A typical town square will have a fountain, city hall, church, café, pharmacy, and maybe a hotel, post office, butcher and bakery. For public transportation, in small towns there is a bus, and a single streetcar or subway stop. Bigger towns and cities have more complicated, well-run bus and train systems. Because of parking problems in the big cities and the expense of cars and gas, most kids, students and older residents use public transportation. They get subsidized tickets to help them with the expense. Older women often don't even know how to drive. Immigrants are another group that uses public transportation. This might be because of the cost of owning a car, and/or the difficult process involved in getting a license. In Austria and some parts of Germany, people also get around on streetcars.

But many people like to walk in German-speaking countries, sometimes just for the exercise. In a small town you can see older women pulling their groceries behind them in a "trolley." Mothers walking with strollers do errands and a middle-aged woman will often ride with a basket attached to her bicycle. 50 percent of university students have a car but they mostly get around the city with their bicycles. Some adults like to ride their bikes to work when the weather is nice or some each day. It would not be a surprise to see a man or woman in a suit riding a bike with a brief case. Kids don't get driven to school and other activities like they do in the United States. They use their bikes to get around.

Since all shops are closed on Sundays in Germany, people like to relax and take a walk in the afternoon. Then they return home for Kaffeetrinken. In Austria, you can shop on Sundays but people love to stroll as well.

Cars are used for big trips: visiting family, going on vacation or the weekly family trip to the big supermarket. But even for long trips, people might choose to use the super fast ICE trains (InterCity Express) so they can relax and/or work during the ride. Also, it is a much less costly way to travel if you're traveling alone.

Typical school field trips are to go to a museum, a zoo or the theater. Big school trips would be to visit a major city or a town with lots of history, or else, to travel to England, France, or Italy. There are two-week skiing trips in grades seven and eight and since there is a special allowance for less wealthy families, everyone gets to go.