This is a common false argument. The size is irrelevant when you build a city for people and not cars. The millions of spare square kilometres are there for farming and other natural uses. The city or town with more than a few thousand people can be built like this just fine. You see if in lots of other countries and cities that have tonnes of spare space.

America is huge but all the people live in cities, just like in EU countries and literally the rest of the world. Look at a population map, nobody lives in most of America

This comment makes no sense in relation to this topic. This is a picture of a winter market in a German city (theoretically, I'm not verifying it but it looks legit). The size of the country as a whole or even really the population makes no difference when comparing this to the US and it's cities. As someone who's lived in multiple cities in both countries and visited far more, the population density is the only distinction and that can be designed for. Kansas city is urban sprawled to hell by design and Berlin isn't all that different, except Berlin has trains galore.

Actually looking up the data on where I live right now, Mannheim, and where I just came from, Kansas City this point is easily driven home.

KC:

• 825 km2 area
• 508k people
• 623 people/km2 density
• 2.2 mil metro

Mannheim:

• 145 km2 area
• 316k people
• 2186 people/km2 density
• 2.3 metro

America is the home of the car. Germany isn't even considered to have the best public transit and yet any country with that as a priority thrives in human centric metrics.

It was a nightmare to drive downtown in KC, find parking, visit a handful of shops, and drive home. It took time and money and was generally dangerous.

Going anywhere in the entire metropolitan area of Mannheim takes me max 30 minutes, and that's by tram. I walk most places and that's 1-10 mins of walking for all my needs. I can walk a block to my nearest Christmas market, 5 blocks to the next and something like 10 to the next. Nothing even remotely as communal or friendly in my suburban neighborhood in KC.

But like, there is no reason you should have to travel further, just because your country is bigger.

In addition, as an EU resident you can travel across the EU like it's one big country. The US is only about twice as large as the EU.

I can buy a single ticket and travel from Helsinki to London, by land, for 131€. You can go from LA to New York for under $630. Why not more transport?

This isn't the only event of its kind in Germany, so people aren't crossing the country just for a market. Maybe a few towns over or so. Like a New Jerseyan going to Times Square to watch the ball drop - or to get a better pizza.

As far anti American sentiment goes... the country that comes to mind when thinking of car centric infrastructure is often America so, this sentiment is rather accurate.

Americans can't comprehend scaling infrastructure, or the diverse make up of Europes population.