Solvang�Danish in California

Did you know that there�s a little bit of Denmark, right in the middle of California? The town of Solvang is located in between San Francisco and Los Angeles and entering this tiny village you can�t help smiling. It�s bizarre and surreal � you see Denmark all around you (and a little bit of the Netherlands too, for some reason).

Copenhagen road, Arne�s Aebleskiver, Danish bakery, Julehus, Hans Christian Andersen, Runde T�rn and the little Mermaid are some of the sights. Houses built in old Danish style are dominating the city picture and people smiling everywhere, welcoming you as a fellow Scandinavian. It just so happens that I�m half Danish and I visited Solvang back in 2005. It would have been a crime not to, since we drove right through it, more or less.

Solvang means �sunny fields� and seing the picture below you get the idea. It suits both this field and the yellow ones you find all over in Denmark.

The town was founded back in 1911 by theologist Benedict Nordentoft,  pastor Jens M. Gregersen and lecturer Peder P. Hornsyld, wishing for a colony somewhere warm, far from the Midwestern Winters. The population today is just over 5000 and it became a city in 1985.

When I visited, the third weekend in September, the traditional �Danish Days� was celebrated, as it�s been since 1936. They have eating competitions, processions through the downtown area with floats, marching groups, dancing, and singing. During these �Danish Days� you can have a couple of Danish delicacies, Medisterp�lser and �bleskiver.

Buildings in the half-timbered style of Danish rural houses dominate the town, even though Scandinavians point out that these have nothing to do with the original immigrants, but rather make for a huge tourist attraction.

As mentioned, there are many copies of Danish sightseeings. One is Runde T�rn, that is orignially located in the middle of Copenhagen and is Europes oldest observatory, built in 1637. The tower situated in Solvang is 1/3 of the one in Copenhagen, and houses a pizza place.

The little Mermaid has it�s place, of course.

H.C Andersen, the great Danish writer.

Solvang

Christmas whenever you want.

Image source: flickr.com and google.com

So, do you want to have a bit of Danish extreme, Solvang is the place. Enjoy!

Sweden celebrates

Today is the Swedish National day. In 1523, on the 6th of June, Gustav Vasa was crowned King of Sweden. He freed Sweden from the Kalmar Union with Denmark, steered the Swedish break with the Catholic Church and founded Sweden�s inherited monarchy.

In 1809 they changed the day from �Swedish flag day� to �Swedish National day�. It�s not quite the same as Norway, but still; they try.

Happy day to you, Sweden!

 

Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson

There�s a new movie coming out, W.E, based around Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson, starring Andrea Riseborough and James D'Arcy.

Wikipedia says:

�W.E tells the story of two fragile but determined women - Wally Winthrop (Abbie Cornish) and Wallis Simpson - separated by more than six decades.

In 1998, lonely New Yorker Winthrop is obsessed with what she perceives as the ultimate love story: King Edward VIII's abdication of the British throne for the woman he loved, American divorcee Wallis Simpson. But Winthrop's research, including several visits to the Sotheby's auction of the Windsor Estate, reveals that the couple's life together was not as perfect as she thought.

Weaving back and forth in time, the film intertwines Wally's journey of discovery in New York with the story of Wallis (Andrea Riseborough) and Edward (James D'Arcy), from the glamorous early days of their romance to the slow unravelling of their lives in the decades that followed.�

The September 2011 issue of Vanity Fair has done a photo shoot of the pair, and the pictures are simply so beautiful I have to post them. I love this era, the fashion is so elegant! And I�ll be first in line to see the movie!

Images: Vanity Fair

Impressive handwork

Does this look like snow and ice?

Well, it�s not. It�s the Pamukkale � the Cotton Castle of Turkey.

It is a natural site in Denizli Province in south-western Turkey. The city contains hot springs and travertines, terraces of carbonate minerals left by the flowing water. The ancient Greco-Roman and Byzantine city of Hierapolis was built on top of the white "castle".

The unique formations of travertine (calcium carbonate) shelves, pools and stalactites, which hug the ridge above town like a white scar, were created by the area�s warm mineral water, which cools as it cascades over the cliff edge and deposits its calcium. It�s a strange piece of landscape unlike anything else you�ll see in Turkey, and it now appears on the Unesco World Heritage list.

Images: flickr.com