Riddle Me This...

Amsterdam, Holland

January 1, 2008
N52°22.800
E004°53.320

Tonight is our final night in Amsterdam. Marc and I catch a train to Berlin tomorrow while Shelby and Dustin catch a flight home. We had a great time in our canal house over the past several nights; sharing Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and New Years Eve dinners, retelling stories, and creating stories for years to come.

One of the best stories from the time in Amsterdam was our first night. As we walked back to our place, still unclear about the good and bad neighborhoods, we walked through a mild “red-light” district. There were probably a dozen red lights glowing above the windows down the alley, woman dressed very provocatively peered, smiled and gestured to passer-bys while children were playing close by on the canals of the Jordaan.

As we walked through the neighborhood, Marc turned and said… “Riddle me this… would you rather walk through this neighborhood or the Tenderloin.” The whole crew started laughing for two reasons—the neighborhood is not sketchy at all and where in the heck did Marc come up with “riddle me this?” The phrase was repeated several times over the following days and Shelby wanted to make sure it was appropriately captured in the blog. The point Marc was attempting to make was in regard to Holland’s laws. In Holland prostitution has been legalized and is supervised by health officials; consequently there’s been a significant reduction in crime and transmitted diseases… something we stopped a minute to ponder.

In closing, I guess I should say, Riddle me this… would you rather spend New Years Eve in San Francisco or Amsterdam? I think the Amsterdam experience was a once in a lifetime for me, I guess I’m getting older. It was great fun to see how other people celebrate, but I could do without the massive explosions and excessive drunks; however, I guess you get the drunks everywhere.

Happy New Year Everyone!