A Charming Danish Village in California

Nestled in California's Santa Barbara County, among grape vineyards and ranches, is an enchanting Danish Village called Solvang, that is filled with charming Danish-style buildings, windmills, shops and boutiques, wineries and restaurants and Danish bakeries. The town was established in 1911 by Danish-Americans who purchased 9,000 acres of ranch land in the Santa Ynez Valley, and by the 1940s the townsfolk and tourists started to endearingly call Solvang "Little Denmark". 

Solvang is also famous for the many Danish bakery shops that serve a wonderful assortment of Danish confections.  One of the oldest and best bakeries in Solvang is Birkholm's Bakery & Café.  In 1951, a young Danish couple, Carl and Charlotte Birkholm, started the bakery and it continues to be managed by the Birkholm family.  While Solvang has many wonderful bakeries, Birkholm's Bakery & Café is very special to me because I started visiting this bakery with my family when I was a child.  My parents liked to take the scenic drive along the California coast to Solvang, where we would visit the Santa Ynez Mission, stroll and shop in the enchanting Danish Village, and then go to Birkholm's to eat pastries and take home a pink box filled with more of those delicious and freshly baked pastries, cookies and breads. 

My fiancé and I spent a weekend in Solvang in December and the first place we wanted to visit when we drove into the village was Birkholm's for pastries and coffee.  However, the bakery was so busy and the line of customers waiting to order pastries was so long, we decided to return early Sunday morning when the bakery opened.  It was worth the wait and braving the early morning 50° chill, because as soon as I walked through those charming red and white window-pained doors, the warmth and sweet scents of freshly baked goods warmed my soul and made me smile.

Birkholm's Bakery & Café 

Downtown Solvang