msj8028, I'll be happy to provide you with a list of recommendations later today. Right now, we are headed out the door to go see the beautiful Bamberg Cathedral!

Do check out the Auf Schoneburg, it is truly beautiful:

http://www.hotel-schoenburg.com/

you asked about Bad Wimpfen in the original post. I highly recommend a stop there if you can fit it in. It's a charming small fortified city on the Neckar valley. You could easily stop there between the Romantic Road stops and Heidelberg.

Rotheburg od Tauber is hardly a traditional German village. It is very pretty--they maintain the buildings and walls very well, even the sections destroyed in WWII look great after reconstruction. So it is well worth a stop just to see, stroll through, and photograph. But the old town is now entirely a tourist enclave with almost all of the businesses aimed at the masses of tourists (especially bus tour groups). Again, it is worth seeing, but other than the architecture, there is nothing traditional about it.

The architecture and of course, making money from visitors are as much a tradition in Germany as they are anywhere else...Rothenburg used to be the Number ONE tourist attraction for the Germans and probably still is and I agree that while Bamberg is very worth seeing (at least the OLD part of Bamberg) that town isn't any more traditional when compared to modern places in Germany but forget all the quibbling..go to as MANY as you can...even parts of Nurnberg are worth visiting IMO


AND what you are hearing about "road tolls" doesn't apply to the autobahns.

I've done the places by rail and I agree that in this case you kight be better off with a rental car for the flexibility you'll get with it and that flexibility is going to be worth a LOT of money in terms of efficiency and time saved.

Oh and BTW if you DO rent a car..consider renting a GPS along with it...saves a lot of trouble and worth it

Dukey is right. A GPS is invaluable IMO. However, instead of renting one, we brought ours from home and used a bean bag mount.

In Rothenburg, we stayed at the Roter Hahn Hotel. Nothing fancy, but clean, well located and reasonbly priced. The breakfast was a little sparse, however, for the 7.50 Euro charge so you might want to skip that and have breakfast at one of the nearby cafes.

http://www.roterhahn.com/

In Meersburg, I highly recommend the Gasthof zum Baeren. It is a charming hotel that you see in many of the postcards and brochures of Meersburg. The owner, Michael Gilowsky, is also the chef and goes out of his way to welcome his guests as do all the staff. Mr. Gilowsky's family has owned the zum Baeren for the past 100 yrs.

http://www.baeren-meersburg.de/

In St. Gilgen, Austria, I wouldn't stay anywhere but the Schernthaner Hotel. This is our 3rd time at this hotel and won't be our last. The owner, Frau Eisl, is the best hostess and makes everyone feel so welcome. Her hotel is spotlessly clean and the prices are very good.

http://www.hotel-schernthaner.at/sei...sh/index_e.htm

In Bamberg, this is our second stay at the Hotel Molitor. Besides the wonderful location and good breakfast, the staff are very helpful and we feel the price is a good value.

http://www.altstadthotel-molitor.de/index.php

Thanks so much everyone for this great information!

We need to plan a trip that doesnt involve complicated train changes in between cities....

colmar in france is now looking like a possible candidate too....we could explore the cities that from Frankfurt (where we fly in) down through Strasbourg on to Colmar, then perhaps another German town on the way back?

I am aware that towns such has Rothenburg are very touristy and almost like a movie set rather than a real medi-evil city....but its beautiful all the same!

I just looked at car hire costs and I can get one for 415.99 Euros for the 2 weeks I am there....are there any hidden costs in these deals? The way it works in Australia is that if you dont take out an addition insurance cover (which is sometimes as much as the car hire cost) you are liable for a massive liability if the car should so much as get a scratch. Is this also the case here (sorry, moving off topic slightly).

If you work from Frankfurt to Strasbourg and Colmar then some of the places lavandula and I mentioned will be easy to access - by car or rail.
These are all beautiful places with the opportunity to spend a short time on the river as well.
This suggests that you are flying into and out of Frankfurt?

I hope someone can advise you re the insurance - as yes - this is what we are used to in having to take out extra cover!

Sorry - just re read your original post - Frankfurt it is.

Maybe find a place close by for the first 24 hours to recover from the flight if you are coming straight through before you start driving?

msj;

Major credit cards often offer protection similar to the "CDW" (Collision Damage Waiver) product you are referring to. CDW is not "insurance" - if you purchase the product from the rental company they will "waive" the provision in the rental agreement that would otherwise make you contractually responsible for all damage to the vehicle.

What the credit card companies offer is insurance. They agree to cover contractual responsibility imposed upon you by the rental agreement . Check with your credit card company directly so that you understand the issue clearly and what they offer.

It may even be worth acquiring a credit card that provides this coverage if only to use it for this, or future, overseas rentals. It can save you hundreds of dollars each trip.

Aramis, thanks for that info...if we do go down the path of car rental this will be very handy to know.