2525

Opinion

Up the Alternative Alley: A diamond in the rough
Astrid Heise-Fjeldgren

February 19th, 2023


This article is more than 1 year old.

This farm is a beautiful green oasis and one of my favourite places for a day out in the area around Copenhagen.

Baked goods

Upon arrival at Grennesminde, I usually start my visit in the cosy café right at the entrance to the farm area.

Nestled among the charming mismatched furniture of the old greenhouse, great baked goods are served.

Often there is also a small selection of harvested seasonal greens, along with crafts made by some of the young people working at the farm.

Great greens

Next to the café there are greenhouses with flowers and various plants.

In the summer you’ll also find an abundance of flowers and vegetables outside – you pick and pay and take home beautiful fresh greens.

The greenhouse, offering all kinds of plants for sale, is the perfect place to get inspiration and start planning for your garden or balcony in early spring.

Celebrated goats

Even in winter there are good reasons to visit – especially for families with children.

At Grennesminde they have farm animals like goats and pigs to visit, and also llamas and rabbits and more.

A signposted walk will take you along the perimeter of the area – one of the highlights being the Copenhagen Dome. Not only is it a beautiful, large glass dome to explore, but you can also rent it out for meetings or events.

Sacred Grennesminde

All the young people working at Grennesminde – baking your cinnamon swirls and making your coffee, taking care of plants and feeding the animals – are there as part of a STU (særligt tilrettelagt uddannelse), a special education for those who have a hard time fitting into the standard educational system.

At Grennesminde the aim is to create options for those with special needs and to make sure everyone feels part of a working community.

For the last 35 years Grennesminde has worked with several municipalities and local companies to make sure that the young people can continue from Grennesminde to a real job.

If you spend a few hours at the farm and buy a cup of coffee or some budding flowers for your garden, you support these efforts. Find out more at gminde.dk!

Stately grasslands

On a nice day you might be eager for more green adventures – luckily Grennesminde is near Vestskoven, a large recreational area with hills, forests and meadows, perfect for both biking and hiking.

Read more about it in English by downloading a brochure from naturstyrelsen.dk.

You’ll find more ideas for places to visit in the capital region in my guidebooks ‘The Copenhagen Companion’ and ‘The Green Copenhagen Companion’.

How to get there

First of all, make sure you go to the Grennesminde ‘Økologisk Gartneri’ at Snubbekorsvej 16-18 in Taastrup. They have an office in Birkerød, but that’s not where you want to go.

You can of course go by car, or by train, getting off at either Albertslund or Høje Taastrup stations – perhaps taking your bicycle with you.

Pro tip: if the wind is strong and westerly, get the train there, take your bike, and cycle back with the wind on your back. Grennesminde is pretty much due west of Copenhagen!

I usually cycle the whole way, taking Supercykelsti C99, which is also called Albertslundruten. Find it via supercykelstier.dk.

But for the last part you’ll have to rely on Google Maps.

About

Astrid Heise-Fjeldgren

Astrid Heise-Fjeldgren (astrid@ipamki.com; @thecompanionsdk) is an Amager-based writer and translator. Always up for new adventures in and around Copenhagen, she is the author of the guidebooks ‘The Copenhagen Companion’ (2019) and ‘The Green Copenhagen Companion’ (2021)  in which she shares some of her favourite spots and walks. Find out more at thecompanions.dk


Share

Most popular

Subscribe to our newsletter

Sign up to receive The Daily Post

















Latest Podcast

A survey carried out by Megafon for TV2 has found that 71 percent of parents have handed over children to daycare in spite of them being sick.

Moreover, 21 percent of those surveyed admitted to medicating their kids with paracetamol, such as Panodil, before sending them to school.

The FOLA parents’ organisation is shocked by the findings.

“I think it is absolutely crazy. It simply cannot be that a child goes to school sick and plays with lots of other children. Then we are faced with the fact that they will infect the whole institution,” said FOLA chair Signe Nielsen.

Pill pushers
At the Børnehuset daycare institution in Silkeborg a meeting was called where parents were implored not to bring their sick children to school.

At Børnehuset there are fears that parents prefer to pack their kids off with a pill without informing teachers.

“We occasionally have children who that they have had a pill for breakfast,” said headteacher Susanne Bødker. “You might think that it is a Panodil more than a vitamin pill, if it is a child who has just been sick, for example.”

Parents sick and tired
Parents, when confronted, often cite pressure at work as a reason for not being able to stay at home with their children.

Many declare that they simply cannot take another day off, as they are afraid of being fired.

Allan Randrup Thomsen, a professor of virology at KU, has heavily criticised the parents’ actions, describing the current situation as a “vicious circle”.

“It promotes the spread of viruses, and it adds momentum to a cycle where parents are pressured by high levels of sick-leave. If they then choose to send the children to daycare while they are still recovering, they keep the epidemic going in daycares, and this in turn puts a greater burden on the parents.”