Visiting Solvang, Feeding Ostriches and Pea Soup Andersen's

Last Fall, I finally got the chance to visit Solvang, a Danish Village in central California. Every time I’ve driven up north, I always pass by the windmills of Solvang and want to stop in but never do - this time, I made a trip up to specifically visit Solvang.

It was the perfect weekend trip, I stayed at Sideways Inn which is conveniently located almost across from the famous restaurant Pea Soup Andersen’s, and on the main road that runs through Solvang. Formerly Days Inn, the hotel has been serving visitors and travelers since the 1980s and recently received a face lift with renovations and refreshes; what remains the same (but has been repaired) is the iconic windmill which houses the lobby area. It changed its name over to Sideways Inn to pay tribute to the movie “Sideways” being filmed there.

After checking into Sideways Inn, I headed into Solvang, grabbed lunch, walked around and perused the many shops, tasted aebleskivers (a Danish dessert resembling donut holes) for the first time, bought chocolates, spices and candies and snapped some pics (maybe a lot of pics).

I really enjoyed walking around the town and taking in the scenery and shops. There’s a plethora of sweets and treats to try, as well as souvenir and cute knock knack shops to explore.

On our way back to our hotel, we stopped into Ostrichland USA. We had seen the big sign for it on the way into Solvang, so we were curious to check it out. You pay a nominal fee and receive a bucket of food to feed the ostriches and emus on the farm! It’s really fun despite the ostriches being pretty aggressive eaters! The evening ended with a visit out to Morro Bay for a seafood dinner, and a drive in movie at the Sunset Drive-In.

Before heading home, we stopped into Pea Soup Andersen’s for……you guessed it…their famous pea soup. I hadn’t heard of this place before, but apparently it’s well known and a dining must when in the area. I got my pea soup in a bread bowl and of course had all the yummy toppings to enjoy it with.

Overall a quick, but really eventful trip I would say! Have you been to Solvang before?