Washington Irving's "Rip van Winkle" : 'The mountain episode'

Washington Irving, the writer of this American tale introduced many Americans to aspects of the European Culture. Maybe his interest in Europe has started when his brothers sent him abroad for a 2 year tour of Europe (after he showed signs of tuberculosis),where in his notebooks he steadily became an acute observer and felicitous recorder of what he witnessed. Later on in his life he has also spent a lot of years in Europe where …

…what else the significance of the detailed description of the road to the amphitheater and so can be, or maybe Irving was just stretching his Romantic materials of nature, magic and mystery on the frame, which the story is. One thing that is sure it that Washington Irving did not only introduce European aspects to the Americans by writing this story. He also introduced a piece of American literature; the American short story, to Europe.