One extra night in G-P and one extra night in Cochem would work for me.

WAS
<<Day 9- Nuremberg to Würzburg (1 night) w/ stopover in Rothenburg for several hours (<3 train hours total)
Day 10- Day in Würzburg. PM train to Boppard (3.2 hours) for 2 nights>>

CHANGE TO
Day 9- Nuremberg to Rotenburg(1 night)
Day 10- AM train to Boppard for 2 nights

Rothenburg is really nice at night. The night watchman tour is a real hoot!

Your last night in Germany should be spent closer to the airport (not Cochem ). Mainz would be good.

dlongan: For train tips, your FRA arrival date/time and MUC departure date/time are needed.

Dropping Würzburg as suggested above would be a bit of a shame, IMO. You had hoped to see the Romantic Road - and W'burg, with its UNESCO World Heritage Residenz Palace and the Marienberg Fortress, is a top RR destination (a guided tour of the Residenz in English is possible every day at 11, 3 and 4:30. Be sure to see the eye-popping Hofkirche (which recently underwent a 3-year restoration) too.

http://www.residenz-wuerzburg.de/eng...nz/history.htm

http://www.residenz-wuerzburg.de/eng...z/hofkirch.htm

You have to pass through Würzburg anyway. Rothenburg IMO is very handsome but small and requires just a few hours. The Nightwatchman tour in Rothenburg is comedic entertainment mostly and it's good tourist business because it keeps the tourists in town for an overnight stay. But Würzburg makes Germany a little more real, IMO. It feels a little like Prague to me in spots:
http://www.blaek.de/_images/baet/A_M...ecke-05.07.jpg

There's a nice riverside walk that skirts the old town and an old town center with interesting architecture where open-air markets and al fresco eateries are routine:
http://www.olidaytours.com/wp-conten...tplatz-Wue.jpg

Marienberg fortress is worth visiting too:
http://www.schloesser.bayern.de/engl...ts/wu_fest.htm

http://www.ferienhof-henn.de/files/i...marienberg.jpg

Fortress gardens: http://static.panoramio.com/photos/large/38069995.jpg

You can't see all of Würzburg with just one night there but what you can see will likely impress you.

Fussgaenger
You have convinced me. Wurzburg should remain in the itinerary!

Sounds great.
Arrive Munich 9.40 am
Depart Fra 1.40 pm
I haven't looked at train schedules yet, but if I leave Cochem early morning could I make it to airport, check in, etc by noon?
I did go to a couple train sites and how the heck do you know if you need this pass or that pass or which discount pass?
I have to get a room in Cochem asap tho. I'll work on that tonight.

Booked Lohspeichen. Last 3 nights. So I will have to take early train to Frankfurt last day. Looks doable from what I could tell of the schedule

If you like walking, while you are in Garmisch the Alpspitze has trails and Mittenwald is blessed with great mountain, lake and Leutaschklamm walks . Otherwise, I think you said you like cycling, you can hire bikes next to Mittenwald station and ride the path along the river to the nearby town, with the towering mountain alongside of you, so spectacular.

Adelaidean,
That sounds wonderful! I am afraid my whole trip is catching trains and seeing museums and castles. I absolutely must enjoy the beauty!

"I haven't looked at train schedules yet, but if I leave Cochem early morning could I make it to airport, check in, etc by noon? I did go to a couple train sites and how the heck do you know if you need this pass or that pass or which discount pass?"

dlongan: There's nothing that rail pass middlemen would like more than to sell you a couple of rail passes! Whatever sites it is you are looking at, don't buy anything right now. (While I'm nearly certain you don't need a rail pass, rail passes never sell out anyway and can be bought last-minute.)

After my last botched attempt, I'm nervous about giving you accurate train advice! But I'll give it a go if you provide your arrival and departure DATES - they're VERY important.

