United States
A little bit of Denmark in America. Complete with a windmill, traditional Danish bakeries a plenty, a Hans Christian Andersen museum and even a replica of the Little Mermaid. Stay at the Viking Motel or Royal Copenhagen Inn, and gorge on over-sized Danish pastries for breakfast (well, this is America). Sample robust Danish fare such as frikadeller (meat balls), medisterpølse (sausages) and roedkaal (red cabbage) in one of the many restaurants (most of them done up as replicas of wooden Danish buildings), then indulge in a bit of shopping - you can get anything from Danish chocolate to Danish fashion, or even a pair of good old-fashioned wooden clogs, for half the price of what it would cost you back in Copenhagen!
Solvang was founded in 1911 by a group of Danish educators who travelled west to escape the harsh winters in the midwest. The town lies at the heart of wine country, and parts of the Oscar-winning film Sideways, about a couple of wine-loving friends travelling around California, was filmed here.
Best time to visit? September, when the hordes of tourists have left, and the Danish Days Festival (18 September 2010), now in its 73th year, is in full swing.
www.solvangusa.com
Google map: tinyurl.com/38apt63