>>Sorry, Thomas, I love a good Riesling, but that river can't even play in the same league as the Hudson or the Mississippi.

Having driven interstate alongside the Mississippi, I agree that physically it's tremendous.

But the Rhine, like the Euphrates and Nile, carries a particular sort of history.

Also more recent history for me: in one of the canal sections along the Rhine, my daughters gleefully waded across to invade France while the water all was diverted. They laughed as we scarpered back across as the water rose rapidly again. No chance of doing that along the Mississippi, at least not the parts I watched!

Also amazing that there's a footbridge across the Rhine where there used to be a Maginot line, parts of which still survive. Cycling through the Hardt Forest there are still emplacements not concreted up unlike more accessible examples. Close on the German side of the footbridge there's an Irish Pub. Figure that one out!