To add to all the great replies...
We travelled to Germany last June with 3 teens. Flew in and out of Munich, rented a car, which was fabulous. Germany was very easy to navigate via car, especially with a GPS. We even drove into Munich which was very easy , but we're used to driving in large cities in the US.
We spent 2 nights in Rothenburg, did the night watch tour which was very entertaining. Yes you can spend just a few hours here, but we really enjoyed having a leisurely time without having to rush anywhere. Early one morning at sunrise we took a stroll outside the medieval fortress walls down a pathway through a beautiful meadow. We stayed in a 700 year old restored home that was built into the fortress wall. Just amazing.
From Rothenburg we took a day trip to Wurzburg and toured the palace and had lunch at the hofbrauhaus along the river. Highly recommend the palace tour.
Fussen is touristy, but Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau were well worth the visit. Stayed in a very nice hotel with view of Neuschwantstein called Villa Ludwig. One of our favorite hotels on the entire trip.
From Fussen we went to Garmische, and stayed at the Eibsee Resort, at the foot of the Zugspitze.
Beautiful area, but I wouldn't stay here more than a night. The resort rents bikes...we rode around the perimeter of the Eibsee Lake and also took a boat ride. My kids were pretty bored here, but my husband and I enjoyed the scenic beauty of the area.
Not sure if you are planning to visit Salzburg, but that is also worth a few nights if you have time.
Berschtegaden is lovely, and if you are interested in WW2 history, a few hours at Hitler's bunkers might be of interest to you.

KM
Thanks for the info!

im looking at lodging for Garmisch. Want to be walking distance to train and sights if possible. Ideas?
Thank you!

Also, the more I look at this itinerary, the more it seems I am packing too much in. I want to remember the trip, not have it be a blur of activity. What if I take Nuremberg out completely and split my time between GP, Rhine, and Mosel?
If you were first timers where would you spend your time?

You're packing in a lot, but with your base town strategy, you have a lot of flexibility. If you don't feel like doing a day trip, you stay "home." Generally I think your itinerary is mostly doable.

If you still feel too much go-go-pressure, what you might do is make some small adjustments to relax it a little.

The itin. at present gives you 3 nights in Garmisch, 4 in Nuremberg, 1 in Würzburg.

So you might try two things:
1.) Switch your Nuremberg base to a smaller, quieter town that still allows for those day trips if you want to do them. You could use Iphofen. Or maybe Neustadt-an-der-Aisch (I've used it twice as a base town for the area.) Both towns would be good for relaxing stuff - a stroll, a bike ride, quiet time on the balcony of your apartment, whatever.

2.) Maybe you drop the overnight in Würzburg and add a night to Garmisch for more down time there. That means one less move.

(For Würzburg, you can still see it, if you want, on the way to Boppard from Iphofen or Neustadt - or as a short day trip from Iphofen/Neustadt. A day trip to Rothenburg would work too.)

Iphofen town brochure:
http://www.iphofen.de/download/ortsp...sch_100510.pdf

About Neustadt as a base town option:

Train time to...
Würzburg, 40 min.
Nuremberg, 30 min.
Bad Windhseim, 20 min.
Bamberg, 1 hr. 20 min.
Rothenburg, 1 hr., 10 min.

(Iphofen is on the same train line between Würzburg and Nuremberg as Neustadt is. It's a little closer to Bamberg, Würzburg and Rothenburg, a little farther from Nuremberg and Bad Windsheim.)

Rental possibility in Neustadt:
http://www.homeaway.com/vacation-rental/p2109442

Around Neustadt:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...er_Tor-009.jpg
Photos:
http://www.stadtbild-deutschland.org...&postID=182279

<<im looking at lodging for Garmisch. Want to be walking distance to train and sights if possible. Ideas?
Thank you!>>

From an earlier post of mine:

We recently stayed in G-P here:

https://www.hoteledelweiss.de/language/en

Really nice. Near the train station,TI,a park with nightly concerts, walking distance to the pedestrian zone and many shops and restaurants. Great breakfast.Nice rooms,public areas. I highly recommend the family owned Hotel Edelweiss.

There is no location near the sights because the "sights" are the whole region.

You have the arrival day and three (now you are thinking more) full days and a lot to choose from for your stay in GP. One day you might see Schloss Linderhof, Oberammergau, and Kloster Ettal. There are some nice walks around GP,Partnach Gorge,Wank, etc. There are several cable cars you can ride-Alpspitzbahn, Kreuzeckbahn, and Hausbergbahn. You can also go to the top of Germany's highest mountain-the Zugspitze $$$. Also the pretty mountain resort of Mittenwald referred to as a "living picturebook".Karwendelbahn cable car in Mittenwald. On the main street in Mittenwald there is a konditorei with pastries to die for. Just sit outside eating pastries and drinking coffee and watch the world go by. You can do all this using bus transportation, hiring a personal guide, or renting a car. The alps and alpine villages are a good introduction to your vacation!

