A Sustainable Guide to Munich: Bavaria’s Capital Goes Green, Too !

The cozy shop “Ohne” (which means “without”) sells food items, but also lots of other enticing natural products such as cosmetics, soaps, and cleaning detergent - all completely without packaging. The food section is filled with fresh fruits and veggies, grains, spices, oils and delicious nut spreads. If not package-free, the goods are sold in glass containers or metal boxes instead of plastic.

Apart from daily groceries, the shop has an awesome selection of books about zero waste and minimalist lifestyle, slow family and do-it-yourself. If you want to stay a little longer, the shop offers cake and coffee which you can enjoy while sitting down and watch the people passing by.

To buy the package-free goods, you just bring and weigh your own jar or bag, or purchase one of the containers that the shop provides. In December 2018, the big zero waste guru Bea Johnson even stepped by for a visit. And the fact that there’s already two stores in town speaks for itself.

A cute little shop opened by the Swedish chemist Dr. Cecilia George in 2013 during her second pregnancy. The handmade soaps, creams and oils were initially created for the sensitive baby-skin and contain only eco-friendly ingredients, carefully selected according to their scientifically proven effects. What I really like about their products is that they’re totally multi-use – the baby barn cream, for example, can be used for the sensitive nappy area, but also to protect the baby’s facial skin against cold air or to make your own hands smooth in the dry, cold winter.

Tigerflicka’s motto for the list of ingredients is “less is more”. All skincare products contain 100% natural ingredients, no conservatives (which are not needed as the products don’t contain water), and no silicone oils or any other artificial substances. They also avoid plastic during their production. Note that not all of their products are vegan, as some of them contain bee’s wax.

The shop (& laboratory) is shared with an arts and crafts shop from Sweden and once or twice a month Tigerflicka offers an evening course on how to make your own soap.

Emmi’s Kitchen is a vegan cafe in the backyard of a Jivamukti Yoga center. Drop by for a delicious salad, a superfood bowl, a burger (incl. the famous “beyond meat” burgers), smoothies or pancakes – everything is 100% vegan!

Whenever the weather allows, I’d recommend to sit outside, so that the (delicious) burger smell from the open kitchen doesn’t stick to your clothes 🙂 And if you’re into yoga you HAVE to visit the Jivamukti Yoga Center (including a small yoga shop) across the backyard - but best before indulging in Emmi’s burgers...

At Dear Goods you will find vegan organic fairtrade fashion, accessories and innovative beauty products. The three hearts in their logo represents their love and compassion for humans, animals and the environment - how sweet!

Dear Goods’ biggest focus lies on sustainable production. For example, they offer bags made from apple (!) leather. How good is that? If they can’t avoid using plastic for certain product packages, it is at least 100% recycled plastic. Besides their beautiful clothes I can highly vouch for the soap pads. They can be used for cleaning as well, as well as the soap bags which transform your soap into a peeling at the same time. Told ya, I love multi-use!

Tip: Dear Goods also has a store in Berlin, right on Prenzlauer Berg's famous "vegan alley". 

The cozy teahouse is one of the first completely vegan cafes in Munich. A real institution so to say. Amongst a huge variety of high quality teas (around 150 different types, all organic), cake, desserts and vegan lunch bowls you will also bump into a lot of yoga teachers and students - always a good sign.

Some of the daily cakes are even gluten- and sugar-free. Like you’d expect in a proper tea house, you can also buy a variety of teas, cups, matcha sets and lots of accessories for making really good tea at home to nurture your body and soul. Everything is also available in their webshop along with lots of information about the tea sorts and accessories. But of course, it’s even better to swing by and talk to real people 😉

Phasenreich is a beautiful fair trade concept store and as such a mix between a coffee shop (with quite a few vegan cake options), a fashion store for men, women and kids and a gift/beauty shop – all organic and as sustainable as possible of course. Phasenreich was founded in 2014 by Shino and Bianca, who both come from the fashion world and wanted to use their expertise do transform it for the better.

In the gift section of the shop you can find a range of ingenious creative articles - such as a small tree that can charge your iPhone with solar energy. 

Just a few steps further from Phasenreich is the beautiful auryn – a colorful fair fashion & toys shop for kids and mums, which sells organic & fairtrade clothes, toys, deco products, books and postcards. All items are 100% organic, fairtrade and sustainably produced. Most of their toys are made from organic wood - bye bye plastic.

The shop, founded by Christine Frehe-Reynartz, already exists since over 23 years! The proof that good things last

At Kräutergarten (which translates to herbal garden) you will find more than 1000 herbs (90% organic) which you can buy unpackaged or in small glass jars. What a little plantpower oasis: the shop also sells spices and teas, natural remedies, cosmetics, essential oils and more.

They also provide ingredients and how-to-guides to make your own natural cosmetics at home. Very empowering. If you are interested in learning more about herbs and natural cosmetics, just ask the friendly staff about their herbal tours and cosmetics courses.

Veganista leaves no fashionistas dreams unfulfilled. The inviting shop sells anything from vegan clothes, shoes, bags & jewelry, mostly fair-trade and organic, and made by famous vegan brands such as Armed Angels or People tree. Rest assured that Rahel and Bettina put a lot of effort and heart in helping you find your new favourit pieces. 

On their website you will find a detailed WHY explanation alongside the inspiring philosophy behind the shop.

Another gem for anyone joining the plant-based revolution, or simply wanting to try something new: At this cool vegan restaurant you can taste yourself through a variety of fresh, earth- and animal-friendly food at a really reasonable price. MaxPett is named after Prof. Dr. Max von Pettenkofer, which helped to improve the hygienic situation in the 19th century in Munich tremendously. As one of the few restaurants in Munich they do not serve alcohol (the professor was chairman of an anti-alcohol-organisation).

A dish that you MUST try is the Kaiserschmarrn (sort of a scrambled pancake, veeery famous in Bavaria) with strawberries, ice cream and whipped cream. Every Friday from 3-5pm they even have a Kaiserschmarrn happy hour! Happy indulging!

Since 2017 the owners also offer vegan cooking classes near the Ammersee (a stunning lake close to Munich).

Most people have heard of the “English Garten” – the biggest park in Munich (and Germany!), which is even larger than the New York Central Park. Best place to recharge and soak in some fine urban nature.
On top of that, Munich has lots more green to offer:

Especially in spring and summer, the Flaucher area with a long walk along the riverside, a beer garden and amazing bicycle paths is a great spot to spend a day out in the green. Make sure to bring a towel and your bathing suit and dip your feet into the cold Isar water. Or just chill out with your friends in the grass and throw some food on a BBQ, or have some cold drinks while enjoying lazy summer evenings.

One of my favourite green places is also the Westpark, where you can find the cute cafe “Gans am Wasser” offering coffee, crepes, ice cream, french fries AND seitan burgers made from regional and organic ingredients. As soon as the temperatures rise the place is packed, so better bring a picnic blanket and simply sit in the grass anywhere near the cafe while enjoying food, drinks and a nice view over the lake.

When talking about Munich’s nicest places we CAN’T leave out the beer gardens, of course. But how is this vegan or eco you might ask? Well, for starters: You are allowed to bring your own food to any of the beer gardens (and most of the beer if not all of it is vegan).

Also - believe it or not - more and more beer gardens offer vegan food (for example the Taxisgarten), including brezen (prezels) and french fries. (Note: sometimes brezen can be made with lard and french fries can be fried in the same oil as meat, so better ask.