Ah!
When I first visited Britain what stood out the most to me was how much chitchat there is between strangers in public places, especially on the train. Something I hadn’t witnessed anywhere else in Europe. Also, something that made me feel very inadequate as I just couldn’t keep up with that manner of communication. A Canadian friend had noticed the same.
Granted, it’s mostly the colder parts of Europe that I have the most non-tourist experiences with. So that’s that.
In general I think we don't like to converse too much, especially on public transport.