Göttingen: Organic coffee bars and restaurants

Cities with major universities have had organic shops long before the arrival of the big organic supermarkets, and Göttingen doesn't make an exception: Probably the eldest still existing organic cafe in town is Café Inti, serving tapas, sandwiches and small dishes with a Bolivian touch to it, or at least what a students' cafe is offering as such: good and filling due to proper organic ingredients, but far from any ambition for authenticity. The "Inti-Tasche" for example isn't a corn tortilla wrap but a plain white ciabatta-type roll filled with Italian-style antipasti. Needless to say that they offer Italian-style fairly traded coffee drinks (with organic milk from a local farm if you like) and yummy cakes, and what's even better: They serve breakfast until 2pm. A welcoming place all day around if you like places with a liberal collegiate atmosphere whereof there are quite a number in the city.

At the market place Am Wochenmarkt climb the stairs up to lokal neun, a dinner restaurant using preferably organic ingredients from the region. It serves organic burgers and steaks, but also vegan dishes. A pleasant place to enjoy a summer evening on the roof terrace, but unfortunately the cocktails aren't organic. Note that the kitchen already closes at 9pm.

Theatre, comedy, concerts – the Apex near Deutsches Theater stages an interesting blend of cultural entertainment, predominantly in German. From the street the place run by a non-profit association is barely visible if you aren't aware of the address, and I was surprised to find such a spacious rustic restaurant (instead of the small theatre bar I had imagined) after passing the hallway.

The place is neither fully organic nor certified, but many ingredients come from organic farms and producers in the region. Where else would you expect to find a comforting home-made chicken soup (made from organic chicken)? On the menu of the week I was there, I also found wild boar or the yummy shashuka with organic eggs and tomatoes (which I had). In addition to the weekly changing seasonal menu there's a bunch of rustic German or Mediterranean starters and main dishes served regularly, some of them suitable for vegans. The tasty home-made white bread made from organic wheat tasted home-made rather than made by a professional artisanal baker. There's a selection of organic drinks, unfortunately none of the wines. The service (many of them seemed like students) was swift and attentive, and the guests mainly local, of a broad range of ages, my guess would be between 30 and 70.

Film enthusiasts will love the Méliès arthouse cinema inside a former Baptist church on Bürgerstraße. But whether you want to have a snack prior to the film or a simple mediterranean dinner the Bistro Cichon im Méliès is the perfect place if you like cafe bars decorated by film lovers. During the warm season you can sit in the beautiful garden – when it's raining there's also a small greenhouse to keep you dry. While the (vegetarian) food, sweets and non-alcoholic beverages are predominantly organic the selection of organic wines is surprisingly small. The focus is on snacks from the Mediterranean, tasty but not necessarily authentically spiced. Unfortunately the place – just as the "lokal neun" – is closed both on Sundays and Mondays.

Another vegetarian, vegan-friendly place is the P-Café in the backyard of St. Nikolai church. Here they are highly attentive to allergies, lactose intolerance and gluten-free diets, and wheelchair users are kindly asked to ring the bell at the main entrance facing the narrow lane part of the Nikolaikirchhof. And the best of all: it's 100 percent organic – warm and cold drinks as well as the cakes, breakfast items, salads, soups, sandwiches and wraps. The pleasantly decorated place hosts game nights (Göttingen has quite a tradition for playing board and card games in good old analogue fashion) as well as small concerts and musical sessions, readings and other cultural events. During the warm season you can sit outside, enjoying the church yard. And the best: The place keeps open on Sundays.

Coffee places

If all you want is a coffee shot head for the city's only organic coffee roasters', Contigo. This fair-trade shop not only sells colourful gifts, fashion items, jewelry, organic coffee and chocolates, but sports a beautiful cafe corner serving organic coffee drinks and refreshments. If you choose a capuccino, flat white, latte or espresso macchiato with cow or oat milk, the milk comes in returnable cans from the Naturmilchhof dairy farm about half an hour by bike away.

The farm also supplies milk to the Christian charity cafe Hope next to St. Mary's church (Sankt Marien). As of summer 2024 their window front looks a little dusty due to street construction work in front of the cafe.

