Early Holiday Run to Solvang

“Let’s go to Solvang this weekend,” my Danish wife said.

“Why?”

“Cause it is fun and I miss all the Danish stuff this time of year.”

“In Solvang? It is a tourist trap!”

“No, it will be fun. Plus it is all based on real Danish traditions and foods. I want to go. Come on!”

So reluctantly I set off with my wife to see Solvang, a small California town about 30 miles above Santa Barbara just off the 101 Freeway at Buellton, CA. At Buellton, you take California 246. Soon you will arrive in the quaint semi-Danish village of Solvang. The town was founded in 1911 by a group of Danish settlers who were looking to establish a Danish school and community on the West Coast.

A LITTLE HISTORY

Between 1850 and 1930, a considerable number of Danes left Denmark, which was suffering from poor economic prospects. According to some estimates, as many as one in ten Danes emigrated during this period, mostly to the United States.

The name Solvang means “sunny field” in Danish. The original band of settlers bought almost 9,000 acres of the Rancho San Carlos de Jonata Mexican land grant. The city is home to a number of bakeries, restaurants, and merchants offering a taste of Denmark in California. Moreover, the architecture of many of the facades and buildings reflects a traditional Danish style.

There is a copy of the famous Little Mermaid statue from Copenhagen. Additionally, there is one featuring the bust of famed Danish fable writer Hans Christian Andersen. A replica of Copenhagen’s Round Tower or Rundetårn in the scale 1:3 was finished in 1991 and can be seen in the town center. Much of the Oscar-winning film Sideways (2004) was filmed in Solvang and in nearby Buellton.

Danish Provincial

Initially, most of Solvang’s buildings were built in the same style as other buildings in the area. The Lutheran church was the first to be based on Danish architecture and bears a close relationship to Danish equivalents. But after World War II, interest grew in the concept of a “Danish Village”. The pioneer of the Danish Provincial style, as it came to be known, was undoubtedly Ferdinand Sorensen, originally from Nebraska.

In the mid-1940s, after returning to Solvang from a trip to Denmark, he first completed Møllebakken, his Danish-styled home. Then he went on to build the first of the village’s four windmills. A little later, a local architect gave the older buildings a new look by adding façades in so-called “Danish Provincial” style. Buildings in the half-timbered style of Danish rural houses proliferated, creating a new tourist attraction.

A Tourist Attraction

Thanks in large part to its unique half-timbered architecture, Solvang has become a major California tourist attraction. Over one million visitors come each year. In particular, today’s visitors appreciate the Danish windmills, the statues of Hans Christian Andersen and the Little Mermaid. Plus the half-timbered houses, the Danish rural church, the Round Tower as well as Danish music and folk dancing. In addition, several restaurants and pastry shops serve Danish specialties. 

A replica of a 19th-century Danish streetcar, the horse-drawn Hønen (“the hen”), takes visitors on sightseeing tours around downtown Solvang. Because of the 2004 film Sideways, which was set in the surrounding Santa Ynez Valley, the number of wine-related businesses in Solvang has increased appreciably. This attracts oenophiles to the downtown area.

One of Solvang’s attractions is the 700-seat open-air Festival Theater, built in 1974 following the success of a makeshift performance of Hamlet in 1971. The theatre is used year round by the Pacific Conservatory of the Performing Arts located in Santa Maria. The style of the exterior is reminiscent of both Danish and Elizabethan architecture.

The Present

We drove into town about 2 PM on a cold but sunny Saturday, and the town was filled with people. Finding a parking place is not easy, but we managed to find one on a side street. Solvang has a small population (5000+) so it is easy to walk everywhere. Taking off on foot, my wife was very excited to point out stores and items that were truly Danish.

At one Scandinavian type store with its clean lines and gleaming wood floor, we tried on pairs of wooden clogs. Their big selling point is they help relieve pressure on your back when standing and correct your posture. Comfortable and at 70 dollars not too expensive. We found pairs in other stores in Solvang selling for as much as 150 dollars.

Eating Danish (not a pastry)

After cruising through lots of small stores, bakeries, and taking lots of pictures of Danish flags, we decided to get something to eat. We chose the Red Viking Restaurant. It featured classic Danish food along with American dishes as well. Decorated in an old, rural Danish style with Royal Copenhagen plates hanging on every wall, the place was packed with tourists.

My wife, in spite of her desire to see all things Danish that day, only wanted a basic salad with chicken. It was up to me to really check out the Danish style food. I wanted to see if it was authentic or not. I chose a  Traditional Danish Roast Beef sandwich featuring thinly sliced medium rareRoast Beef with pickles, a dollop of horseradish, and a dollop of Remoulade on top. All of this was served open-faced on rugbrød! I washed this down with a local Danish Red Lager brewed locally by Figueroa Mountain Brewing, a brewery in Buellton.

For dessert, I had an old Danish favorite called Æbleskivers. This is a Danish dessert pastry which is really Pancake dough that is deep-fried, covered with powdered sugar and raspberry jam. It was a good meal.

Headed Home

More walking around the small village, more taking of photos, sampling some of the local Santa Ynez Valley wines in the seemingly endless tasting rooms, and some Danish style candies followed. As it was December and the sun was setting, we decided to head home earlier and get dinner on the road.

There is certainly a lot more to do in Solvang. There is the live theatre run by PCPA that was featuring a whole round of Christmas and holidays plays and pageants. Live music was just starting when we headed for the car. Moreover, the village was covered with Christmas lights. Some of the local restaurants have excellent ratings for dinner so you could easily make a weekend of it if you wished.

A very nice and fun day in Solvang, and experiencing it with a real Dane makes all the difference in the world.  Highly recommend for a day trip within 3 hours from LA.

Enjoy!!