Verona: Organic ice-cream

My stays in Verona usually fill the time between two legs of a train ride: Sufficient time for a refreshing organic ice-cream in the old town – in the summer 2022 even for lunch – and to shop travel provisions. The most important learning to begin with: 2 pm on a Tuesday afternoon turns out to be the wrong time for a gelato.

My first address is the fully organic ice-cream shop Come una volta ("Just like once upon a time"). When closed the shop, located on a street corner in the old town, looks abandoned, and you may start to feel nervous when a minute before the announced opening hour there's still no light to be seen. Be calm: At the exact hour the shop assistant will arrive, unlock the doors and, within a minute, serve your order: Unusual for an ice-cream parlour the containers with the creamy, well-balanced ice-cream are closed and hidden from the visitor's eyes. Unfortunately the shop is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays.

If so proceeded to the second best, yet older one: The partially organic ice-cream parlour L'Arte del Gelato has been serving artisanal ice-cream since 2002 using organic sugar, chocolate, mint extract and fruit. The milk is produced by South-Tyrolean farms but not certified organic. I was really looking forward to taste their ice-cream again in 2021 as it had been a lip-smacking creamy experience some years before. But unfortunately I met barred doors, with a display of tempting ice-cream cakes behind since I came there on a Tuesday. In 2022 it seems however that they are back to pre-corona everyday opening hours, but I did not have sufficient time to step by.

On the aforementioned day-trip to Verona I also tried to find Gelateria Natù in the neighbourhood of Santa Croce, with little success which again had to do with a train to catch too soon. Their website was kept up to date until 2020 but I do not know whether they are still serving natural artisanal ice-cream made from organic milk and nuts. Apart from the milk-based varieties there were some vegan fruit flavours and a number of lactose and glutine free nut and chocolate flavours made with rice drink. Besides they use agave syrup instead of sugar. You may also come here for a coffee, pastry or aperitif but I cannot say whether you have organic options here. Note that this place obeys the typical Italian closing time around noon.

• Gelateria biologica "Come una Volta", Via Pellicciai 11, Wed–Sun 14–19:30, from July Wed–Sat 14:30–21:30(23), Sun 14:30–20
• L'Arte del Gelato, Via Leoni 3, Sun–Thu(Fri–Sun) 10:30–23(24)
• Gelateria Natù, Via Giuseppe Verdi 7b, Tue–Sun 8:30–13, daily 15–22

Verona: Zero Waste

So far I haven't found dedicated organic zero-waste shops which sell most of the food items from self-service dispensers in the Veneto yet. Italians are very fond of nice packaging, and even in dedicated organic supermarkets the cashier will helpfully offer you a (bio-degradable) bag. But the times are changing, and declining it will no longer be met with unbelief.

In fact all NaturaSi supermarkets I visited in 2022 and 2021 (namely the ones in Selvazzano Dentro, Abano Terme and the one in Verona's neighbourhood of San Zeno a little North-West of the Porta Nuova train station) not only offer most fruits and vegetables without packing, but also a small selection of dry food from gravity bins which you weigh into your own (pre-weighted) boxes and jars. In addition the San Zeno shop offers loose-weight household detergents to be bought by the gram.

As of NaturaSi's information the same should also apply to the branches in the neighbourhood of Veronetta and in the suburb of San Massimo (which also sports an organic day cafe).

• NaturaSi San Zeno, Via Carlo Pisacane 2/a, Mon-Sat 9-14,16-20, closed Nov 1st and Dec 12th, 2022
• NaturaSi Veronetta, Via Francesco Torbido 11/b, Mon-Sat 9-20
• NaturaSi San Massimo, Corso Milano 110, Mon-Sat 8-20

Bremen: Sunday and late-night addresses for organic stuff

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.

• Reformhaus Bacher, Hauptbahnhof between stairs to tracks 3 and 5, Mon–Fri(Sat–Sun) 7(8)–21
• Rossmann Drogeriemarkt, Hauptbahnhof, Mon–Fri(Sat–Sun) 6(8)–22
• Regiomat Lebensmittel-Punkt, inside Markthalle 8, Domshof 8-12, open 24x7
• Regiomat bey Kaemena, Niederblockland 6, daily 24x7
• Milchtankstelle Friedenskirche, Humboldtstr. 175, daily 24x7

Lilienthal: Zero-waste

Although located in the state of Lower Saxony the municipality of Lilienthal is not only the terminal stop of Bremen's tram no.4, it's also easily reachable by bicycle from Bremen, e.g. via the car-free Jan-Reiners-Wanderweg. This beautiful bicycle route through the Hollerland (a cultural landscape created by drainage by Dutch settlers around the year 1000) was opened as early as 1970 and partially runs in lieu of the former Jan Reiners train tracks, a steam train line from Bremen to Lilienthal through the moors which was operated between 1900 and 1956.