The Weltladencafé fair-trade shop cum café near St. Nikolai church is less focused on handicraft. Even without an own roastery it's more café than shop, a homely-bohemian living room with outdoor seating on the footpath when the weather is nice. The place is run by a collective of volunteers, so be nice: They aren't paid to serve you. Come by for a recreational coffee break with coffee from a proper steam-driven espresso machine. Occasionally home-made cakes are being served: Since they are home-made by volunteers I wouldn't expect that they are always made from predominanly organic ingredients. Unfortunately they don't serve savoury snacks, but you may of course buy some fairly traded nuts or chips and consume them at the café.

At the main train stations of bigger German cities you will usually find a franchise serving coffee drinks made with organic milk, either a "Coffee Fellows" shop or, as in Göttingen, a branch of the organic porridge brand "Haferkater". If you have sufficient time insist on having your coffee in an earthenware cup on the spot; returnable cups for a coffee on the go unfortunately require registration with an app. The shop's comparably liberal opening hours make it a good last ressort on Sundays, early mornings or weekdays after 6pm.

• Café Inti, Burgstr. 17, daily 10–18
• lokal neun, Kurze-Geismar-Str. 9, entrance Am Wochenmarkt, Tue–Thu(Fri–Sat) 17–23(24)
• Apex, Burgstr. 46, Tue–Sat 17:30–24
• Bistro Cichon im Méliès, Bürgerstr. 13, Tue–Sat 17:30–21, in August 18–20
• P-Café, Nikolaikirchhof 11, Tue,Wed,Sun(Thu–Sat) 10–18(22)
• Contigo, Lange-Geismar-Str. 51, Mon–Fri(Sat) 9:30–18:30(18)
• Weltladencafé, Nikolaistr. 10, Mon–Sat 10–18
• Hope, Groner-Tor-Str. 29a, Mon–Fri(Sat) 9(10)–17:30(18)
• Haferkater, Bahnhofspl. 1, Mon–Fri(Sat–Sun) 6(8)–20

Closed

• Dabis Kaffeestube, Rote Str. 39 (coffee house)

Kassel: Sustainable, organic and eco fashion

When I visited Kassel I didn't intend to shop clothes, so I did not do any upfront research in this direction. But then I passed two well-assorted organic fashion boutiques and decided to assemble a small post well aware of that there are most certainly more sustainable fashion shops in town which I do great injustice to by not mentioning them here.

The first one is Timeless, originally a skater's shop turned into an organic and fair streetware boutique offering a great selection of jeans and casual clothing for all sexes as well as a small assortment of hip, bike and travel bags and shoes. The predecessor of "Timeless" on this location was the sister branch of the "Fresh Lollipop" store in Göttingen.

Fresh Lollipop's current location is just a few corners away and offers more versatile styles. In addition to clothing you also find sustainably and fairly produced fashion accessories from scarfs to bags.

• Fresh Lollipop, Neue Fahrt 2, Mon–Sat 10–18
• Timeless, Wolfsschlucht 13, Mon–Sat 10–19

Kassel: Organic ice-cream

Kassel is a city consisting of many straight and very long avenues. One of them, the Wilhelmshöher Allee, connects the inner city with the train station Kassel-Wilhelmshöhe serving long distance connections, and Europe's largest hillsite park and UNESCO World Heritage site Bergpark Wilhelmshöhe with its impressive baroque monuments. Your way there is sweetened by two organic ice-cream parlours.

Vegans should stop at Frohnatur, a young and dedicated vegan organically certified ice-cream parlour. The flavours are made from a variety of plant-based drinks, supporting the name-giving flavouring ingredient. My favourite is pumpkin seed while less fatty, more subtle flavours such as tonka are missing a round and creamy note. All ice-cream flavours are served made into "spaghetti" or in classic German ball shape, according to your liking, and there's a sundae menu (among others sporting a popcorn sundae). You can get a proper Italian coffee drink and have waffles or a home-made cake. The wafer cones are also home-made, and small pieces are being served with your espresso.

