Better Life

This place was super useful to me during my brief stay in Hannover, on my way from Copenhagen to Paris, during which I did not want to stray far from the train station in the wintery weather.

Living as I do in Paris, where vegan options cannot be found just anywhere, I was impressed by the variety of vegan items here. Maybe for people who live in more vegan-friendly cities, the options are limited, but I found more than enough for my needs. It was also the perfect place to pick up some vegan edibles as gifts for friends.

Better Life has a lot of choice for vegans. The only disappointing thing (here and in other places too) are the 'fresh' snacks and sweets. The vegan kebap was ok but the cookies where dry and without taste, espacially the amaranth cookie with chocolate.

While Betterlife (formerly known as Reformhaus Bacher) can be very good to get something to eat in the otherwise not very vegan-friendly main station, you definitely have to watch out and read the labels.

However, they have definitely seen the signs of time. When I wrote my first review of them some 3 years ago, I was diasppointed because most of their fake meat products still contained dairy. Now thay have a wide range of vegan products.

They also have good full-grain bakeries and know which of them are vegan. Highly advisable if you do have a little time at the Hannover train station.

Beside the usual products of a Reformhaus, I found a lot of vegan fake meat and cheese, but most interestingly: vegan croissants and pastries (Rosinenschnecken). I know many places where you can't find such things in any bakery of the city!

Although it's right in the train station and has some freshly baked goods, it doesn't offer much to vegans on the go. It's nice for Sunday shopping I guess when all the other similar stores in town are closed.

It's great to see a health food shop in most German train stations and Hannover Hbf is no exception. Absolutely ideal for arrival into the city to get stocked up for the hotel: soya milk, fresh bread buns and meat free deli. Excellent range of products for such a small shop in a very busy station.