triples

Can I get there by train, or do I have to take a train from Wengen to a nearby city and then take a bus? Any help you can give will be most appreciated. Thanks.

This is the itinerary I have etched out….hope it makes sense!

Fly into Zurich, train to Appenzell (3 nights)
Night train to Montreux (will there be sleeping cars?)
1 night in Montreux
1 night in Gruyere
2 nights in Wengen
2 nights in Rothenberg
2 nights in Baden-Baden
1 night in Wurzbeg
fly out of Frankfurt

swandav2000

Hi triples,

You can use the German rail site to get the schedules for your rail travel --

www.bahn.com

You'll see that the trip from Wengen to Rothenburg o. T. takes 8 to 10 hours, with 5, 6, or 7 changes, depending on which connection you choose.

In contrast, the trip from Appenzell to Montreux takes less than 5 hours, with 2 or 3 changes. If you take a night train, you won't be able to sleep -- well, maybe you can nap at your seat. But you'll be changing trains in the middle of the night. This journey is just not long enough for a night train.

Why are you spending 1 night in Montreux and 1 night in Gruyeres? Imo, one-night stays are counter-productive, entailing too much hassle (dragging your cases to the hotel, checking in, unpacking, then packing up in the morning and checking out, and dragging the cases back to the station) and giving too little joy. If I were you, I would stay in one location that you could see either place from -- and some options might be Gstaad or Bulle. Actually, Montreux and Gruyeres are only 1h15 apart from one another, so you could even stay in one of them and do a day-trip to the other.

Have fun as you plan!

s

Aramis

Wengen to Rothenburg is one long logistical mess as has been pointed out. The southwest portion of Germany can pose some real logistical hurdles because of the limited routes through the Black Forest.. The best way would be to drive but that does not fit your plans and would be very expensive because of drop off fees.

I do note that your routing is not in the ideal order; Baden Baden is much closer to Wengen and things improve somewhat if you travel in this order;

Wengen - Baden Baden (4:30)
Baden Baden - Rothenburg (4:15)
Rothenburg - Wurzburg (1:10)

While that still has two long legs, it is more than 8 hours shorter than the route you posted because it eliminates back-tracking to Baden Baden from Rothenburg before heading north again to Wurzburg.

neckervd

Train timetables:
Zurich airport - Appenzell:
every 30 min from 5.52 until 22.52, 1 1/2 hrs journey
Appenzell - Gruyeres:
every hr from 4.30 until 18.30, 4 1/2 hrs journey
Gruyeres - Montreux:
every hr from 4.57 until 19.57, 1 1/4 hrs journey
Montreux - Golden Pass - Wengen:
every hr from 7.44 until 18.44, 4 to 5 hrs journey
Wengen - Baden-Baden:
every 2 hrs from 6.03 until 16.03, 4 1/2 hrs journey

triples

Oh, my, thank you all so very much for such helpful information. With this new understanding, I will go back to the starting point and reconsider my route. You three have saved me much frustration, going forward. I am so grateful. So kind of you.