Anytime there is a window of time that we can travel, we jump on the opportunity to do it.
Three day holiday weekend coming up? Why not go on a road trip.
We headed away from Orange County and drove north along the Pacific Coast highway.
First stop on the road trip is the Danish Village of Solvang. Solvang is in the Santa Ynez Valley, near Santa Barbara.
It’s a quaint little town and quite adorable.
There are bakeries, restaurants, and merchants offering a taste of Denmark in California.
The architecture of many of the facades and buildings reflects traditional Danish style. There are replicas of Copenhagen’s landmarks.
Hej? (hello) Hvordan går det? (how are you?)
We walked and enjoyed all the architecture, the shops and the taste of Danish culture.
We did candy shopping and bought some salt water taffy. Coconut chocolate flavor for me.
We sampled free treats from the chocolate shop.
We did ornament shopping. They customized it for us.
We tried to do some shoe shopping but they were too big 🙂
We walked and walked….
…until we found Paula’s Pancake House.
I ordered whole wheat pancake and eggs with fresh juice from the juice tree.
Chris ordered thin pancakes with Danish sausages. There was a man who sat next to us, apparently he eats at the restaurant every weekend. He gave Chris his recommendations.
I had a bite of the Danish sausage and it was good. Even better when dipped in Sauerkraut.
I’ve been to Solvang before when I was kid during one of my family’s road trip. I really appreciate it more as an adult, when you are more interested in the history and the culture.
I hope to be back to Solvang again soon. I still want to check out the wineries and apple orchards in the area.
Up next, more adventures with elephant seals.
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Do you take road trips? or Mini weekend vacations?
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Healthy Coconut 
How fun! I love southern and central California. San Luis Obispo is one of my favorite places. I live in N. CA, I should take a weekend trip to S. CA. Have a great trip!
How cute! I’ve actually always wanted to visit Denmark. Who knew there’s a little Danish town near Santa Barbara? Awesome pics! I take more mini vacations when it’s so much nicer to go around the beautiful New England towns 🙂
Love all the pictures. I was just in Solvang to Make a film about the city for Danes.tv
I’m Danish. Are you Danish yourself?
All the best
Kim
That is such a cute town! I’ve never heard of it before. It seems like it would be an awesome place to visit if you can’t afford a trip to Denmark. Those pancakes look so yummy 🙂
What a great town! 🙂
I’ve been to Solvang a few times and find it quite fun, even if I don’t like danishes! =)
omg I went there on Saturday wine tasting with some friends and had some home made one of kind cupcakes it was really fun.
We went to this Mexican Restaurant a ways past Solvang called Carlitos and it was an A+ place.
Glad you had fun and I love that Place.
I LOVE roadtrips!! I’ve only been on a few, but am always up for one! Your trip looks like it was a ton of fun and you picked a great spot! Not to mention those pastries look amazing!!
We came for the apricot danishes but I’m definitely coming back for the custard danishes. The apricot danish has a jam center and tasted a bit too sweet and gooey, not natural at all. The custard danish had a light fluffy center. Very yummy! The butter cookies were also very tasty. I like the round buttery one with raisins and the rectangular one with brown specks. You can get the giant tub or the smaller bag of 10 cookies to taste. We didn’t try any other bakeries so I can’t rate this one against them but I’m sure they are all very good. Danish Mill is a solid bakery. Eat Danish – check!