TRAVEL

A touch of Denmark

IN 1911, a group of Danish settlers purchased 9,000 acres
of California real estate, 45 miles north of Santa Barbara.
The land contained the Old Mission Santa Inez, plenty of

gtass and water and not much else.

Their intention was to create a
Danish colony where old country
skills would be practised, and by
1914 a three-storey folk college
was established. They called the
town “Solvang’’ meaning ‘‘sunny
field’ and the college ‘‘Attardag’’
meaning ‘“‘There’ll be a new day.”

Although the idea began with
isolationist overtones, the Danes

_ are @ gregarious group and were
soon ‘welcoming tourists who lit-
erally ate the place up!.

The smail downtown core is
lined with ‘wonderful bakeries,
deiis and restaurants featuring

every Danish specialty you could: |

imagine. This is not the place to
hold a Weight Watcher's conven-
tion!

The town itself is tastefully
designed some authentic
Danish architecture and the rest

has a Scandinavian flair to it. I .
can’t say I saw too many wind-.

mills in Denmark, but perhaps I
wasn't looking in the right places.

Anyway, there is a monstrous one -

in downtown Solvang, housing
gift shops and food stops.

. Arts and crafts are still a big
feature of Solvang, and this -is a
great place to find lace, pottery,
trolls (those little mythological
figures that Scandinavian: people
blame for. the. unexpected), fine
weaving; leathers and furs, as well
as imports from all over Europe

’ but with a Danish emphasis.

. Remember, too, that California
is wine country and the ‘Santa Inez
Valley: has about 20 of them,

many with tasting shops

downtown.
We visited Solvang last

September and did it all wrong!

First, we were heading home
and had dawdled a bit too long

_ elsewhere. Deadlines. were looming

Barbara
McCreadie

TRAVELWISE

apd so we allowed ourselves just
. half a day to prowl Solvang. Take
heed, this is definitely an over-
night. step and I'll include a short
list of piaces to stay in the town at
the end of this column.
Next, we didn’t do our
homework! If we had, we’d have
made sure that our visit coincided

. with the annual Danish Days, a

three-day festival in late
September. It’s street dancing,
concerts, food extravaganzas,
parades, Danish costumes, craft
exhibits — you name it.

It would be a wonderful desti-
nation for a family holiday,
especially for small kids.

Another thing I’m_ kicking
myself for: we didn’t stop in the
nearby town of Buellton for a
bowl of the world-famous pea
soup! And me a food writer!

We did have junch in Solvang
and although it was delicious and
inexpensive, had we strolled first

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oo Plaza - (inside VanCity)
1260 Marine Dr., North Vancouver

and eaten Jater we could have
found a dozen places with more (I
hate this word) ambiance. And
had we not eaten a fairly large
breakfast at our hotei, we’d have
been able to enjoy more than a
small open-faced sandwich and
coffee.

As it was nearly the ena of our
vacation, I didn’t dare do much
shopping. Now, I could also kick
myself for passing up some
wonderful laces and linens. I get
antsy towards the last days of a
trip, dreading to go over my $300
limit and having to confront the
line at Customs.

If you're an antique lover,
don’t miss the Solvang Antique
Centre (486 First St.). This
multi-level building houses over
5G dealers and there’s no trash.
I'll leave it to you to judge the
prices, and i know I paid far too
much for the china cream and
sugar | bought, but ...

To find Solvang, take Highway
101, north from Santa Barbara.
About 45 miles later, exit east on
Highway 246 at Buellton (stop for
soup!) and Solvang is just a few
miles up the road.

A good first stop is at the
visitor information: centre, corner
of Fourth Place and Mission
Drive. Highway 246 is Mission
Drive.

Here’s a short list of hotels and
motels — I'l include phone
numbers but not addresses — you
can’t get lost in Solvang.

Pederson’s Village Inn: (805)
688-3121 . .
Royal Copenhagen Motel: (8905)

688-S561
Sheraton Royal Scandinavian Inn:
(805) 688-8000
King Frederik Motel: (805) 688-
5515
Tivoli Inn: (805) 688-0559

All of these are recommended
by the visitors bureau. I'd book
well in advance if you’re planning
a visit during Danish Days.

VE

986-5321

Sunday, April 26, 1992 —- North Shore News - 48

in the U.S.A.

Don’t miss a visit to the Old
Mission Santa Inez, just outside
of town. It’s the 19th in the
famous chain of historic Califor-
nia missions and is beautifully
preserved. We missed a visit to the
Historical Society Museum — it's
open only Friday, Saturday and
Sunday afternoons from 1 to 4.

If you’re fond of horses, there
are ranches dotted all through the
valley and several of them give
tours. Flying Horse Farm (805)
688-1111 is one, Brierwood Ara-
bian Farms, (805) 688-4114 is
another.

There is a guest ranch listed,
too: Alisal Guest Ranch, (805)
688-6411, but it’s pricey — $225
to $285 per night with a two-night
minimum.

Solvang is one of those lovely
little stops that only the motorist
gets to visit. Further north, on or
adjacent to Highway 101, are two
other ‘‘don’t miss’’ destinations
— Ferndale and Eureka. Femdale
is easy to miss as you must cut
west a few miles north of Fortuna
onto a little country road.

Eureka is impossible to miss —
the city fathers refused to let the
highway bypass the city, so traffic

slows to a crawl and goes right
through the main drag.

I’ve included those as a
reminder for anyone driving the
Coast Highway, as you must to
visit Solvang.

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