Mr D invades Solvang

FREKI · October 16th, 2006, 12:57 PM

Welcome to the wonderful themed town of Solvang!

Solvang is located in the Santa Ynez Valley in California.
It has a populaton of around 5.300 and was founded by Danish settlers in 1911

For years it remained a sleepy town surrounded by wineries and plantations until - in hope of spicing up the town - they converted it into a Danish themed town.. since then buisness have been booming and it have turned into the most visited city in the valley..

For Danes it's a "must see" when in California - most consider it a joke, but we still quite like it...

So far I've visited it on both my trips to California - and while it looks a lot more German then Danish, and the "Danish" food is basicly just normal US seafood served with potatoes and nordic herbs it's still one of the best ways to spend 3 hours, if nothing else then to enjoy the great weather and have a good laugh..

Enjoy... and please share your opinion about themed towns...

Sideshow_Bob · October 16th, 2006, 02:17 PM

Well, it's a joke. I wonder if the residents feels it's the real thing.

FREKI · October 16th, 2006, 02:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sideshow_Bob

I wonder if the residents feels it's the real thing.

They don't.... half the population is filthy rich ( the GDP for the city is $55.000+ ) people living in the huge houses in the typical american "suburb" part of the town, the rest are hispanic residents working for the upperclass... ( or atleast that's how it looks to me... )

It is however located on a mainroad and serves as an exelent place to stop and have dinner and a little fun for the people comming out of Santa Monica on their way to the wineyards...

Some do ofcause take it a bit more serius than others... but it's not fanatical or anything..

I saw a program where one of the residents ( with Danish ancestry ) explained it better than I can..

"it's not ment to look like Denmark.. it's ment to look like we remember it..."

ØlandDK · October 16th, 2006, 06:21 PM

HAHA...it makes me lough...!!!

alex3000 · October 16th, 2006, 07:10 PM

I've been to Solvang so many times it's not even funny.

And yeah, just like you said it, it's a nice place to spend 3-4 hours of your time. I mean, you can't really expect a lot from a town with a population of less than 6,000. But it's really nice and the sorroundings are beautiful!

kickass923 · October 16th, 2006, 11:09 PM

ha ha thats hilarious
i wonder
do they sell real danish øl in the bars?

FREKI · October 16th, 2006, 11:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kickass923

ha ha thats hilarious
i wonder
do they sell real danish øl in the bars?

They do import it yes... but unfortunatly they also import other inferior European beers ( a mortal sin

)

ØlandDK · October 16th, 2006, 11:44 PM

Which danish brands do they sell? - Only Carlsberg or what?

FREKI · October 17th, 2006, 12:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Oelanddk

Which danish brands do they sell? - Only Carlsberg or what?

I'm not an expert, I've only been there for a couple of hours, but I saw both Carlsberg and Tuborg there... and would expect a lot more....

Köbtke · October 20th, 2006, 05:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr_Denmark

( a mortal sin

)

What's a mortal sin is that they, in a supposedly Danish town, write smårgaars instead of smørebrød.

Damn Swedes and their crappy imitations of our national dishes! ;P

schmidt · October 21st, 2006, 03:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr_Denmark

They do import it yes... but unfortunatly they also import other inferior European beers ( a mortal sin

)

About beers, do they also drink warm (I mean between 12 - 18ºC) beer there? I had the worst beers of my life in the US haha, they don't get it too cold, it's horrible.

FREKI · October 21st, 2006, 05:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by schmidt

About beers, do they also drink warm (I mean between 12 - 18ºC) beer there? I had the worst beers of my life in the US haha, they don't get it too cold, it's horrible.

lol

What the US Americans call beer Europeans call stale water ( no pun intended )

kiku99 · December 29th, 2006, 06:39 AM

been to this place a couple of times. really lovely city

FREKI · February 25th, 2007, 05:31 AM

Time for some bonus pics....

algonquin · February 25th, 2007, 05:38 AM

Thats an awful lot of Tudor I see... is it that prevelant in Denmark?

My mother-in-law has been to Solvang (she's Danish).

FREKI · February 25th, 2007, 05:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by algonquin

Thats an awful lot of Tudor I see... is it that prevelant in Denmark?

It used to be... but as I wrote earlier the look of the houses is more German than Danish

Here's the real "old school" Denmark

( from a "old buildings museum" in Århus, Jutland )

http://www.bamjam.net/Scandinavia/Aarhus.html

SNT1 · February 25th, 2007, 05:59 AM

Driven there in the morning (didnt really stop), the fog was thick, but with the fog it had that special aura that I can't idetify. A good aura, though :P

Desven · February 25th, 2007, 02:25 PM

lol,very cool!!is there somewhere a town that looks typicall german?!

svast · February 25th, 2007, 02:45 PM

Mr D, I agree that Solvang also have a great influence of german buildings. Then I saw your pictures from Århus and rememberd that the family had seen that place on one of our danish tours.
But it must be hard for Solvang to be that danish willage from the turn of the century.

