XXX weekend...

Centuries before the MPAA irrevocably twisted the meaning of XXX (in the minds of most Americans anyway), Amsterdam adopted 3 crosses (of the St. Andrew's variety to be precise) on their coat of arms and much later their flag. There's something menacing (in a medieval sort of way) about this flag in my opinion.

I took the train to this incredible city last Friday, returning Sunday evening. I went with a friend whose name I'll withhold until the statute of limitations has run on the most egregious of his crimes. Just kidding -- I went with Evan, a longtime friend and former business partner who is visiting Europe from Dallas.

The weather our first day was absolutely incredible. Amsterdam is already an 11 on the beauty meter, but with a solid blue sky and radiant sun, it's almost supernatural.

We stayed in a decent hotel (the first one below) that was a 5 minute tram ride from Rembrandt square. The weather didn't cooperate as much on Saturday and Sunday but we still (somehow) managed to have an incredible trip.

One interesting note about the Deutsch Bahn trains: they are not the paragons of organization and punctuality I expected. We experienced a few delays and platform changes that reminded me of (average) air travel. They're also not particularly cheap in my book. I can drive to Amsterdam in about 4 hours. The train takes between 5 and 6 and cost over 100 Euros.