I have revised a little:
Day 1

Day 1-2 Fly into Munich
Day 2 Train to Garmisch 4 nights
Day 3 Garmisch – hiking, Zugspitze/Murnau -Griesbrau
Day 4 Garmisch to Mittenwald
Day 5 Garmisch to Neuschwanstein/Hohenschwangau
Hike to Mary’s Bridge
Day 6 Garmisch to Munich: stow bags, Train to Dachau and back Train to Nuremberg 4 nights (long day)
(or as Fuss suggested, a different base)
Day 7 Day in Nuremberg
Day 8 Day trip to Bamberg
Day 9 Day trip to Bad Windsheim
http://freilandmuseum.de/startseite/information- en.html
Day 10 Nuremberg Rothenburg then on to Boppard (long day)
Day 11 Boppard
Day 12 Boppard
Day 13 Boppard
Day 14 Boppard 1/2 day then to Cochem 1/2 day
Day 15 Cochem
Day 16 Mosel
Day 17 Mosel bike to Zell
Day 18 Cochem early train to Frankfurt – Fly home

Im cutting out Wurzberg for more time at Rhine and Mosel, and one less stop over.

Yes, dugi_otok, I checked the hotel you suggested, but became confused by the size of the beds! I meant to look it up but didn't get to it.

About Boppard lodging?
I have Cochem but will have to adjust for 1 more day

A pleasent bus ride to the castles

Garmisch-Partenkirchen Bahnhof Th, 16.04.15 dep 07:50 Bus 9606 Bus Direction: Echelsbacher Brücke, Rottenbuch
Partenkirchen Werdenfelser Pl., Garmisch-Partenkir dep 07:53
Partenkirchen Friedhof, Garmisch-Partenkirchen dep 07:55
Partenkirchen Loisachauen, Garmisch-Partenkirchen dep 07:57
Maibaum, Farchant dep 08:00
Oberau Bahnhof dep 08:04
Untermberg, Oberau dep 08:06
Am Berg, Ettal dep 08:12
Klostergasthof, Ettal dep 08:14
Abzw. Zieglerhof, Ettal dep 08:15
Rainenbichl, Oberammergau dep 08:20
Nato-Schule, Oberammergau dep 08:21
Aufackerstraße, Oberammergau dep 08:22
Tiroler Gasse, Oberammergau dep 08:25
Eugen-Papst-Str., Oberammergau dep 08:27
Oberammergau Bahnhof dep 08:30
Unterammergau Rathaus dep 08:34
Ammerbrücke, Unterammergau dep 08:36
Scherenau, Unterammergau dep 08:37
Wurmansau, Saulgrub dep 08:38
Altenau Abzw, Saulgrub dep 08:39
Saulgrub Bahnhof dep 08:42
Eisplatz, Bad Bayersoien dep 08:47
Gh. Weißes Roß, Bad Bayersoien dep 08:49
Gschwendt, Bad Bayersoien dep 08:50
Echelsbach, Bad Bayersoien dep 08:51
Echelsbacher Brücke, Rottenbuch Th, 16.04.15 arr 08:55
Transfer time 5 min.
Adjust the transfer time
Echelsbacher Brücke, Rottenbuch Th, 16.04.15 dep 09:00 Bus 73 Bus Direction: Füssen Bahnhof
Schwaigsee, Rottenbuch dep 09:02
Wildsteig Ortsmitte dep 09:04
Seemühle, Wildsteig dep 09:05
Kohlhofen Abzw. Wieskirche, Steingaden
Wies Abzw. Landvolkshochschule, Steingaden
Wieskirche, Steingaden
Wies Abzw. Landvolkshochschule, Steingaden
Ammergauer Str., Steingaden dep 09:15
Steingaden Feuerwehrhaus dep 09:20
Biberschwöll, Steingaden dep 09:23
Brandstatt, Steingaden dep 09:23
Schlauch, Steingaden dep 09:24
Sera, Halblech-Unterreithen dep 09:26
Ried, Halblech-Trauchgau dep 09:27
Trauchgau Gh. Post, Halblech dep 09:28
Halblech Ortsmitte dep 09:30
Buching Ortsmitte, Halblech dep 09:32
Buching Sesselbahn, Halblech dep 09:33
Bannwaldsee, Schwangau dep 09:35
Berghausstraße, Schwangau dep 09:36
Mühlberg, Schwangau dep 09:37
Tegelbergbahn, Schwangau
Falkenlager, Schwangau
Schwangau Rathaus dep 09:43
Gipsmühlweg, Schwangau dep 09:44
Hohenschwangau, Schwangau (Schlösser)