If you like the classical West-German Italian ice-cream parlour with its greasy sundae menu and the brownish-red plastic-coated cushion seats (to name only a few prejudices) a visit to Eiscafé Cortina is a must. You probably wouldn't expect such a place to be 100 percent organic, but here you are, and if you have a fancy for less common flavours in an ice-cream cone on the go it takes a while to make a decision. Traditionalists, rest assured: you'll also find standard flavours, and most organic supermarkets in town and in the vicinity stock pre-packaged Cortina ice-cream in standard flavours. Needless to say that this ice-cream parlour is also a gorgeous place for the classical Italian coffee espresso shot.

• Frohnatur, Wilhelmshöher Allee 18, daily 12–19 (warm season), Thu–Tue 12–18 (autumn season starting mid of September), Thu–Sun 12–18 (cold season as of March 2024)
• Eiscafé Cortina, Wilhelmshöher Allee 134, daily 10–22

Göttingen: Sustainable, organic and eco fashion

I may be biased but I find it easier to spot sustainable fashion boutiques in smaller cities with a university than elsewhere, and Göttingen is no exception.

It's the only West-German city with a branch of the colourful Mrs. Hippie chain (the other branches are in Dresden, Erfurt, Leipzig and Magdeburg). As the name suggests, colourful loose-fitting comfort fashion made from fibres of natural origin dominates the shop. The prices here are moderate, but to be affordable for smaller purses the shop makes compromises: While fabrics made from organic cotton or linen are available, there's also a lot of viscose (usually not made with the eco-friendly lyocell process). Recyclability (which would require mono-materials) is not in the focus (many pieces contain rayon/elastane), but sustainable production, preferably in Europe, definitely is.

If sustainable brands are important to you, you'll find a lot of both, established and less known brands at Fresh Lollipop. All pieces here are fairly produced, both, with respect to the working conditions of the growers of natural fibres, the producers of the fabrics and the textile workers. The fabrics are either mono-materials, recycled and/or certified organic, to work into the direction of cradle-to-cradle processes. In the few cases where polymere mono-materials are used in washable textiles, only new PE and nylon is used to minimise microplastics abrasion in the washing machine. Apart from clothes and shoes for all sexes, bags, rucksacks and other accessories are being sold on two floors. There's a second shop in Kassel.

For organic clothes for babies, toddlers and younger children simply cross the street where you find Sperling Mode & Natur. The crammed, yet cosy shop has a long history: It was established in 1983. It also sells a small selection for women and uni-sex accessories. If you come with smaller kids, there's a small table where they can draw and colour.

Whether you are generally prefering long-lasting artisanal (and as a consequence more expensive) clothing made from natural materials of highest quality or simply like to spend time in a carefully curated boutique for the distinguished bourgeois, take a break at Woggon. Clothes, shoes, bags and other accessories are beautifully presented in a wood-and-brick showroom with a beautiful staircase, everything nicely arranged with carefully choosen details: a book here, a typewriter there. The service is impeccable, and as another customer exclaimed: "It's difficult not to buy a nice thing here." The shop also serves as a beautiful venue for concerts and readings.

Long-lasting clothes from natural fibres, often organic and often made from mono-materials can be found at the outlet of the Freiburg-based sustainable web and post order shop Waschbär – at least until October, 31st 2024 when the shop is going to be closed.

Fairly traded accessories and jewellery of beautiful and long lasting quality can also be obtained from the Contigo fair trade boutique.

• Mrs. Hippie, Zindelstr. 8, Mon–Fri(Sat) 10–19(18)
• Fresh_Lollipop, Rote Str. 12, Mon–Sat 10–18
• Sperling Mode & Natur, Rote Str. 30, Mon–Sat 10:30–18
• Woggon, Barfüßerstr. 1, Mon–Fri(Sat) 9:30–19(18)

Göttingen: Zero Waste

While thriving during the covid-19 pandemics, package-free supermarkets have been facing hard times thereafter, and in big cities with high rents we've seen a wave of shop closings. Even the beautiful grocery Wunderbar unverpackt ("Wonderfully devoid of packaging") which opened May 2018 wasn't able to survive and closed for good in 2023.

