please forgive my several spelling errors!

Sounds good to me. Of course, we all wish we had more time on our trips but alas ...

Regensburg is a great small city with lots of things to do in town and in the surroundings. No need to stay in Munich IMO. You can easily do two day trips to Munich by train (Bayern-Ticket) if you want.

Seems like you'll arrive 26 Sept in Prague which means 4 nights there. Sounds reasonable, especially with one day trip to Kutna Hora.

2 nights in Dresden is really a short time but if you arrive early from Prague and depart around noon on 2 Oct then you'll have one full day, a half day and some hours Seems you have no plans for activities there yet, right?

I.

Thanks for your help, Ingo. I think I would rather stay in Regensburg for the whole week, honestly.

I am still unsure about if I will have enough time to stop in Dresden. There doesn't seem to be a lot of major activities there other than maybe the boat cruise to the palace and walking around the town, so I figured a 2 day stop would be best. I do not like 1 night stops, and my German friend has expressed interest in Dresden, so that's why I was thinking 2 nights.

"... Dresden. There doesn't seem to be a lot of major activities there other than maybe the boat cruise to the palace and walking around the town ..."

You're pulling my leg, right? Have you done a research on Dresden either here on Fodor's or elsewhere? The Museums surpass those in Prague easily. The boat cruise to "the palace" is beautiful and highly recommended - walking the grounds of Pillnitz palace and gardens plus a visit of the museum of decorative arts in the palace are also a good idea.

Ever heard of the Frauenkirche (Church of Our Lady), Hofkirche (catholic cathedral), the mural Procession of Princes, the Zwinger, Semper opera house (tours)? Or the vibrant Neustadt (New Town, 19th century district) across the river with lots of funny shops (craftwork e.g.), galleries, hip cafes, ethnic restaurants etc? Or Pfund's Molkerei (the dairy shop with the porcelain tiles)?

I could go on and on.

I.

If you plan to see all you wish in Berlin, I might have to skip Dresden.

You...

I was going to suggest definitely finding time for Potsdam, but I think Ingo would fall out with me!

I think that I might borrow a night from munich and another from Prague to give you more time in Dresden and/or Berlin.

Hi Ingo, thanks for the suggestions. I guess I just meant, it seems like it would be pretty easy to see a couple churches, Zwinger, the opera house, and the New Town in 2 days. How long would you allot for Zwinger?

I am thinking about skipping Munich and instead going to Oberammergau for 3 days - MUCH cheaper accommodations and I really don't care about Oktoberfest. From here, I can explore Neuschwanstein, Linderhof, Ettal, and Garmisch. I know everyone says to get a car, but unless my German friend decides to drive me, I will probably be doing this via train/bus to save money.

Ingo - count to 10.

Breathe In - big breath

Breathe Out

It's going to be all right.

;-0

The two Vaults and the Old Masters were the highlights for me.
I must say that visiting the new - old Theatre and Frauenkirche felt kind of strange.
Did not see reason to spend much time in New Town.

LOL, Aramis, I did that and it helped. It's all good.

anothertravelinsong, how much time depends on if you want to see the inside (museums), too, or just walk the grounds and gaze at the architecture and sculptures/decoration. Definitely see the somewhat remote Bath of Nymphs (sculptured fountain) and walk along the rooftops - about a half hour for that, add an hour for the porcelain collection and one hour plus for the highlights of the picture gallery Old Masters. The Armoury is included in the ticket, too - don't know if you're interested in that.

Most tourists consider the Green Vaults (jewellery collection) as highlight - but that would take a couple of hours to see. One day is good for walking around the old town to get a good feel of the city but would not allow time museums or day trips (like steamboat ride).

aramis - don't tell Ingo but we "saw" Dresden in a day! of course we only scratched the surface, but saw enough to want to go back.

what we managed to see in our afternoon and following morning was the Neustadt [where we loved staying, though we saw comparatively little in that time] the Zwinger 'old masters" [fabulous collection, it ought to have people queuing round the block] the armoury and the tribute to Canaletto [loved the latter, could manage without the former] and the wonderful Stadtmuseum, which we toured in glorious isolation as we were the only people there.

oh, and the Frauenkirche, of course.

so in two days, i reckon that you could fit in quite a lot if you were organised about it.

if you wanted to add a river cruise [we missed out somehow, not sure how that happened] you need to go to the ticket office first, decide what you are going to do, and plan around that.

as it seems rather difficult to see lots of sights with a 3 hour round trip commute to Regensburg. However it is very expensive in Munich at this time of year, but it costs 40 euros RT per day>

A German Railpass if enough days would be much cheaper and let you hop on any train anytime - great German train info - www.budgeteuropetravel.com; www.seat61.com and www.ricksteves.com. Check www.bahn.de for German train schedules and fares.

You can travel on the Bayern Ticket (Regional trains only, and only after 9 am on weekdays, weekends all day) which is much cheaper.

If you buy enough days on a German Railpass, Twin pass p.p. the days in 2nd class area bout $31/day p.p. or about 22 euros a day per person and you can hop on any train anytime - even the fastest ones all over Germany - in Bavaria - going between Berlin and Dresden - Dresden or Berlin to Munich, etc.

And if you had used a German Railpass during this September and the end of November that pass would have been discounted 20% in some categories, meaning unlimited rail travel for a day from about 17 euros a person! Look for specials before buying as they often IME pop up.

Flight is booked! I leave for Munich on 9/20, landing on 9/21. I will then be flying out of Berlin on 10/7.

curious as to how much the flight cost? thanks.

$1240 incl. taxes on American Airlines. Everything else was about the same price, but I'm trying to accumulate miles on American.

American Airlines - accumulate miles.... Hmmmm

american airlines ironically just went into bankruptcy - wonder how that effects or guarantees FFMs? Or even paid for fares?

Everything I have read, including an email to AAdvantage members, reassures that miles will be guaranteed and flights will remain booked, but we may see some schedule changes in the future. Every other airline other than Southwest started prior to 1978 deregulation has gone into bankruptcy before - United, Delta, Continental (twice). Not unusual.