Solvang?? It all started in 1911, when a group of Danish Americans bought 9,000 acres of land 140 miles north of Los Angeles to establish a new city and get away from the harsh midwestern winters. So they built what they knew, a Danish-looking town with many turrets, towers, and half-timbered buildings. There is a statue of Hans Christian Anderson, one if their most prolific writers. At this time of year, all of Solvang is like a European Christmas market, decked out in lights and decorations, selling every sort of ornament you can imagine.
A visit by Denmark’s Prince Frederik in 1939 attracted tourists to visit, but eight years later, the Saturday Evening Post ran an article on Solvang, and the tourist train really revved up. The city now gets over a million tourists per year. We visited seven (!) bakeries, all featuring Danish delights, but to our credit, did not buy any. This is likely because in past visits, we bought a few too many!
Danish royalty visits abound. Queen Margrethe of Denmark toured Solvang in 1976. During its centennial in 2011, Prince Henrik of Denmark visited.
We arrived in time for breakfast at The Belgian Cafe, where we have eaten waffles for over 20 years. When we have taken out-of-state guests to visit, we take them there and tell them they must have the best Belgian waffles in the world. It was true during this visit, too. We are glad that other European countries are represented in Solvang as, from our experience, Belgian waffles are the best in the world.
As we were walking down a side street, we decided to do an impromptu dance, although we don’t dance and don’t know how to dance. There was no music other than that in our heads. So we did a little slow dance. After a few steps, we thought we would try a waltz. It looks so easy in movies. We had no idea, however, and ended up going in circles, saying, 1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3. Honestly? It did not work out. Our third attempt a few steps later was just a modern dance, moving around a bit….only to the music in our heads. We had fun with that one, as we weren’t trying to do something with actual steps or rules about which we were clueless. When we finished and started walking again, a group of women across the street yelled to get our attention, then cheered and clapped for us! We had no idea anyone had seen us. We waved back, and carried on.
If you are driving the iconic coastal route between Los Angeles and Big Sur, the views are unimaginable and something to behold. A delightful stop along the way is Solvang – good for a few hours of shopping, eating, snacking, and picture-taking. It is the closest thing to Europe on the west coast.
CREEPY! (Yes, the eyes go back and forth.)
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