Copenhagen

European nations are beefing up security in Copenhagen amid an ongoing wave of reported drone sightings in the Baltics and Scandinavia. The movement of counter-drone systems, advanced radars, a German frigate, a French helicopter and troops is designed to protect this week’s European Union meetings in the Danish capital. 

The sightings, over military installations and civilian airports, have also prompted Denmark to close its airspace to civilian drones for a week starting today after the incursion forced it to shut down a half dozen airports last week. In Norway, authorities said flights had to be diverted on Sunday because of unknown drones over airports there.

While Denmark has called the drones part of a “hybrid attack,” officials there have stopped short of saying definitively who is responsible, Reuters noted. However, Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has suggested it could be Moscow, calling Russia the primary “country that poses a threat to European security.” The Kremlin denies any involvement.

At least 15 flights have been diverted as the airport remains closed until the situation is resolved, officials in Denmark say.

Authorities in Denmark have closed Copenhagen airport after unidentified drones were sighted nearby, causing about 15 flights to be diverted, police and airport officials told the AFP news agency.

“The airspace over Copenhagen airport has been closed since 8:30pm (18:30 GMT) due to two to three unidentified drones. No aircraft can take off or land,” airport spokeswoman Lise Agerley Kurstein said.

She said about 15 flights had been diverted to other airports.

Copenhagen police, meanwhile, said that “three or four big drones” had been observed flying over the airport.

“They are still flying back and forth, coming and going,” duty officer Anette Ostenfeldt told the AFP at 10:45pm (20:45 GMT), adding that police were at the airport investigating.

She could not say if the drones were military or civilian.

“But they are bigger than what you as a private individual can buy,” Ostenfeldt said.

Airport officials said the airport would remain closed until the situation was resolved. “We currently have no timeline for reopening,” Kurstein, the airport spokeswoman, said.

The incident comes as several European countries have reported violations of their airspace by Russia. Estonia said on Friday that three Russian MiG-31 fighter jets had entered Estonian airspace without permission.

During a Russian air strike on Ukraine the week before, Poland said about 19 drones flew into its airspace. The Polish Air Force and NATO allies shot down some of the unmanned vehicles, marking the first time Russian drones were downed over NATO territory since Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Romania also registered a Russian drone in its airspace.

The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) convened on Monday to address the issue of airspace violations.

Russia’s ambassador to the UN, Dmitry Polyansky, denied the allegations that Moscow’s fighter jets had violated the airspace of neighbouring Estonia, saying that last Friday’s flight of three of its MiG-31 aircraft was done “strictly in accordance with international airspace regulations”.

The Russian Ministry of Defence echoed his remarks, saying that “objective monitoring” confirmed that the MiGs did not breach Estonian borders.

NATO allies at the UNSC meeting condemned Russia for violating the alliance’s airspace.

“Your reckless actions risk direct armed confrontation between NATO and Russia. Our alliance is defensive, but be under no illusion we stand ready to defend NATO’s skies and NATO’s territory,” the United Kingdom foreign secretary, Yvette Cooper, said.

NATO’s North Atlantic Council will meet to discuss the issue on Tuesday.

If you’re eager to mark the holidays this year with a Danish flair but Copenhagen seems a tad too far away, you might find the answer in Solvang. An answer that includes gnomes and a troll.

That city, founded in 1911 by Danish immigrants, celebrates its Julefest — the winter holidays — with an emphasis on visitor-friendly Old World traditions. This year’s schedule includes a series of events and activities from Nov. 28 through Jan. 4 — roaming carolers, European-style night markets, candlelight tours and shops transformed into micro winter wonderlands.

If you’re planning a winter road trip, here are some things to know.

The most quaint hotels in town are tiny, so book early

Solvang, about 130 miles northwest of Los Angeles, has about 20 hotels and most are smallish and independent. The largest is the Corque Hotel (122 rooms), which is affiliated with Marriott but owned by the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians.

The most intimate and affordable hotels — often in a vintage motel sort of way — include the Atterdag Inn (8 rooms), New Haven Inn (10 rooms), Hamlet Inn (13 rooms), Mirabelle Inn (13 rooms), the Viking Inn (13 rooms) and the Winston (14 rooms).

The most luxurious is the Alisal Guest Ranch & Resort, whose 73 rooms and cottages routinely rent for $1,500 nightly or more (the property includes a lake and two golf courses).

A tree will rise, amid carols, craft markets and more

Solvang’s holiday celebrations include a tree lighting, like this one in 2023.

