What is it about the United States that visitors from abroad notice the most?

As a journalist from Germany sees it, where do you start?

It's the huge variety of things that you have to offer from deserts to the Caribbean, from mountains to

crazy cities, from New York to a town in Nebraska.

Coming up, Stephen Wagner shares a few of his super-sized impressions about America. He also lets us in on what

Americans tend to notice about his fellow Germans when they visit Europe.

Why you so planned, why you so direct? In London, Laura Mecklem looks to uncover hundreds of years of history that might

pop up when the River Thames is at low tide. Laura is a licensed mudlarker.

Every tide reveals new treasures. It's constantly eroding. The mud is constantly revealing new objects.

See what the tide reveals in London and get a German perspective on America.

It's just ahead on Travel with Rick Steele's.

Travel with Rick Steele.

It's the kind of hobby that can leave you

It's the kind of hobby that can leave you a muddy mess and put a big smile on your face as low tide on the river Thames puts you in touch with the lives of Londoners from long ago.

Coming up on today's travel with Rick Steeves, Laura Mecklem tells us how

mudlarking the banks of the Thames can reveal treasures from London's past.

If you've ever driven Route 66 and stopped for a bowl of chili at a roadside diner, chances are people at one of the other tables near you were speaking German.

And making a vacation out of a classic American road trip across the desert southwest.

The unique American landscapes and the many cultures that call it home seem to hold a fascination for many a German tourist.

In just a second, we turn the tables on a Munich-based journalist who once interviewed

me for a German magazine on how to become a cultural chameleon.

Stephen Wagner joins us now to look at what sets Americans apart from their European cousins.

...