ØlandDK · February 25th, 2007, 02:49 PM

I would say Solvang looks typical german...

October 16th, 2006, 12:57 PM	#1
FREKI Pip pip pip boom.. Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Copenhagen Posts: 9,899 Likes (Received): 262	Mr D invades Solvang Welcome to the wonderful themed town of Solvang! Solvang is located in the Santa Ynez Valley in California. It has a populaton of around 5.300 and was founded by Danish settlers in 1911 For years it remained a sleepy town surrounded by wineries and plantations until - in hope of spicing up the town - they converted it into a Danish themed town.. since then buisness have been booming and it have turned into the most visited city in the valley.. For Danes it's a "must see" when in California - most consider it a joke, but we still quite like it... So far I've visited it on both my trips to California - and while it looks a lot more German then Danish, and the "Danish" food is basicly just normal US seafood served with potatoes and nordic herbs it's still one of the best ways to spend 3 hours, if nothing else then to enjoy the great weather and have a good laugh.. Enjoy... and please share your opinion about themed towns... __________________ COPENHAGEN A Daily Dose - The Full Monty My Travel Pics - My Denmark Pics - My Driving Videos

October 16th, 2006, 02:17 PM	#2
Sideshow_Bob \m/ Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Stockholm Posts: 1,521 Likes (Received): 5	Well, it's a joke. I wonder if the residents feels it's the real thing. __________________ and then they run

October 16th, 2006, 07:10 PM	#5
alex3000 I'm not Chinese Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 1,347 Likes (Received): 1	I've been to Solvang so many times it's not even funny. And yeah, just like you said it, it's a nice place to spend 3-4 hours of your time. I mean, you can't really expect a lot from a town with a population of less than 6,000. But it's really nice and the sorroundings are beautiful! __________________ California must protect its borders from AUSTRIA.

October 16th, 2006, 11:09 PM	#6
kickass923 engaged at 17 Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Bronshoj, Kobenhavn Posts: 93 Likes (Received): 0	ha ha thats hilarious i wonder do they sell real danish øl in the bars? __________________ support your local koisk and buy a lot of mentos i have been on 113 airplane flights

December 29th, 2006, 06:39 AM	#13
kiku99 ไทย Amazing Thailand 泰国 Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Bangkok Posts: 3,357 Likes (Received): 4	been to this place a couple of times. really lovely city __________________ 'BANGKOK-THAILAND' --> Los Angeles --> Melbourne, Australia! --> & now back to amazing Bangkok, Thailand again Bangkok Skyline Links Thai forum \| Bangkok Skyscrapers Info \| Amazing Thailand \| Bangkok City

October 16th, 2006, 06:21 PM	#4
ØlandDK Used User Join Date: May 2005 Location: Copenhagen Posts: 4,156 Likes (Received): 53	HAHA...it makes me lough...!!!

October 16th, 2006, 11:44 PM	#8
ØlandDK Used User Join Date: May 2005 Location: Copenhagen Posts: 4,156 Likes (Received): 53	Which danish brands do they sell? - Only Carlsberg or what?

February 25th, 2007, 05:31 AM	#14
FREKI Pip pip pip boom.. Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Copenhagen Posts: 9,899 Likes (Received): 262	Time for some bonus pics.... __________________ COPENHAGEN A Daily Dose - The Full Monty My Travel Pics - My Denmark Pics - My Driving Videos

February 25th, 2007, 05:38 AM	#15
algonquin Registered User Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Ontario Posts: 3,025 Likes (Received): 0	Thats an awful lot of Tudor I see... is it that prevelant in Denmark? My mother-in-law has been to Solvang (she's Danish). __________________ a report prepared by Standard & Poor's in May stating that there were 83 high-rise buildings under construction in Toronto that month — far more than Boston, San Francisco, Atlanta, Miami, and Chicago, and surpassed only by 124 buildings in New York. my trip to Spain - Part 1

February 25th, 2007, 05:59 AM	#17
SNT1 Registered User Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 311 Likes (Received): 0	Driven there in the morning (didnt really stop), the fog was thick, but with the fog it had that special aura that I can't idetify. A good aura, though :P

February 25th, 2007, 02:25 PM	#18
Desven ...und so halt! Join Date: May 2004 Location: WestWood baby! Posts: 619 Likes (Received): 3	lol,very cool!!is there somewhere a town that looks typicall german?! __________________ Hä,wo ist meine Signatur hin?!

February 25th, 2007, 02:45 PM	#19
svast Registered User Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Stockholm Posts: 142 Likes (Received): 0	Mr D, I agree that Solvang also have a great influence of german buildings. Then I saw your pictures from Århus and rememberd that the family had seen that place on one of our danish tours. But it must be hard for Solvang to be that danish willage from the turn of the century.

February 25th, 2007, 02:49 PM	#20
ØlandDK Used User Join Date: May 2005 Location: Copenhagen Posts: 4,156 Likes (Received): 53	I would say Solvang looks typical german...

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