Solvang: Danish Capital of America [2014]

Continuing my vacation/food tour, my family and I took a trip mid-week up to Solvang, the Danish Capital of America!

About two-and-a-half hours from Los Angeles, Solvang was founded by Danish immigrants in 1911. Many of the buildings feature Danish-inspired architecture, and the city (not a district like Little Tokyo or Chinatown) is home to four windmills, three museums, and tons of bakeries! 😀

While we didn’t spend a whole lot of time there, it was very pedestrian-friendly and quite amenable to tourists.

The Danish Mill Bakery was very, very cool! I love getting tins of Danish butter cookies at Christmas, and this just might be the closest I’ll ever get to fresh and authentic!

Next, we headed over to Ingeborg’s for some chocolates, including chocolate-covered marshmallows (flødeboll)! They were all very good, but I think my favorite was the orange creme. I’d wanted to try their hot chocolate as well, but I was extremely disappointed to learn that it wasn’t made with Danish chocolate and so had to pass. :p

Here is Solvang’s Main Street, Alisal Road. We only got to see two of the four windmills.

We didn’t eat at the Restaurant Bit O’Denmark, but it was a nice-looking building!

Many of the buildings had these words about and images of the Danish monarchy on them. Some were more current than others; this one has the current monarch, Margrethe II, listed.

This tower is a 1/3 scale replica of Rundetaarn (Round Tower) in Copenhagen. According to the placard, the rebus on the facade can be read: “Lead, God, the right teaching and justice into the heart of the crowned King Christian IV, 1642”. The original tower was completed in 1642 and is the oldest functioning observatory in Europe. This replica tower was completed in 1991 and is a pizza restaurant. 😀

This is Frederik’s Court, a shopping area.

I love Disney‘s version of The Little Mermaid, so people naturally assume I love all mermaids for some reason, lol. I actually don’t, and I’m not really a fan of the original version of the story, but I respect Ariel’s roots. ;D

Even Subway looks great in Solvang!

We also went to Pea Soup Andersen’s, a popular stop for many folks who travel between LA and San Francisco, for dinner in nearby Buellton. There was a Danish feel to the restaurant also (one of the founders was Danish), but I think we should’ve just stuck to the bakeries, since none of us were very impressed.

One day I’ll have to go back and try out the many places for sweets and treats that we missed this time around!

See the full album on my Fan Page on Facebook and check out The Vault on Facebook, where I’m finally caught up through 2010! 😀

2014 09 17 Wed: Solvang: Danish Capital of America

Full Coverage of Vacation/Food Tour 2014:

Food Tour! [2014]
626 Night Market, Day 3.3 [2014]
Solvang: Danish Capital of America [2014]
Griffith Observatory [2014]