My favorite was the trains. When my family and I visit a city, here in the United States, we either drive or fly. However, in Europe, you hop on the train, which is faster than a car, more cost-effective than a plane, and provide more space to you than both alternatives. We took the train from Berlin -where we lived for a month- to Hamburg, Dresden, Prague, and Amsterdam. Later, we went to London and Paris by train, as well.

There are reasons why Americans generally prefer cars. While traveling by train, you need to go to a station and catch the particular train at a particular time. This may become difficult for a family especially if you have heavy luggage (like us).The worst experience we had was the train ride from Dresden to Prague. To our chance, we boarded a train with about a hundred hooligans, who kept drinking, vaping, and chanting for the whole ride. Several of them occupied the toilets causing people like my parents to not be able to find an open toilet for several wagons. This out-of-ordinary experience showed us the “public” aspect of public transport.

Once we arrived in the city, we took buses, trolleys, or subways if available; if not, we had to take a taxi and walk to our final destination. I realized that walking was a bigger part of the European way of life than our American one. This is at least partially a result of public transport in Europe.

The different transportation styles reflect geographical and cultural differences. In Europe, large cities exist at relatively close distances allowing public transport to be very efficient. The United States, by contrast, has a larger territory and a more dispersed population. Moreover, Americans have a deeper sense of individualism reflected in their choice of transportation.