English: Amsterdam's transportation network is primarily built around street trams. Using Centraal Station (the railroad hub) as the main hub, streetcars fan out in all directions throughout the city core and well beyond. The trams often come covered in full-body advertisements, as seen here. Although Amsterdam also has a conventional heavy-rail subway, only one line serves the city core and is of little use to visitors.

These trams are on Line 1, the line connecting Centraal Station to Leidseplein where I was staying.

Fare payment was via strip cards (stripkaarten). Whenever I boarded any transit vehicle (tram, bus, subway train, etc.), I had to have the card stamped with the time and boarding area; I needed to stamp the number of spaces equal to the number of zones I was traveling through, plus one. Longer strip cards offered discounts. Random enforcement by transit police is very frequent and severe. This system not only covers Amsterdam, but the entire Netherlands - the entire country is divided into transit zones and I could go anywhere in the country this way. (Though for intercity trips, mainline trains are more sensible and faster.)

The taxicab is a Mercedes Benz E-class, typical of European cabs.