(SolvangUSA)

Tree lighting will happen at 5:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 5, in Solvang Park, followed by a Julefest Parade the next morning at 11 a.m.

Caroling is scheduled on several Saturdays, Nov. 29, Dec. 6, 13 and 20, from 5 to 8 p.m. in Solvang Park (weather permitting). Art and craft markets will materialize on Wednesdays, Dec. 3, 10 and 17, from 3 to 7 p.m.

There will be European-style markets to peruse.

(SolvangUSA)

Solvang Park will offer hourlong light and music shows nightly from 5 to 10 p.m. Nov. 28 through Jan. 4. There are also evening trolley rides through the San Ynez Valley and meet-and-greet opportunities with Santa (in Solvang Park) are set for noon to 4 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays, Nov. 29 and 30, then Dec. 6, 7, 13,14, 20 and 21.

On Dec. 31, attention shifts to Julefest’s Copenhagen Countdown in Solvang Park, ringing in the Danish new year at 3 p.m., Pacific Standard Time. This event, from 2 to 4 p.m., will feature live music from an ’80s tribute band known as the Molly Ringwald Project.

Gnomes and a troll are expected

The seasonal offerings also include candlelight tours (featuring LED candles and hosts in costume), Christmas light tours and daily hunting for nisser (gnomes) throughout downtown Solvang.

The troll — nicknamed Lulu Hyggelig — isn’t really a seasonal addition. It (or she, if you prefer) is a permanent resident of the city’s California Nature Art Museum, added in February. Lulu, made of recycled pallets and wine barrels, is one of many trolls created worldwide by Danish artist and recycling activist Thomas Dambo and his team of veteran builders and volunteers.

Christmas trees will burn — and that’s part of the celebration

Solvang’s holiday Julefest season often ends with a Christmas tree burn. This one happened in 2023.

(Randy De La Pena/SolvangUSA)

The season ends with a Christmas tree burn, billed as a safety demonstration, supervised by the Santa Barbara County Fire Department and scheduled for 5 p.m. Friday, Jan. 9, weather permitting.

The hotel can be easily accessed by taking the train from Denmark’s capital, Copenhagen

Ever fancied a quick nap in one of IKEA’s cosy display bedrooms? Turns out, you can do just that. Travel influencer Chelsea Dickenson, known online as the ‘Holiday Expert’, recently visited the furniture store’s world-first hotel and shared her verdict on its facilities.

Aptly named IKEA Hotell, this accommodation is situated in Älmhult, Sweden, but can be accessed easily by taking the train from Denmark’s capital, Copenhagen. It boasts a lounge area, cinema, restaurant and even a museum, which hotel guests can enter for free.

“I went to the world’s only IKEA HOTEL with @thismorning,” Chelsea wrote on Instagram. “…What’s even better is that you can catch a direct 1 hour 45 min train from Copenhagen Airport for just £22.

“Plus, you could stay the night and then catch a direct train to Stockholm in three hours and make it into an epic Scandi train trip!” In general, Chelsea said that staying in a cabin costs £45 per night, while double rooms cost £100 and family spaces are priced at £125.

Various perks come with a stay at the hotel, too, including free laundry facilities, a gym, and a kids’ play area. Breakfast is also included in the price.

However, one aspect in particular blew Chelsea away. Perhaps unsurprisingly, this was the food, with meatballs and even a ‘luxury hotdog range’ available at different spots around the premises.

Chelsea continued: “Meatballs available at the hotel and the museum restaurant – but expect fancier fair at their ‘Grillen’ restaurant, though they have a luxury hotdog range!!”

She later added: “Honestly, I know I was there for work but I BLOODY LOVED IT and thought it was great value for what you got! Plus, I was blown away by the food at Grillen. It was really, really good and not as ££ as I thought it would be for Sweden!”

Chelsea’s review was quickly showered with intrigued comments from viewers. Some even confirmed personally that the IKEA hotel exceeded their expectations, describing it as far nicer than they had imagined.

One person wrote: “We have just returned from a Scandinavian holiday and we stayed here. We made a detour especially. It was so much better than we thought it would be.” Meanwhile, another person said: “I had a reservation there for autumn 2020 (so that never happened!) and it’s still on my bucket list.”

Someone else added: “This sounds like such an incredible adventure!” For those interested in learning more about Chelsea’s stay at the IKEA hotel, you can watch her full review on ITVX here.

Additional information is available at the IKEA Hotell website here.

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Discovering a tranquil beach town without masses of tourists felt like stumbling across a true hidden gem.

