to have organic apple spritzer but unfortunately no longer. With its beautiful ceiling the well-assorted bookstore however is worth visiting in its own right. While the book shop keeps open longer the cafe is closing at 6 pm.
City centre
If you have the time to take a stroll into the city centre, make sure to pay a visit to the bakery of the Macis restaurant a little south of the Thomaskirche yard with the famous Bach memorial, if only to marvel at the mouth-watering fully organic and skillfully decorated cakes and club sandwiches in the shop window. Unlike the organic convenience store next to it the bakery keeps open on Sunday mornings, and if you buy of their artisanal breads some organic butter is absolutely sufficient for a gorgeous picnic.
2024-01-05 13:30:00
[Leipzig, organic, vegan, gifts, snacks, lunch, supermarkets, grocery, trainstation, coffee, books, bakeries]
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Organic wholesale in the capital of Saxony (which is governed by a red-red-green coalition) used to be dominated by the local economy,
but since the oldest organic supermarket in town, Biosphäre, became part of the nation-wide Denn's chain in 2018, the picture has been resembling the one in other German metropolises: The market is devided between two local actors, a regional one and two of the nation-wide operating grocery chains, with a hand-full of smaller corner shops filling niches.
The largest density of organic supermarkets can naturally be found in the vibrant Wilhelminian style quarter of Neustadt north of the river Elbe with its – gentrification aside – still predominantly left-wing population of artists, students, activists, tourists, hipsters and bourgeois green-party voters.
Neustadt
It hasn't been always this way, but walking the old streets of Innere Neustadt with open eyes will present you with an abundance of shops and eateries boosting of vegetarian and vegan products. Many of them use organic produce, but won't advertise it – partially because they blend with conventional products, and use of organic ingredients will vary, partially in fear of being prejudged as expensive. Fortunately it is nowadays easier to find an organic supermarket in this neighbourhood
than a conventional one, so if you're tired of asking just walk to the next crossroad, and there you are.
The former Biosphäre markets are located here: the older one on Königsbrücker Landstraße opposite Schauburg theatre, and an even larger one in Alaunstraße a few metres from Albertplatz which replaced a conventional supermarket. Both have a self-service area where you can have coffee, cakes, pastry, sandwiches at any time of the day, and soups for lunch. Students are entitled a 10 percent discount on Wednesdays.
Recently the shop in Alaunstraße also took a small effort to support package-free shopping.
Berlin-based organic supermarket chain Bio Company has a branch a little south along the tramway tracks on Königsbrücker Landstraße. Just like the Denn's branches it closes at liberal 9 pm.
The Bio Company stores recently introduced fill-yourself stations with dry food and sweets. This shop offers more refill options that the one near Blaues Wunder bridge.
If you despair in face of the piles of plastics and paper wrappings you've been collecting while doing your regular shopping, re-use your glasses, containers and bags and refill them at Lose, a cosy zero-waste corner store in Böhmische Straße.
Altstadt
The Denn's Biomarkt chain not only took over the two former Biosphäre markets in the Neustadt but also opened a new supermarket within the Altmarktgalerie shopping mall.
Near
Bahnhof Mitte train station you'll find the main branch of VG Biomarkt, an organic co-operative which not only supports your zero-waste efforts but also sports its own organic fashion store.
Striesen, Blasewitz, Loschwitz, Johannstadt
The neighbourhoods along the river shore on the east side of town sport several branches of the zero-waste friendly VG Biomarkt food co-operative.
South of the Blaues Wunder bridge, local butcher's chain Vorwerk Podemus has one of its pleasant wholesale supermarkets.
First address for shortly travelled organic meat of animals which had a decent life. They also have branches in the neighbourhoods of Gruna, Neustadt, Alttolkewitz as well as a farmshop. While the Podemus shops do not offer food in gravity bins, they have been increasing their product range with jogurt, honey and jams in 250 ml deposit glasses lately. Make sure to return them in any organic supermarket.
Another option in the neighbourhood of Blasewitz is the second Bio Company branch in town. Just like in the Neustadt branch the bakery disk caters for the early bird from 7:30 am.
The only branch of a nation-wide operating organic grocery chain so far is Alnatura on tram hub Straßburger Platz which many locals still refer to by its old name from GDR times, "Fucikplatz".
