I must absolutly appologize for my previous post. It was way too long and could have been a book in and of itself. I promise this one will be smaller.
I am amazed at how complicated the tram maps are here in Amsterdam. The lines are farely extensive but are not overlayed on a map easily at the tram station. I purchased a map at the info station in the Centraal station here in Amsterdam for 2 euro and have used it extensively during my stay. The map I purchased has been more valuable to me as I do not know any streets and it does give the rail lines inside the roadways on the map.
I have noticed two big main areas to Amsterdam, the inner city by the Dam and Neuwmarkt and the business area at the World Trade Center to the south. Both areas have a train station but the Zuid trainstation is smaller. Check with either the Dutch train website www.ns.nl or the country you are going to web site. The Dutch train site does have an English mirror site that is nearly as effective as the Deutsche Bahn site. My one small problem is that seat reservations cannot be made through the automated machines at either Centraal or Zuid. This is probably indicative of the automated systems that the Dutch have. I would recommend making reservations earlier than day of departer if possible due to this circumstance. I often don't have a seat reservation until a couple of hours with DB.
Back to the tram system. The tram system in Amsterdam is a bit complicated as tram lines can run together and use the same set of track. Traffic jams also back up the tram system as the traffic has to clear for the train to move through. I watched a nasty one last at Centraal station for 20 minutes with cars, taxis and trams backed up and getting nowhere fast. If you elect to use the tram map at the station, know what area you are going to. The centraal zone does contain most of the tourist areas but the zone stops right around the City Ring parkway. This means that you need at least a 2 zone ticket to get to the WTC-Zuid train station or a multi zone ticket to get out further from the center. Another powerful option is a bicycle.
The bicycle is as much a symbol of Amsterdam as Rembrant paintings or a cannibis leaf, the later maybe more dubious. Auto traffic is absolutly nuts from an American standpoint. Cars drive in the roadways and aslo on train tracks and park in the bicycle lains. With a map, most of the central areas of the city are accessable within a half an hour after getting your bearings. My one problem has been more with pedestrians in the bike lanes rather than than cars opening doors right before I pass them. I do wear a bike helmet as I don't want a trip to the hospital for going "Endo" (end over end). A helmet won't stop it but it will definatly limit the brain damage. There is much more bicycle traffic than auto traffic and I often have had problems parking a bike.
I would like a special note for those who are considering bringing a high value bike here. DON'T! The junkies here steal anything of value excluding an old bike that has two good locks. The best combination is a firm metal chain lock and a rear wheel lock. Most bikes rented will come with both locks but most people who rent are not wearing helmets so I assume that they may not be available. Junkies also have been causing problems and expect all restrooms within the central zone to be customer only, even if you have to pay. I watched a female bartender toss out a Spanish/Turkish person who wasn't a customer for trying to use the bathroom. Considering the bar was just between the Neuwmarkt and the red light zone, this is an unfortunate necessity. The bar was quite nice though.
Another note: Make sure that the coffee shop you enter is non-smoking (this applies to canibis). Use your sense of smell on this one but avoid any shop that looks fishy. Most bars I've seen do not allow smoking due to a small crackdown on the potheads and confining them to certain areas. Public smoking is not allowed and coffee shops are only allowed to have smaller amounts on hand for sale (1 kg is the limit I believe).
Well, looks like the length limit went up in smoke (ok, that one was bad).