Page 206 - WDT INTERACTIVE

Our guides explained that they would serve as
interpreters for our home visit. So, as they led the way,
our group strode uphill, often stopping to take photos of
the glorious town's bright, colorful buildings and harbor
view—with our cruise ship anchored in the distance. A
few Inuits walked their dogs or drove by fast on the nar-
row roads in their old pick-up trucks. Two teachers led
a group of charming, smiling 4- and 5-year-olds, donned
in lime-green vests and walking hand-in-hand—on a field
trip to somewhere.

PHOTO BY SHARON WHITLEY LARSEN
We finally got to the modest house and entered,
removing our jackets—and shoes, as is the custom. (It's
also customary to take the hostess a gift.)
I didn't realize that we were participating in a
Kaffemik--a Danish word for Greenland Coffee Social
Gathering—often to celebrate life's important events:
a couple's engagement, weddings, baby christenings,
birthdays, graduations, anniversaries, sports achieve-
ments—even to toast a child who has hunted down
his or her first reindeer or seal! Or it's an Open House, Our shore excursion group had paid $59 each for
a social visit among friends, family, neighbors and the privilege of attending a Kaffemik and we were
colleagues. The motto is: “Come glad and eat cake!” greeted warmly by the charming grandmother who
met us in her home, where tables and walls displayed
family photos (of birthday parties, weddings, Christ-
mas, christenings). The two bedrooms I peeked in
were painted bright reddish/orange and blue. As we
strolled past the cozy white kitchen into the living/din-
ing room (which had a breathtaking view of the town
and harbor below), Carl gasped. There, set on the
table, was the blue Bing & Grondahl Danish china with
the same seagull design that his mother had bought
on a trip to Denmark in the early 1950s (and which we
now cherish). The Danish influence is big here, with
some 65% of the tourists visiting from Denmark.
PHOTO BY SHARON WHITLEY LARSEN
206 WDT MAGAZINE WINTER 2018