Bühlau, Weißer Hirsch
To find fully organic groceries on top of the hillside North of the Blaues Wunder bridge, in the elegant residential area of Weißer Hirsch and adjacent Bühlau interestingly proves to be more difficult. What I found instead was the shop of a small-scale vegan manufacturer, Vegannett (a pun made of the words "vegan" and "nice", while the second part of the name also refers to the name of the owner-founder, Annett). On the premises of a former partially organic butcher's shop she prepares vegetable spreads which you can buy in many of the aforementioned supermarkets. But if you happen to be there on a Wednesday afternoon, pay a visit, taste and shop. In addition to the spreads you can also buy local honey. And the
best: Since 2022 the spreads have been coming in deposit glasses!
Klotzsche
If you fancy a stroll in the woods of Dresdner Heide or are on the way from or to the airport make sure to have sufficient time to visit the beautifully restored historical train station Klotzsche with its
Vorwerk Podemus supermarket and the organic station restaurant, both catering for the early bird.
Closed down
The following (partially) organic supermarkets do no longer exist although you will still find references to them on the web:
2024-01-05 12:00:00
[Dresden, Neustadt, organic, supermarkets, grocery, eatery, lunch, snacks, coffee, vegan, trainstation, farms, Elbe_cycle_route, Elberadweg]
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Thursday, 20 July 2023
Bavarian opening hour regulations are far from liberal, hence your shopping options on Sundays and after 8 pm are limited to, uhmmm, petrol stations, more or less. Not the kind of place you'll expect to find organic food, toiletries or other necessities in eco-conscious quality.
But the times, they are changing, and for the organic Munich traveller or inhabitant, there's no reason to despair anymore. Your best bet are railway stations, namely Hauptbahnhof (main station) and Ostbahnhof.
At the Hauptbahnhof enter the basement from Elisenhof in Western direction, following the S-Bahn signs (if you come from the trains head straight ahead to the Eastern exit to enter the basement). Opposite the entry to S-Bahn (urban trains) you'll find Biokultur, a full-fledged organic supermarket. It's your only choice for fresh organic fruit and veges on Sundays and offers everything you'll expect from a full retailer (including wine, household cleaning items, toiletries, ...) as well as a pleasant shopping atmosphere. Before the covid-19 pandemics, this organic supermarket kept open after 8 pm, but shortage of staff applies here as well, so in 2023 the shop still keeps open on Sundays, but without extended opening hours.
There's a second branch in the neighbourhood of Riem, without a permit to keep open on Sundays.
Next to the Biokultur at Hauptbahnhof you'll find a branch of the local organic Hofpfisterei bakery chain, the only one open on Sundays. As all of their branches it also stocks a small range of organic drinks, dry and dairy products as well as organic cold cuts. On weekdays they offer a selection of yummy organic sandwiches to take with you,
both, vegetarian and omnivore, most of them with gorgeous German sourdough bread – perfect provisions for train travellers. On weekends only buttered prezls ("Butterbrezn") are available for take out.
Unfortunately the Hofpfisterei branch at Ostbahnhof train station does no longer keep open on Sunday mornings, but a five minutes brisk walk from the station you'll find one of those family-owned bakeries that are becoming so rare these days. Leave the station at Orleansplatz exit, cross the square and follow the tram tracks along Wörthstraße. At the end of Bordeauxplatz square, corner Metzstraße, you'll find Cafe Reichshof run by the Neulinger family, a lovely coffeehouse cum pastry shop. Treat yourself with their delicious organic cakes, icecream or a savory organic snack like the traditional Bavarian Weißwurst (sausage) breakfast. If you don't feel intrigued to stay shop from a huge range of organic bread, rolls, and cakes. You can also buy a small selection of prepackaged cheese and meat cuts, butter, milk and jams from the fridge opposite the coffee machine.
Starting in 2022, the other Neulinger branches in Neuhausen, the meat-packing district of Ludwigsvorstadt and the wholesale market area in Sendling have been keeping open on Sundays and public holidays, too, though some only for breakfast.
