What makes Central European towns attractive...?

   I have now spent some time on various travels in a fair number of Central European cities and towns, both those that are big tourist destinations (Vienna, Budapest, Krakow, and now Prague), good sized cities not as well known to tourists (at least American tourists—Bratislava, Warsaw,  Łódź, Belgrade, Novi Sad), and smaller cities (Eger, Győr).   All of them—even the smaller ones (Eger is around 50,000 population) seem to have set aside areas for people to come into and slow down.  It helps that most of them have tried to protect old town centers and set aside some part of them for foot traffic, but there must be more to it than that.  I know U.S. towns that have done that only to see everyone continue to rush around them.  Perhaps it is our idolatry of the full schedule and addiction to "fast".  We are so busy speeding things up to save time we don't know how to slow down and use the time...  but how many of us dream of wandering through places like Vienna, sitting at some sidewalk cafe and having time for actual conversations?   If you have not dreamed of that, here is a picture from Bratislava...