I love getting away and spending a few days exploring a new city, imagining what my life might look like if I decided to skip my Ryanair flight home and stay, and Copenhagen isn’t exempt from this.

Considering that it was recently voted the most liveable city in the world, I was already daydreaming about life here after the clean and efficient ride into the city on the airport shuttle, which felt like a holiday in itself.

However, I was only in the city for a brief moment this time around, and rather than spending my time cycling around to cosy coffee shops and museums as I had done on previous trips, I was instead heading to what many Danes refer to as the ‘Copenhagen Riviera’.

While Denmark isn’t necessarily the first place that might spring to mind when thinking of where to head for a coastal retreat, Hornbaek is seaside town just an hour from Copenhagen that’s doubles up as a popular holiday destination.

The town is also where many Danes choose to keep holiday homes, spending summers relaxing on the endless stretches of sandy beaches that have become increasingly popular with surfers.

Despite being just 50km north of Copenhagen, Hornbaek feels worlds apart, especially when you compare it to the popular seaside towns in the UK that are close to cities like London.

In fact, I often find a visit to some of the UK’s seaside towns more stressful than relaxing, especially during the peak summer months when city folk like myself look to cool down by the coast.

With a permanent population of just 3,000 residents, it didn’t feel like visiting a city that’s conveniently placed next to the sea, as Brighton or Margate often does, instead it felt like a proper retreat away from the hustle and bustle.

Most of the houses are built in the style of traditional wooden cottages, helping it feel even more laidback, and the town can easily be reached by following trails that take you through tranquil woodlands.

While surfing and paddle boarding are popular activities, I visited during September, which was slightly chilly for my liking. Nonetheless, there were still some swimmers nearby that were brave enough to head in for a dip.

With nearly 3km of golden sandy beaches overlooking the Baltic Sea, reports the Express, September made for some incredible sunsets as the long summer came to an end.

While the beach wasn’t vastly different, or necessarily superior to those found in the UK, the tranquillity experienced when it merged with the woodlands was truly a peaceful escape.

Visiting in September also meant there was little else to do but stroll along the beach with friends and unwind in the cottage we stayed in, meaning I returned home feeling more refreshed than ever.

That doesn’t meant there isn’t plenty to do if you feel like exploring. The town boasts a buzzy street food market named Det Fedtede Hjørne, a 14km coastal bike track, and even sunrise yoga sessions at Hotel Hornbækhus.

We took the train to Hornbæk and despite needing to switch trains at Helsingør Station, the journey was incredibly smooth and well worth it.

Finding great Mexican food in unexpected places. Losing the city of L.A.’s oldest restaurant. A guide to the vegan ice cream boom. The Italian potatoes that changed Jenn Harris’ mind about fat fries. And “some guy on Tripadvisor.” I’m Laurie Ochoa, general manager of L.A. Times Food, with this week’s Tasting Notes.

Salbute salute

Salbute with Yucatan-inspired racado negro chicken at Sanchez in Copenhagen.

(Laurie Ochoa / Los Angeles Times)

As Angelenos, we don’t think twice about eating Mexican food one day, Thai food the next and Korean food the day after that. Weekend breakfast with friends is as likely to be Chinese rice porridge as it is a plate of buckwheat pancakes or chilaquiles. In fact, we rarely bother to break down our dining choices by cuisine. It’s more, let’s go get some ramen or birria or boat noodles.

But when we travel, we tend to eat more conservatively. With limited time in a new place, we usually stick to what we perceive as the food of the country we’re visiting. Trying to find decent Mexican food in Italy, for instance, while not impossible, isn’t easy in a country that prizes the joys of hyper-regionality. You take a risk ordering pasta alla carbonara (a seemingly simple dish that’s hard to perfect if you don’t take your time with the guanciale) outside of Rome or tortellini en brodo in any Italian region other than Emilia-Romagna.

And yet, when I landed in Copenhagen late last month, with all the glories of smørrebrød and cutting-edge Nordic cuisine to explore — including two places in the city (Noma and Geranium) named at different points the No. 1 restaurant in the world on the World’s 50 Best list — the first place I headed was a Mexican restaurant.