Everything you need for a sumptious breakfast or cold snack (except fresh fruit and veges) can be bought from Fritz Mühlenbäckerei near Rosenheimer Platz. Between 1987 and 2010 this cosy artisanal baker's shop was the headquarter of one of Munich's eldest organic bakeries. Now the scent of warm bread fresh from the oven is gone – all the production takes place in modern facilities in the outskirts of Aying. The shop however is still here and open on Sunday mornings, including a small grocery section equipped with a large fridge.
About ten years after the Fritz bakery moved their bakery from the Haidhausen backyard to Aying the bakers came back to town with a bread bakery in Glockenbachviertel. The former cafe re-opened in June 2020 – buy your daily artisanal bread and watch the bakers at work.
If you happen to be in Grünwald on a Sunday morning (or another day of the week during working hours) make sure to buy the best German sourdough bread in the entire Munich area from Lokalbäckerei Brotzeit. Their bread workshop is located on the premises of the Alter Wirt hotel, with a separate entrance and a small lunch cum cafe counter where you can choose a roll and from a range of all organic spreads, coldmeat, cheeses and more to get your customised sandwich.
Back at Ostbahnhof trainstation, directly at the southern exit of the U-Bahn station into the Ostbahnhof building you'll find the place that will save your life after 8pm: This branch of the DM-Drogeriemarkt chain does not only stock the usual excellent range of natural bodycare, organic dry products, vegan alternatives and eco-friendly household helpers, but boosts a capable selection of dairy products, eggs and even a freezer stocked with organic pizza, berries, icecream, ... Unfortunately – and unlike other DM branches – organic choices and certified natural cosmetics aren't clearly marked on the shelves, so watch out for organic and natural cosmetics labels, and brands.
Vending machines
A few steps from the urban train stop Johanneskirchen, directly located at the bus stop "Johanneskirchen Bhf" there's an 24x7 open vending machine selling Bavarian produce: Not everything from the so-called Regiomat is organic, but you can buy organic eggs, UHT milk, cheese, chocolate pudding, cream and ready-made tomato sauce.
By the summer 2020 the concept of vending machines for products of smaller local farms finally had made it into Munich town, too: The Erntebox vending machines offer eggs and chicken meat, sausages, cheese, pasta and fruit jam, not everything organic, but most likely from farmers around Munich with a focus on sustainability. There's one at the Grünspitz in Giesing, a hotspot for urban agricultural and greening projects, and another at busy Berg-am-Laim-Straße in the Eastern neighbourhood of Baumkirchen. To find the latter isn't easy: Follow the shop windows of the (conventional) Aumüller bakery in in city (Western) direction and stop when the house turns at an angle. Unfortunately the number of certified organic products has been decreasing here: When I re-checked in summer 2023, the organic sausages were gone, but there's again a good selection of organic cheeses.
2023-07-20 22:00:01
[Munich, Gruenwald, Johanneskirchen, Haidhausen, Sendling, organic, coffee, gifts, snacks, lunch, breakfast, bakeries, grocery, supermarkets, trainstation, Regiomat, covid, corona, sunday_open]
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Sunday, 04 June 2023
The Erfurt
Hauptbahnhof (main station) replaced Jena Paradies as changing hub for ICE long distance trains in Thuringia some time ago, and given the fact that the city's beautiful old town is not far away from the station this is good news for all who have a little time between corresponding trains.
If you have ten minutes this is sufficient to buy an
organic chai latte or a fairly traded (yet not organic) coffee drink with organic milk at Coffee Fellows, a Munich-based coffee chain. Bringing your own mug will save you 25 cents, or use a Recup return cup. Otherwise you will get a plastic-coated one-way cup for take away which (hopefully) from June 2020 will be replaced by a home-compostable plastic-free one. If you have the time stay and have your coffee in a glass or creamware cup. They also offer two types of organic softdrinks — make sure to take the ones labelled "bio", unfortunately those come in one-way plastic bottles.
A better selection of pre-bottled organic drinks (also in one-way plastics) as well as pre-packaged sweets, nuts and dry food, in addition to natural body care you'll find at the Rossmann Express drugstore on the shopping aisle between the tracks. As Rossmann stocks a lot of conventional products make sure to stick to organic brands when in a hurry: "Alverde", "Lavera", "Weleda" and "Sante" are certified natural, food and sweets of the "EnerBio" and "Veganz" brands certified organic.