In Lilienthal make sure to stop by the wonderful farmshop of the organic farm dairy Dehlwes with its milk vending machine. The milk is guaranteed to travel no longer that 10 kilometres on average and is processed here exclusively. Although the shop isn't decidedly zero waste (in fact all other dairy products and the meat in the fridge and freezer are pre-packaged in plastics) the friendly shop assistant will happily fill your bags with bread, rolls and pastries and your boxes and jars with cheese and meat products from the sales counter. All cattle, milk and bakery products as well as mindblowingly fresh veges, fruits and (in summer) berries come from the close region (there's a separate shelf for imported fruit and veges), and – following the nose-to-tail approach – you will also find ready-made meat and offal preparations in glass jars. Just across the street you can pay a visit to the farm's own cows and hens. There used to be a small cafe on the street, the Melkhus, which has been closed since the covid-19 pandemics started in 2020.

One supplying farm to the Dehlwes dairy is the one run by the Kaemena family which has their own 24x7 open milk vending machine.

New in 2021 Lilienthal also sports a spacious, light and clean package-free self-service supermarket, the Kerngeschäft (a pun with the German translation of "core business") on the premises of the former bookstore a few steps off the town's main shopping street, Klosterstraße. During the summer the only fresh veges available were potatoes, but it is not unlikely that There's everything you need of household chemicals (including dish washer tabs by the piece), products for personal hygiene, dry food and fresh dairy products (by the Kaemena farm). Some like locally produced caramels and ketchup aren't organic, clearly visible by the missing word "bio". When I was there in the summer of 2021 the friendly shop owner told me that after the summer holidays opening hours would be increased to 8-18 Mon through Saturday, and there were plans to keep open until 8 pm at least one day per week, possibly on Thursdays.

• Hofladen Dehlwes, Trupe 18, Lilienthal, Mon–Sat 8:30–18:30
• Kerngeschäft, Stadskanaal 1,, Lilienthal, Mon–Sat(Mon,Thu) 8:30–13(18), during summer school holidays Mon,Thu(Tue,Fri,Sat) 9-18(13), summer-closed July 25 through August 10, 2022.

Munich: (Partially) organic burger grills

Burger restaurants have been trending for years, and there's still no end in sight. Most of them advertise with buzzwords like hand-made, home-made, regional and vegan, and often the quality is ways better than in the standardized mass production of American chains. But to tell greenwashing from honest interest in healthier and sustainable food the patties are key – are they made from organic meat or vegetables?

The organic burger pioneer in Munich was Cosmo-Grill opposite the Bayrische Staatsoper opera house. Tucked away in the the basement of a backyard you entered a Startrek like spaceship. Unfortunately quality and the percentage of organic ingredients diminished with the years, and the place disappeared in 2019.

In 2022 the second oldest organic burger place is Holy Burger in Haidhausen disappeared which successfully took over a location with a long history of serving organic lunch near Bordeauxplatz. I hope its sucessor won't break with the tradition of serving organic food at this address.

The Holy Burger founders separated around 2018, and the Neuhausen Holy Burger branch changed its name to Goldene Rakete. The "golden rocket" started with three branches, with the flagship decorated with film posters in 70-ies style in Glockenbachviertel: Before corona this place was crowded and almost painfully noisy even on weekday evenings – don't come here if you actually want to converse with friends. The place does not only serve burgers (where it still sticks more or less to the Holy Burger menu), but also bowls, and salads. All meat, the seitan and chickpeas patties as well as the milk for the coffee drinks are organic. Unsurprisingly they also offer fashionable home-made lemonades (not organic). If you are in the mood for wine, gin and tonics you have organic options which are clearly marked "bio" on the menu. In addition the Aqua Monaco soft drinks and the Mondino vermouth are organic, too. On weekends the Glockenbach branch also offers breakfast.

• Goldene Rakete, Fraunhofer Str. 39, Sun–Thu(Fri–Sat) 11:30–24(2), Sat–Sun 9:30–15, during covid-19 daily 12–14:30,17–21
• Goldene Rakete, Ursulastr. 3, Mon–Thu(Fri–Sat) 12–23(24), Sun 15–22, during covid-19 daily 12–14:30,17–21
• Goldene Rakete, Schulstr. 2, Sun–Thu(Fri–Sat) 11:30–23(24), during covid-19 daily 12–14:30,17–21

Closed

• Cosmogrill, Maximilianstr. 10 (entrance via Falkenturmstr.
• Holy Burger, Wörthstr. 7