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Lighthouse Diner
Rafael Town Center
1016 Court Street
San Rafael, CA 94901
Tel (415) 721-7700

Lighthouse Café

When you visit the Lighthouse Café in Sausalito, or the Lighthouse Diner in San Rafael, you'll find a piece of typical small-town America, a place where the locals meet to get a meal, chat about life and catch up on the latest news.

Upon closer inspection you'll find the Danish and Scandinavian touches that make the Lighthouse restaurants unique. The tourist posters on the wall, one of them a unique collector's item from the early 1900's. The Danish lunch special. And many other items.

What's the link ? Read about us and you'll find out !

Denmark is one of Europe's smallest countries, located at the top of the European continent (Map). Denmark's only border is with Germany, and is 43 miles long. In contrast, Denmark's coast line is 4571 miles long, meaning that the ocean has always been an important part of Danish history.

The best known danes are - of course - the vikings. The vikings lived in Denmark, Norway and Sweden between AD 700 and 1050. Most archeological sites are found in modern-day Denmark.
It is true that vikings plundered at will - monasteries were prime targets. However, but most were actually farmers going west, looking for arable land. The vikings developed ocean-going longboats and built up a relatively large empire, which included Scandinavia, most of the British Isles, Iceland, Greenland, and parts of Canada.

CANADA ? Yes, the Vikings discovered North America long before Columbus, at L'Anse aux Meadows in Newfoundland - the site was only re-discovered in 1960. Take a look at the Canadian Government's web site, it's an intriguing story of old legends that turned out to be true.

Remnants of the viking culture exist in our language today - "York" is derived from city's old name "Jorvik", and the days Wednesday, Thursday and Friday are named after the Gods Odin, Thor and Freia.
And Greenland is still part of the Kingdom of Denmark, as was Iceland until 1943.

Look at the poster in the Lighthouse Café, and you'll immediately recognize her. Most people get acquainted with Denmark through the fairy tales of Hans Christian Andersen. The Little Mermaid is his most famous fairy tale, and the statue of The Little Mermaid has over the years become one of the most popular attractions in Copenhagen.

Another popular attraction, right in the heart of Copenhagen, is the amusement park called Tivoli Gardens. Tivoli opened in 1843, some 260 years after the oldest amusement park in the world, Bakken, north of Copenhagen, which opened in 1583.
The poster in the Lighthouse Café is from the 63rd anniversary celebrations in 1906.

The rich history and great food, makes a visit to Denmark an unforgettable experience.
If you want to read more about Denmark, we suggest you visit these web sites :

VisitDenmark.com
Wonderful Copenhagen !
The Viking Ship Museum
CIA World Fact Book