If you have half an hour of changing time between your trains there's a 100 percent organic supermarket just a few steps in direction of the old town where the nation-wide operating Alnatura chain is running one of their convenience stores. Unfortunately it's not part of the train station's shopping mall and hence closed on Sundays, public holidays or late in the evening.
2023-06-04 16:00:00
[Erfurt, organic, vegan, snacks, lunch, supermarkets, grocery, trainstation, coffee, covid, corona]
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Thursday, 25 August 2022
Organic and eco-conscious trade in the city of Bremen is still dominated by smaller shops and supermarkets closing between 6 and 7 pm, and between noon and 2 pm on Saturdays. Although outlets of the Alnatura and Aleco organic supermarket chains keep open until 8 pm, you might end up quite frustrated if your schedule doesn't allow for day-time-on-weekdays shopping.
Big conventional supermarkets and discounter shops in Bremen like Rewe and Penny often keep open until 10 pm Monday to Saturday. The latter puts green labels on the shelves in front of organic products which help to find organically certified food.
There's a cluster of Sunday-open shops inside Hauptbahnhof, the main train station, and these usually keep open on public holidays, too. So unless you're longing for fresh veges or frozen food, you should be safe, even on Sundays and in the evening.
A small selection of fresh fruit, dairy products and non-dairy alternatives, drinks, dry food, sweets, natural cosmetics and a full-fledged range of bread, rolls, and pastries (both, sweet and savoury) can be found at the Reformhaus Bacher health-food shop (before 2021 its name was "Betterlife"). All fresh bakery products are organic, but you have to check for organic labels on pre-packaged items as about half the products on offer aren't certified as organic food or natural cosmetics.
With their own brands "Alterra" (certified natural cosmetics), "Eco-Freude" (sustainable household detergents) and "Alverde" (food) Rossmann drugstores are an alternative for the small purse. The branch inside Hauptbahnhof keeps open 16 hours a weekday, and 14 on weekends and bank holidays. It's easy to find: Climb the stairs to the right after entering the central station from the Bahnhofsplatz tram and bus hub.
What's unique for a German city is that there's a Sunday-open package-free convenience store:
Selfair at the Steintor.
Vending machines
For pre-packaged organic sausage and meat products, predominantly in the jar head for the Lebensmittel-Punkt inside the Markthalle 8 food court at Domshof. When you enter the building there's a 24x7 open vending machine at the right hand side where you can buy a lot of regional sausage specialities as well as ready-made meat stock.
You can also put orders of fresh meat at their webshop and collect your order on Fridays and Saturdays between 11 am and 6 pm from the dish counter of the food court.
The name "Lebensmittel-Punkt" is a play on words – the composed noun can mean both, "place to buy food" and "centre of vital interest".
At the organic farm of the Kaemena family in Blockland you'll find 24x7 open vending machines for local organic products. Here
you can tap raw or pasteurized milk into your own bottle, the liter for 1.20 EUR.
If you did not bring one you can buy a returnable milk bottle for the price of 2 EUR the Regiomat vending machine which also stocks jam, drinking yogurt and cheese from the farm as well as cheese, eggs, honey and sausage in the jar by organic farms in the vicinity. In addition there's a little freezer with iced lollies at 2.50 EUR the piece for which you pay into the honesty box next to it – all worth the bicycle tour on the dyke as cars need a special permission to come here. Don't forget to bring cash.
Both, the jam and jogurt glasses can be returned here for re-use (there's a separate "waste-bin" next to the vending machine), but to get back the deposit for the milk bottles you have to turn to the farm cafe during its opening hours.
In 2022 a second milk vending machine and a Regiomat found their way into the city: In front of the Friedenskirche in the Viertel you can however tap pasteurized milk only, no raw milk. As the milk has to come here by car the prize for the liter is higher than the one next to the milking parlour.
And last but not least: The Kaemena's newly (in 2022) established ice-cream cum farm shop in the Neustadt part of town keeps open on Sundays and public holidays and sells jogurt, cheese and naturally milk.
2022-08-25 12:00:02
[Bremen, Blockland, organic, supermarkets, grocery, bodycare, trainstation, farms, Regiomat, sunday_open]
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