Hello, I am traveling this summer with my mom to Germany. She is in her 60s and in good physical shape. We land in Frankfurt and depart from Berlin. We would like not to rent /drive but use public transportation. Would appreciate thoughts / feedback from folks who have used public transportation to get around Germany. We want to enjoy the castles, bavaria and berlin. here is our planned itinerary for our 11 day trip.

Is it better to head to Rothenburg from Bachrach and then from Rothenburg to Bavaria (Garmisch-Partenkirchen) and then Berlin.
We would rather not stay in Frankfurt and go direct from airport to Bachrach. Been to frankfurt before and don't want to stop again this trip.
Is munich a good stop from Bavaria to berlin? We were planning to skip it to avoid less stops.
Appreciate any thoughts on bavaria minus a car!

Day1: arrive in A.M at Frankfurt. head to Bachrach.
Day 2: enjoy Rhine valley and Bachrach and do Rhine cruise
Day 3: Head to Bavaria. Stay in Garmisch-Partenkirchen
Day 4: Enjoy Garmisch-Partenkirchen
Day 5: Day trip to Fussen and enjoy Newschwenstein
Day 6: Bavaria Side Trip?
day 7: Rothenburg
Day 8: Berlin
Day 9: Berlin
Day 10: Berlin
Day11: Return flight in P.M.

THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!

Seat61.com
Bahn.de
It is basically rasy

Why don't you leave from Munich and skip Berlin? You are all over the country in no logical order. Frankfurt to Rhine Valley is logical, but then a massive travel day to Garmisch (going south). Füssen is logical from Garmisch. Rothenburg, even though it is in the south, is another long trip because it is in a rail cul-de-sac. Plus between day 7 and day 8 you need a travel day, because Munich or somewhere else in Bavaria to Berlin is an extremely long trip.

If it were me, I would i) see the Rhine Valley from Frankfurt, then ii) I would visit the Harz mountains on the way to Berlin, and would finish up in Berlin. Or I would i) visit the Rhine Valley and ii) visit the Bavarian cities. You start in Garmisch and Füssen, that's OK, but then perhaps see Munich and one other city. You can do this using Munich as a base. Munich itself is worth at least 3 days. The other city could be Rothenburg, but could equally be Nuremberg or Bamberg. Then I would leave from Munich.

The Harz mountains are a well-kept secret. Quedlinburg is even a UNESCO World Heritage site. If you like that idea I can give you a few more tips.

Lavandula

Perhaps replace the Bavarian side trip and 1 day in Berlin with 2 days in Dresden? You could visit Dresden proper and the Sächsische Schweiz park accessible by S-bahn from downtown.