The beds are huge. Click on image 1. Germany- 2 beds pushed together.
https://www.hoteledelweiss.de/room/superiorroom
You make life too complicated!

"Day 10 Nuremberg Rothenburg then on to Boppard (long day)"

Even when you were only headed to Würzburg, this probably wasn't going to be an easy trip for you, now that I think about it...

But now, it's not only a longer day (6+ hours just for the train ride.) It's at least 6 or 7 different trains too. And you are schlepping your bags the whole time off and on. That would be no problem for me (even at my advanced age) as I manage with a pack not much larger than a school kid's book bag. But it may not work for everyone (which I know, because I usually carry some of my DW's stuff for her.)

If the bags will be a problem for you... you can skip Rothenburg (which is the advice I might give my best friends anyway, as Rothenburg is way more than a tad kitschy and touristy, Käthe-Wohlfart, Schneeballen, aargh) and make a beeline for Boppard (2 trains, 4 hours.)

But I sense you believe Rothenburg is a must. What to do? You could make it a day trip from Nuremberg so that you have no bags when you go there... and to accomplish that, you could easily swipe a night from your 8-night-stay on the Rhine and Mosel and add it to Nuremberg for this purpose. That means you would have night 10 in Nuremberg (for a 5th night,) not Boppard. But you would arrive in Boppard around 12 or 13:00 on Day 11 (instead of really late on Day 10) so you really aren't sacrificing much at all of your actual sightseeing time on the Rhine.

Garmisch:

This little place gets high marks and is quite close to the Garmisch train station. Owner's name is Jim Buckley - sounds like he might be able to help you in English:

http://www.vacation-apartments.com/15381.htm

It's listed at the Garmisch TI office site too. Seems to be less expensive there:

http://booking.gapa.de/garmischparte...ab=Description

The Fraundorfer Inn has rooms. Main point there is the Bavarian Evening. Great food and fun.
http://gasthof-fraundorfer.de/english/index.php

Main page for Garmisch TI booking: http://booking.gapa.de/garmischparte...mmodation/list

The Garmisch visitors card gets you around for free:
http://www.gapa.de/page/node/348/story/1401

And that is exactly why I need you! I had not looked at trains and did not know there were so many changes. I don't necessarily have to go to rothenberg, but being a tourist figured it was a thing to do! If I'll see charming German villages elsewhere, I'm fine skipping that. We will be packing light, but I want to make things as easy as possible.
I'll look more tomorrow
Dugi otok...yes I know! I over plan, over organize, Etc.

We day tripped to Rothenburg from Nuremberg, it looks like a complicated schedule but the trains are well connected and it is an easy trip. And we loved Rothenburg by the way, of course it is touristy, but that's because it's great :)
To be honest, I have been twice on gorgeous summer days and found that apart from the main street, it is fairly quiet. The bus tours have their route and the photo op at a pretty gate, but we walked the walls, wandered the many side streets, enjoyed a really quiet lunch each time, lovely architecture all around.
The Zugspitze and Neuschwanstein are also touristy :) and also great.
Since you like hiking there is a really nice 'avoid the tourists' way to arrive at Neuschwanstein... don't take the castle bus at the station, but the one to the Tegelberg. Take cablecar up mountain and follow Reitweg trail to Mary's bridge, it's a 2 hr walk downhill in stunning Alpine scenery, in blissful solitude... until you hit the crowds at the bridge.

