The Vikings of Solvang
With time to explore, Mike and I ventured over to the Danish enclave of Solvang.
came to fame thanks to the movie “Sideways”, a movie I watched many times, suffering a headache as I followed the neurotic alcoholic played by Paul Giamatti consuming too many bottles of wine while he searched for a way out of his self-imposed rut of a life.
The horse-drawn trolley tour was down due to its driver recovering from surgery. (My mother’s voice: You mean in all of California there is no one else who can drive the horse trolley?) However, the motorized trolley served as well, the guide knowledgeable and succinct, sharing the sights and history of this town in only 25 minutes.
Here is the history as I recall it, with literary license: A bunch of Vikings in Denmark sitting in the dark of winter, eating salted cod and puffin, bored because Legos have not yet been invented, decided enough was enough and headed to the New World, settling in the upper Midwest. The dark winter was short, but the weather was wicked, worse than Denmark's, triggering California dreamin’. The not-so-hardy Vikings headed out west to surf the beaches.
Many hills later, the exhausted Viking cows stopped 25 miles short of the beach, delighting in the thick grassy meadows. The Vikings noted the warm temperatures and lack of snow, decided this was good enough, and opened a bakery to settle in. As the population multiplied, more bakeries were added along with ice cream shops.
One day a traveler wandered into town looking into the rumor about a Danish colony. The founders, not hardy but not stupid, looked around and noticed the town did not look very Danish. It was time to get busy constructing a movie set. Out came the cans of paint, lines painted on the stucco buildings to copy the half-timbered architecture of northern Europe. Miniature replicas of Copenhagen structures were erected including windmills which were stabilized after a blade flew through the post office window. The Danish royalty heard about this colony, visited at least twice, and slapped crowns on several of the businesses.
Unfortunately, Americans realized they were lactose intolerant. Again, not hardy but not stupid, the Danes sold their cows and planted grapevines in the meadows, filling empty storefronts with wine shops.
When Michael Jackson came to town to indulge his sophisticated palate in Subway sandwiches and Domino's pizza, the not-so-stupid Vikings sensed danger and immediately outlawed corporation-owned businesses, setting the tone for the quaint village Solvang is today. Michael was disappointed upon his return to find no way to procure a McDonald’s Happy Meal.
The tour guide proudly pointed out a house built by a Danish artist who offered lessons to locals, including the guide. The cozy stone house now accommodates an art school and The Pavlov Art Gallery (no relation to Ivan of salivating-dog fame). We would have stopped but had our eyes on the Old Mission Santa Inés, advertised to be open seven days a week.
The hand-written sign at the mission overrode the webpage and announced its closure until August 1. I surmised that the wife of the horse driver was tending her ailing husband. The trip was not in vain. A lovely garden served as a setting for the Stations of the Cross with a breathtaking view of the valley below.
Solvang. Definitely worth a stop if for nothing else than the Danish pastries. Worth every calorie.
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