Wheelchair user slowed in Solvang

I got misty reading “In Solvang, Have Drama With Your Danish,” [Weekend Escape, July 18]. It used to be one of our favorite weekend escapes too, until my husband lost the ability to walk.

Recently, we decided the town would be a lovely, nostalgic place to celebrate a special wedding anniversary. We made a hotel reservation, loaded our compact electric scooter and wheelchair in the car and set off up U.S. 101 in high spirits.

Our mood was soon deflated. To our surprise and dismay, we discovered the Solvang we’d loved so much is one of the least-accessible cities we’ve ever visited -- in fact, much worse than many centuries-old tourist towns in Europe.

Many of Solvang’s businesses are inaccessible and unapologetic about it. Step-up doorways; narrow, cluttered aisles; and grim, inhospitable shopkeepers were the norm just about everywhere.

At one Solvang bakery, I asked where the wheelchair entrance was. I was told quite plainly that there wasn’t one. When I asked how the business got away with this, I was told, “Well, we sometimes bring ‘those people’ in through the kitchen.” Looking at the cluttered bedlam in there, I passed on that idea.

At one store, we made our own ramp by dragging a doormat over the high sill. At a newer courtyard mall, we were delighted to discover a beautifully designed wheelchair ramp curving down toward a rear entrance -- until we saw the French door at the end was locked and blocked with merchandise.

A handful of stores were wonderful. But they were few and far between and certainly not enough to warrant the drive. Slowly and sadly, it dawned on us that we’d just made our final trip to Solvang.

Maybe Solvang just doesn’t need the business. Velkommen, indeed.

Linda Taubenreuther

Monrovia