I've never had an urge to visit Amsterdam, its reputation mixed with talks of its coffee shops and red light district. The former are difficult to miss, the latter can be avoided. However, Amsterdam's "XXX" symbology is abundant, though I discovered it has little to do with the city’s infamous adult entertainment. To my surprise, the city’s official symbol and coat of arms was chosen centuries ago and only in recent decades has it developed its tie to Amsterdam's sex trade. For sure, an interesting double-entendre.
(As an aside, I briefly tried to find any heraldic background to the city's coat of arms, without much success beyond educated guesses. By the way, the red light district is a seemingly quaint neighborhood and an afternoon can be waisted away at a sidewalk cafe, watching women in their windows -- syrenes beckoning the lost. I was surprised to see groups of locals, literally all types to include families, stroll by, chatting, not paying any attention.)
Away from the main train station, most of Amsterdam's old city center appears residential, with houses lining the canals, the original inhabitants no doubt having had some tie to the merchant trade on the water. That is pretty much what Amsterdam was for me on my first day -- a place to sit and watch, or stroll and take in the canals and architecture, with a variety of styles, most notably Dutch Renaissance, Baroque.
And the endless number of bicycles.
