Real Danish in Solvang? It's still there - Solvang, California

Sunset, June, 1988

Real Danish in Solvang? It's still there As you descend San Marcos Pass Road into the Santa Ynez Valley, the landscape is purely Californian: rolling golden hills, cluster of oaks, the occasional barn and cow. And then comes Solvang. What is a cute little Danish village doing here? Escaping from Disneyland? But there are really Danes in Solvang--about two-thirds of its 3,700 residents are of Danish descent--and their traditions are the reason for the town to look as it does. Solvang is still run by people named Rasmussen or Nielsen, families who've been here for decades. Danish Americans from around the country seek out the town for its nostalgic ambience. If you're planning to attend the town's popular Theaterfest, the round of plays that runs this month through August, spend some time looking for the authentic Danish influence amid the curio shops. You'll find it in the architecture, language, and food. The town was incorporated only two years ago, and the resulting revenues are being used to update streets and landscape public areas.

When was the last time you saw a thatched roof? When Danish educators from Minnesota came to the valley in 1911 to start a folk school, the only building in town was the Santa Ynez Mission. The settlers, including carpenters and other artisans, built as they had in the Midwest: clapboard houses, the saltbox folk school (now gone), and a handful of Danish country-style buildings (one of these from '20s remains at 440 Alisal Road). But generally the town became a typical Southern California blend of Mid-western and Mediterranean styles. After World War II, artist Ferdinand Sorensen returned from Denmark with an intimate knowledge of its rural architecture. He built his own home using the bindingsvaerk style (with half-timbered facades) and deep, warm colors. He also built the town's first windmill, just east of town and south of State Highway 246; today, it's an apartment. Sorensen convinced others to build in the style and, until his death last year, continued to carve storks and spires. A row of copper roofs with green patina lines the 400 block of Alisal Road. A thatched roof tops Petersen's Yummy Burgers (1659 Copenhagen Drive), with short crossed beams--"crow trees"--holding the thatch at the peak. The Bethania Lutheran Church, built in 1927, has the stark lines of Danish country architecture. Services are in Danish at 9:30 on the first Sunday of each month. A wooden sailboat model hangs in the nave--the soul cast upon the sea of life.

Food for thought, food to eat While finding the architectural details will require some searching, Danish food is thrust in front of you at every step. Of course there's Danish pastry. Instead, look for Danish pancakes--thin ones or puffy balls called aebleskiver. Eat them with medisterpolse--pale, thick sausages. Don't confuse smorrebrod with an all-you-can-eat spread; here you'll get dainty open-faced pumpernickel sandwiches topped with cheese, roast beef, or herring. Several restaurants serve traditional food. For another kind of nourishment, check the upstairs-in-the-back section of the Book Loft (1680 Mission Drive). This is the Scandinavian section, with books by two of Denmark's best-known writers, Isak Dinesen and Hans Christian Andersen, in their original language or English. There are some rare editions of Andersen's fairy tales and memoirs, and contemporary versions of older, beautifully illustrated children's books. The store is open 9:30 to 6 Mondays through Saturdays, 10 to 5 Sundays. From Santa Barbara, go north about 30 miles on San Marcos Pass Road (State 154). Head west on State 246; after 6 miles, it becomes Mission Drive, Solvang's major street. Pick up a town map at the Visitors Information Center, 1571 Mission Drive (open daily).

PHOTO : City ordinance encourages shopkeepers to use carved wood signs that proclaim their wares

PHOTO : in words and in pictures

PHOTO : Nesting above town's peaked roofs, wooden storks substitute for real ones to bring luck

PHOTO : Thatched roof's smooth curve should last decades. Craftsman bundled and packed straw over

PHOTO : wood frame

PHOTO : Books by Hans Christian Andersen and a photo of Jenny Lind, whom author lovedfrom afar,

PHOTO : await you in The Book Loft

PHOTO : Thin, crepe-like Danish pancakes are folded and served with fruit and powdered sugar

PHOTO : (though Americans add--horrors!--whipped cream). Sausages are accompaniment

PHOTO : Crinkled roof line and tall tower of Bethania Lutheran Church reflect Danish design, but

PHOTO : in white plaster