Riemenschneider was the "master of Würzburg" and his altarpieces in Rothenburg, Detwang and Creglingen (the last two are also on the Romantic Road) are beautiful. There are quite a few smaller sculptures in the Mainfränkisches Museum in Würzburg

Thank you, everyone. Our original itinerary had us driving directly to Rothenburg and using that as a base for Wurzburg and possibly Bad Mergentheim so as to avoid backtracking; but since I received confirmation from Hotel Kreuzerhof for the first two nights, I think we're back to that plan. Bad Mergentheim is not a must-see, so that can be dropped if necessary.

The Nightwatchman's Tour is on the itinerary--the children (and we adults) are looking forward to that. Thank you, pja1 and Vttravler, for the altarpiece suggestions--I've added them to my notes. While in Tuscany a few years ago one of our favorite things to do was to wander into churches both known and lesser-known, and it's something we try to include whenever we travel.

Munich was overruled in favor of Berchtesgaden and Salzburg mostly because we're saving that for another trip that will include part of the Czech Republic, but also because our last visit to Salzburg was ten years ago, and the fond memories of the beautiful sights are calling us back.

I understand about saving Munich for another trip
In the Salzburg area your kids will probably enjoy visiting one of the salt mines. This is something that can be done in rainy weather

We were in Berchtesgaden in September 2007. You can combine the cable car ride up Jenner with a boat ride on Koenigsee as that is where the cable car station is located.

http://www.jennerbahn.de/jennb/live/...nnb_navi_id=33

We had intended to go up Jenner but the weather wasn't good that day so we opted just to do the boat ride since we could sit inside.

After the boat ride, which was fabulous BTW, we went to Obersalzburg and thought we'd do the Dokumentation Center since the weather hadn't cleared. However, we met a young man who had just come down from the Eagle's Nest and said it was clear above so we did that instead. The views from there were amazing and it was very clear.

I don't know if you will have time to do the Eagle's Nest as well, but it was very fascinating from an historical perspective also.

http://www.kehlsteinhaus.de/en/

>> You can combine the cable car ride up Jenner with a boat ride on Koenigsee as that is where the cable car station is located. <<

We did just that but not in the way you've suggested Betty. In fact, it was a big blunder on my part.

After an enjoyable half day hiking and strolling (I think it was at the middle station of the lift), I thought it'd be a good idea to walk back down instead of riding. What a long and arduous "walk" that was! We were lucky to be able to board the last boat, packed with passengers. Unforgettable...

We have been to the Berchtesgaden area a few times, as its one of our favorites. We took the cablecar up to the midway point on Mt. Jenner on our first trip and hiked back down. Strenuous but fun. You definitely want to take the boat ride on the Konigssee, which is stunning.

The documentation center is fascinating and absolutely worthy of a visit. Some of it is graphic, of course, and there is A LOT of information, but I highly recommend it. At the end of the museum you can walk into the bunkers.

There is another sommerrodelbahn (luge) near St. Wolfgang in the Salzkammergut. The views as you are going up are just stunning and the ride up is slow enough that you can take pics.

We were just in the Berchtesgaden area again in April. If you click on my name you will find my trip report. We also have pics at www.kodakgallery.com/tracybates. Just pan down until you get to the "Deutschland 08" album.

Tracy

Tracy, I just read your trip report-thanks! I think my husband and 12 year old son will like the crime and punishment museum, and my daughter and I will like shopping. Thanks for writing about the weather, as well. Early April can be tricky almost everywhere.

BettyK and Tracy, do you think the Documentation Center would be information overload for a 12 year old? Our son is a budding history buff, and we're happy to take him there if it's appropriate.

Well, to be perfectly honest I did think it was a little information overload. We used the audio guides and had we not skipped around I think we could have easily been in there for 3-4 hours. The audio guides are definitely informative, but they give you tons and tons of info and we were getting restless. My bigger concern would be the pictures. Of course we all know the brutality of the Holocaust, but the pictures are not edited and many were difficult to look at. I think that if it were me I would probably be inclined to skip it due to the nature of the information and the sheer length of time it takes. However, if you do not want to listen to the audio guide you could always just browse through the museum and then head to the bunkers. I imagine most 12 year old boys would find the bunkers rather cool.

Good luck!
Tracy

We never made it to the Dokumentation Center, so I can't comment. By the time we had finished our tour of the Eagle's Nest, we were bushed and just wanted to get back to our hotel!

I recommend you follow Tracy's lead on that.

Tuck, maybe because of the weather or the time of year, our boat wasn't overcrowded at all. When we got there, we had to wait for the next boat but, while full, it wasn't uncomfortably so. It was a bit dreary that day but it somehow added to the experience.

Our boat wasn't crowded at all either. I think it probably depends on the time of year or time of day.