"About Boppard lodging?"
TI office listings:
http://www.boppard-tourismus.de/37-1...rzeichnis.html

Be cautious about location. "Boppard" actually covers a number of distant small villages. Sometimes the village name is hyphenated in - "Boppard-Weiler" for instance. Sometimes not.

The Ebertor has a great location right between the station and the river:

http://www.ebertor.de/englisch/home.html

Adelaidean,

That is great advice about Neuschwanstein! I would have never known that. Love this blog!

a recent NYTimes article covered the noise of rail lines along the Rhine affecting folks in hotel rooms - try to find something away from the main freight and passenger line - that said the article said that may be hard and is a real problem in the Rhine Gorge area where rails on both sides have to hug the river.

Boppard to me is one of the nicer Rhine towns.

This one?
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/22/wo...linz.html?_r=0

That's a really weak article. The people they interviewed live and work right next to the tracks! Trains have been using those same tracks for decades and decades, both day and night. These people who bought homes and run businesses a block from the tracks are not dealing with anything new at all.

There is in fact a movement afoot to ban freight trains from the Rhine Valley. "These days, 180 to 300 trains pass through the storybook river towns by day, and an additional 200 or so throughout the night..." says the article. But there's no mention of how many trains there were 30 or 50 years ago. Not that it matters, really. Whether 12 trains race by your window or 300, you probably aren't going to sleep. These locals are just feeling their muscle and trying to get what they can get. They should be moving, or shelling out the Euros it takes to install triple-pane windows - not calling for a ban on trains there.

I do think it's cool that they can minimize the noise with brake equipment, etc. Certainly a good idea. But ban trains there?? Not going to happen.

I mean, if you choose to live or operate a business next to the railway in Bacharach, you must be very dense not to have a plan for dealing with your location:

http://www.rhein-zeitung.de/cms_medi..._bacharach.jpg

As for visitors... They should be informed and savvy. Every town has places you can stay away from the tracks where you are insulated from train noise. Or you can trust places next to the tracks like the Hotel Kranenturm who install sound-proof windows and say they work. Read the reviews. See what guests say. But this "problem" certainly doesn't mean you don't visit the Rhine.

Some towns are impacted very little by train noise. I've stayed in downtown Boppard several times and never heard a single train, not at night anyway, and I'm an incredibly light sleeper.

BTW that reporter makes it sound like train noise has suddenly crippled the tourist trade Linz am Rhein (an absolutely lovely town, BTW.) NONSENSE. It's the economy. The glassblower at the castle there had to be let go - a shame - but not because of train noise. St. Goar is in the same situation. Shuttered shops, etc. Boppard and Bacharach still seem pretty healthy.

Fuusgaenger certainly has a command of facts on that area - incredible even for a local if he is - reminds me of old Russ who posts here no longer who was a similar Rhine booster. And the Rhine here is a historic place well worthy of several days for the slow travel type - normal casual tourists take the boat ride, get bored and go on - they do miss a lot and then think they've seen the Rhine!

Madness, might as well get the church bells banned in France and the chickens from crowing. :-)

I do wonder why Europeans put with those loud clanging church bells that toll so so loud so so early in the morning.

Hey if we have to put up with obama, Europe has to put up with church bells and train noise. I'd choose bells and train noise.

Ok, so what do you think of Hotel Marienhad in Nurenberg
I'm going to nail down reservations today

I have booked Baudobriga Rheinhotel in Boppard

lots of tram noise near the Marienbad in Nuremburg I think! And the church bells next door and boats on the river... and now a Moslem call to prayer from the mosque next door!

Do you have any personal knowledge of Gastehaus Alpenkranz in GP? Tripadvisor gives mixed reviews. She has contacted me. Looks like it would be a nice local experience.

Do you have any personal knowledge of Gastehaus Alpenkranz in GP? Tripadvisor gives mixed reviews. She has contacted me. Looks like it would be a nice local experience.

You may want to make a separate post about the Garmish guesthouse as it is buried here now and with that in the heading you may get other responses - I have no knowledge of it of course but I did stay several days in a guesthouse in Garmisch (Partikirchen is a separate part of town) and loved it - family-style - there were rows of these guesthouses and I'm thinking they all much be pretty much the same - nice cozy friendly places with a humungous breakfast, etc. Love those down comforters on the beds!