Of course, the restaurant, Sanchez, is no ordinary Mexican spot. The owner, Rosio Sanchez, was the head pastry chef for Rene Redzepi at Noma for five years before opening her first Copenhagen taqueria, Hija de Sanchez, in 2015. She briefly returned to collaborate with Redzepi on Noma’s 2017 Mexico pop-up in Tulum. If a real-life version of “The Bear” character Marcus (Lionel Boyce) had been sent to Copenhagen for pastry chef training at the world’s best restaurant in 2014, Sanchez likely would have been his mentor, not Will Poulter‘s character Luca. Indeed, Sanchez appears in the series’ chef-packed Season 3 finale talking about why she loves to cook. And one of Sanchez’s former chefs, Laura Cabrera, has risen to lead her own kitchen at the zero-waste restaurant Baldío in Mexico City.

Chef Rosio Sanchez at the Kødbyen location of her Copenhagen taqueria Hija de Sanchez in 2016.

(Laurie Ochoa / Los Angeles Times)

When I first ate Sanchez’s Mexican cooking in 2016 at Hija de Sanchez, I was immediately struck by the skill of her tortilla making, not easy in a place where masa is not readily available, and the way she was able make food that felt completely Mexican while incorporating Danish ingredients — a fjord shrimp taco, for instance, or gooseberry salsa. Never mind that as she told Margy Rochlin in this paper during a 2017 guest chef appearance at the L.A. Times Food Bowl with Sqirl‘s Jessica Koslow, some of her first customers in Copenhagen called tortillas “pancakes.” Or that when she saw Danes eating tacos with a fork and knife she had an illustrated and nonjudgmental “how to eat your taco” poster made. Since those early days, Copenhagen eaters have taken to her tacos. There are now five Hija de Sanchez taquerias across the city.

Al pastor, barbacoa and vegetarian tacos plus a glass of jamaica at the Torvehallerne food market location of Rosio Sanchez’s Copenhagen taqueria Hija de Sanchez.

(Laurie Ochoa / Los Angeles Times)

But Sanchez was not solely interested in exploring tacos. At the end of 2017 she opened Sanchez, a restaurant that elevates Mexican cuisine while still keeping it approachable. In its current form, the restaurant offers a five-course tasting menu for the rough equivalent of $82 with the option of an even more affordable three-course meal for about $59. If you want still more, you can add extra courses — such as an oyster with a sauce of habanero and sea buckthorn, or a slender bean, sheep cheese and cured egg burrito.

The oyster was a good, bracing start. And lime-cured langoustine ceviche, served aguachile style, with a verde sauce and fermented tomato water, kept the freshness going. But it was the salbute, with a jolt of intense corn from the puffed fried tortilla and layers of deep, complex flavors from chicken cooked in recado negro sauce, made with charred chiles, plus grilled bladderwrack seaweed in place of lettuce, a quail egg and a drizzle of habanero-árbol chile oil that showed how Sanchez is combining tradition, local ingredients and her own new way of approaching Mexican food.

Monkfish cheek, marinated al pastor style, beautifully charred and served with herbs on a lightly charred lettuce leaf came next. It all led to carnitas tacos that we assembled ourselves with freshly made tortillas, herbs, salsa, pickled jalapeño and onion, plus, because this is Copenhagen, green sea buckthorn.

The night’s most memorable dish, however, was dessert. The menu’s description was understated: chocolate mousse. But what is usually a satisfying but unexciting dish came out with a ring of salsa macha, crunchy with pumpkin seeds and preserved ancho chiles, a layer of whipped cream and, for good measure, roasted kelp and drips of olive oil. The mousse itself was made chocolate from Chiapas and hid a nugget of more chiles underneath.

Chocolate mouse with salsa macha, whipped cream and roasted kelp at Sanchez in Copenhagen.

(Laurie Ochoa / Los Angeles Times)

The spicy and sweet flavors felt both old and new. It’s the kind of dish that shows that Mexican cuisine even thousands of miles away from Mexico itself is still evolving. Now if only we could get Sanchez to open a branch of her restaurant here in L.A.

Loss and uneasy hope

Cole’s French Dip on 6th Street in downtown Los Angeles will close its doors on Aug. 2.

(Con Keyes / Los Angeles Times)

It’s been a tough week for L.A. restaurants. Karla Marie Sanford reports that Cole’s French Dip, which opened in 1908, making it the city’s oldest restaurant, will close its doors on Aug. 2. “By the time the Olympics get here, all these mom and pops will be gone,” said Brian Lenzo, senior vice president of operations for Cedd Moses’ Pouring With Heart, which took over the downtown L.A. restaurant in 2008. “Hopefully it’s a wakeup call for the right people to step up and figure out a plan.”

