When in Rome . . . or Paris . . . or Copenhagen . . .
One of the things I enjoy most about foreign travel is observing how things are done differently in other countries.
However, when confronted by these differences, I do think most Americans make note that it’s different without wondering why it’s different.
I have always wondered why American tourists haven’t come back from visits to France or Germany or Spain or Japan or China and said, “Hey! How come we don’t do more to accommodate people who don’t own a car?”
Or, if you have to get to where you’re going by train, just peddle to the train station, stash your bike and take the train. There are local trains that travel 20 miles per hour and intercity trains that run at 200 miles an hour.
Fast. Convenient. Frequent. And safe. What’s not to like about that?
You and your readers may enjoy the YouTube channel “Not Just Bikes”, run by a Canadian resident of Amsterdam and mostly explaining why he chose to settle and raise his family there after spending his early adulthood hopping from city to city and seeing what works and what doesn’t. Disappointingly little train content, but it’s a good exploration of why we’ve basically chosen not to have nice things in North America. https://youtube.com/c/NotJustBikes
The basic thesis is that people do what’s easiest – and in the Netherlands and particularly Amsterdam, people choose to bike most of their daily short trips not because they’re “bike people” or – *shudder* – “*cyclists*”, but simply because the infrastructure and destinations dictate that it’s the more convenient option than driving (and safe and accessible too). See also “double the frequency, triple the ridership” – give people more and better options and you’ll have more of them choose the train than just those who *have* no other choice (and us “train people”).