To refill dry food supplies from gravity bins pay a visit to the Naturalia grocery at Wöhlerplatz, a traditional crammed organic corner shop which offers a small assortment of dry food (pasta, cereals, nuts, rice and the like) in self-service dispensers. Apart from this eggs, bakery items, fruits, veges and cheese can be taken home in your own jars and bags. In addition the place is also a tea shop – so bring your tea boxes for refill. If you stay in town for a longer period of time consider to collect stamps on the Göttingen Climate Card ("Klima-Karte") here each time you use your own bag or box. When you collect 16 stamps from a number of (not necessarily organic) shops, market boothes and restaurants in town you will be rewarded with a climate-positive goodie bag and earn support for climate projects in town.

The second organic grocery to collect Climate Card stamps from is the Bioladen an der Burgstraße, a dedicated anti-fascist neighbourhood grocery next to Cafe Inti. A few years ago this cosy full-retailer replaced a branch of an organic bakery based in Klein Lengden with shops both there and in Göttingen, delivering to many organic markets in the greater region. The Sunday-open place has the air of a traditional organic corner shop and makes an extra effort to offer products packaged in returnable glasses, among others wine gums. More liquorice and jellies can be bought by the gram, and together with the cheese and bakery counter (which fills about half of the entire location), the racks with fruit and veges and the dairy products and drinks in deposit glasses and bottles my estimate is that more than half of the goods can be bought without disposable packaging.

The shop also has an innovative approach to keep away wasps from ripe fruits: small trays filled with over-ripe fruit juice on a window sill a little apart from the entrance attract the insects which are occupied there as long as you don't disturb them.

The Gemüseladen in the Western suburb of Geismar, near the church of St. Martin, is not participating in the Klima-Karte scheme. However, this organic greengrocery is offering an abundance of regional produce which you can take home in your own bags.

On the other side of the street you'll find Le Bol, a bio-dynamic organic French-German artisanal sourdough bakery – according to locals making the best bread in town. Needless to say that you can come with your own bag and that the bread keeps fresh much longer than ordinary fare. Given that the baker has to rise early so you can have fresh bread in the morning, opening hours are restricted to the morning ihours except on Thursdays.

If you are on a bike tour or stay in town a little longer consider a visit to the Naturmilchhof Gartetal organic dairy farm. To get their continue from Geismar to the village of Diemarden about four to five kilometres away. Buying fresh milk, oat drink, yogurt, kefir or cheeses from the farm's own dairy is unfortunately somewhat inconvenient as you must register at the farm's web shop to use their self-service farmshop guarded by surveillance cameras. Then you would use the computer inside the shop to register your purchase, and your debt will be detracted from your bank account. I haven't checked whether this works with any European bank account. All liquid and semi-liquid products come in returnable plastic bottles and jars with a deposit. The shop is closed on Sundays and public holidays.

Household items supporting a package-free lifestyle can be found at the factory outlet of the eco postal order shop Waschbär near Geismartor. Here you may also refill cleaning agents, liquid soap and detergents to get a stamp on your Climate Card. Unfortunately the shop is going to close for good by the end of October, 2024.

For loose weight organic tea you may also pay a visit to Tee Gschwendner. Just like other franchises of this brand they sell more conventional than organic teas, but the shop assistants will show the right sorts when you ask for "bee-o" (bio) teas and place your tea box on the till.

• Naturalia Naturkost, Kurze Str. 17, Mon-Fri(Sat) 10–18(13)
• Bioladen an der Burgstraße, Burgstr. 18, Mon–Fri(Sat) 8:30(8)–18(14), Sun 9:30–11
• Der Gemüseladen, Bäckergasse 1b, Geismar, Mon–Fri(Sat) 8–18(13), Sat in July/August 8–12
• Le Bol, , Tue–Wed,Fri–Sat(Thu) 9(15)–12(18)
• Naturmilchhof Gartetal, Schwarze Gasse 6, Mon–Sat 8–18
• Waschbär, Kurze Geismar-Str. 5–7, Mon–Fri(Sat) 10–19(18)
• Tee Gschwendner, Kornmarkt 9, Mon–Fri(Sat) 10–18(17)

Closed

• Wunderbar unverpackt, Groner-Tor-Str. 22 (there's still a shop in Braunschweig)