Another downtown loss: David Schlosser announced that his rigorous Japanese-focused restaurant Shibumi — last year he recreated a 1789 Japanese banquet — will permanently close on July 19.

Senior food editor Danielle Dorsey reports that Alisa Reynolds’ soul food bistro My 2 Cents, on The Times’ 101 Best Restaurants in L.A. list, will close on July 31 after 12 years on Pico Boulevard. Reynolds plans to focus on catering, pop-ups and collaborations.

And Lauren Ng reports that Melody, the Virgil Village natural wine bar that hosted many pop-ups during its nearly 10 years in business, will close this weekend, though owner Eric Tucker will open a temporary “Bar Band-Aid” pizza spot on July 16 until the Craftsman bungalow space can be sold.

Members of the Morfin family eat tacos and drink agua frescas at El Gato Night Market.

(Luke Johnson / Los Angeles Times)

But there are some signs of resilience even in this tough climate. Ng spent time at the recently reopened El Gato Night Market, which shut down for two weeks after ICE raids heated up in Los Angeles. Though more than half of the market’s 70 to 80 vendors had not returned in the first days of the reopening and business was slow at first, the crowds started to return after a few days. “Vendors, many of whom worry for their safety and the future of their businesses, show up for work out of necessity,” Ng writes, “but also to provide comfort and familiarity for customers, most of whom are Latino and often bring their young children.”

Maria Sanchez, known as “Maria la de los Burritos” sells $5 burritos in Watts out of the trunk of her car.

(Yasara Gunawardena / For The Times)

Meanwhile, when Maria Sanchez, known on social media as “Maria la de los Burritos,” was asked to leave her usual burrito-selling spot outside a Home Depot after ICE raids started happening, she was undeterred. She packed her gold-foil-wrapped burritos in the trunk of her car and found eager customers at construction sites. Her carne asada burritos typically sell out in 30 minutes. Contributor Madeleine Connors profiles the maker of these internet-viral burritos that are also doing some good for L.A. workers.

Also …

Awan offers more than a dozen flavors of the fully vegan ice cream made with coconut cream and Balinese vanilla.

(Stephanie Breijo / Los Angeles Times)

• The days of chalky, grainy, barely sweet plant-based ice cream are in the past, says contributor Omari Allen, who writes about the blossoming of vegan ice cream in Los Angeles and put together a guide to 10 of the best shops serving great dairy-free ice cream.
• How Steve Samson‘s thrice-fried potatoes at Rossoblu changed Jenn Harris’ mind about fat fries.
• Hawa Hassan, author of “Setting a Place for Us” and “In Bibi’s Kitchen,” made arnabeet mekleh — Lebanese fried cauliflower with tahini — in the Times Test Kitchen. Watch how she did it and get the recipe.
• Deputy food editor Betty Hallock has 15 ways to make the most of summer melons.
• If menu prices are feeling too high, here are 19 affordable picks from critic Bill Addison‘s 101 Best Restaurants in California guide.
• Restaurants, bars consider turning off music as licensing fees skyrocket, report Ashley Carman and Aruni Soni.
• The Country Kitchen in Malibu is just one of the businesses recently reopened after the Palisades fire struggling to regain customers even in peak tourist season, reports Caroline Petrow-Cohen.
• Kraft Heinz Co. is preparing to break itself up, reports Crystal Tse, Liana Baker and Kristina Peterson.
• Jewel Thais-Williams, founder of L.A.’s Black lesbian and queer nightclub Jewel’s Catch One, has died at the age of 86. “Jewel’s Catch One became a kind of West Coast Studio 54,” writes August Brown. “People came from all over the world to party there. Europe, South America — they’d come straight from LAX and leave their bags at coat check,” Thais-Williams’ sister Carol Williams told Brown. “The club was universally known for its acceptance.”

And finally … a word from ‘some guy on Tripadvisor’

The sign outside Sliders in Copenhagen: “Try the worst sliders some guy on Tripadvisor has ever had in his entire life alongside enjoying our ‘terrible service.’”

(Laurie Ochoa / Los Angeles Times)

Restaurants handle negative customer feedback in different ways. Some, as this sign seen outside the burger bar Sliders in Copenhagen, embrace it. The invitation: “Try the worst sliders some guy on Tripadvisor has ever had in his entire life alongside enjoying our ‘terrible service.’ ” It certainly got my attention. If I hadn’t already filled up on smørrebrød, I would have stopped in for a “lamb za’atar spectacular” or “decadent Dane” (beef patty, melted Danish cheese, caramelized onions and pickled apple) slider.