We are planning a trip to France and Germany from New Zealand in September 2015. It's a long way from New Zealand to anywhere else and I hate long layovers in strange airports with a passion so we will fly Emirates to Paris and back home out of Frankfurt. I have the French bit worked to 4/5 days in Paris and the train to Strasbourg for 2 nights. After that it's Germany and I want to see every medieval village and castle I can. DH wants to go to Berlin as his mother was born there.
We are thinking of a 3 week loop around Germany .......Frankfurt - Hamburg (4/5 nights with day trips to Lubeck and Schwerin) - Berlin (4/5 nights) - Dresden or Nuremberg - Munich (4/5 nights) then some Romantic Road villages on the way back to Frankfurt. This will be by train as we are not hiring a car.
I can work out the details later - I would like opinions in a general sense as to whether this is sensible and enjoyable. We are early 50's fit and healthy, like walking and museums, photography and European cars.

"We are thinking of a 3 week loop around Germany .......Frankfurt - Hamburg (4/5 nights with day trips to Lubeck and Schwerin) - Berlin (4/5 nights) - Dresden or Nuremberg - Munich (4/5 nights) then some Romantic Road villages on the way back to Frankfurt... I want to see every medieval village and castle I can. "

A preliminary point:

- You don't have much in the way of medieval villages or castles in this itinerary; large cities are dominant. Is there some reason you've chosen to stay in the likes of Frankfurt, Hamburg, Berlin, Munich, Dresden and Nuremberg? You might be wise to drop at least 2 of these larger places for more rural options. Drop Frankfurt, for example, and go instead to the nearby Middle Rhine Valley (a Unesco World Heritage site)... between Bingen and Koblenz there are 40 castles in 40 miles of river, several of which you can tour. And there are many innkeepers in the old-world villages of Boppard, St. Goar, Bacharach and Oberwesel that would love to host you. (There are normally wine fests every weekend in September in one of the Rhine villages.)

Middle Rhine Valley
Oberwesel: http://s1.germany.travel/media/conte...T_1024x768.jpg
Oberwesel wine fest, market square: http://www.oberwesel.de/uploads/pics/P1060485.JPG
Oberwesel, old town wall: http://www.voos-camper.de/wohnmobil_...berwesel_2.JPG
Rheinfels castle in St. Goar: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qxFF80wORNQ
Bacharach: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...arach_BW_9.JPG
Marksburg Castle, guided tours: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...ubach_2012.jpg
River cruises past all the castles and villages: https://www.k-d.com/en/home/

Also... The Romantic Road has some old-world towns but certainly not all; it tends to be heavy with tourists, not necessarily all that scenic, and impossible to navigate completely by train. But no worries. Pick and choose from among the RR towns with rail access - these include Würzburg (not a village at all,) Rothenburg, Nördlingen, Harburg, Donauwörth, Augsburg (city,) Landsberg am Lech, and a few others -

AND consider other Bavarian towns near the Romantic Road with train access... here are a few...

Bamberg (City with UNESCO old town)
Regensburg (DITTO Bamberg)
Iphofen (gorgeous - http://www.stadtbild-deutschland.org...&threadID=2985 )
Ochsenfurt and Marktbreit on the Main River: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VLUgpoQIFHI
Pappenheim:
http://www.treuchtlingen.de/fileadmi...us-ch.link.jpg
Pappenheim English info: http://www.pappenheim.de/Town-of-Pap...7b1e38d.0.html

Middle Rhine Valley info. link:
http://www.welterbe-mittelrheintal.d...php?id=274&L=3

If you say "villages" you probably mean towns?

There are very few cities and towns in Germany that have preserved a notable amount of authentic medieval architecture. The wars of the centuries after saw to that as well as the frequent fires. As opposed to common Fodorite opinion, not every half-timbered house is medieval, only very few actually are. The usual romantic pictures with cobblestone alleys etc. have nothing to do wiht he reality of the middle ages but are based on 19th century fantasies.

Most large cities have been smashed to ashes and rubble in World War II. This includes Frankfurt, Hamburg, Berlin, Dresden, Nuremberg - i.e. almost your complete itinerary. Pre-War Dresden was a baroque city, Berlin baroque and 19th century, so even pre-1939 you would have seen little medieval there. Schwerin's architecture is predominantly 19th century with a bit of baroque.

Among the few that really have authentic medieval architecture, Regensburg has already been mentioned. Bamberg is, again as opposed to common Fodorite opinion, mostly a baroque city.

Let me draw your attention to:
Goslar and Quedlinburg
Görlitz and Bautzen
Konstanz
Lübeck is a good choice, let me add Wismar and Stralsund.
Nördlingen
Bad Wimpfen
Büdingen
Esslingen
Landshut

thank you Fussgaenger and Quokka. that's a great list of places to check out.
We're interested in anything old/historical - perhaps medieval was used rather loosely.

"As opposed to common Fodorite opinion, not every half-timbered house is medieval, only very few actually are. The usual romantic pictures with cobblestone alleys etc. have nothing to do wiht he reality of the middle ages but are based on 19th century fantasies."

"We're interested in anything old/historical - perhaps medieval was used rather loosely."

Yes, but hey, that's no crime, or 90% of Fodors' posters would be doing time! We (history-challenged Americans, anyway) have a tendency to sling around words like "prehistoric" "Neanderthal" and "Medieval" very freely; HERE, on FODORS, "medieval" means "really old", basically, which is how I interpreted your use of the word. It isn't really an "opinion" of this building or that town that drives our usage - it's more just a habit of usage, born of our New World unfamiliarity with such distinctions, I think... sort of like not knowing which of the 40 or 50 Eskimo words to use for "snow."

Sounds like maybe NZ'ers take similar linguistic liberties... but we seem to understand each other.

Great advice above. Generally in Germany things that look old have been tidied up so as to not fall down a number of times since the end of WW2. On top of the places mentioned I might also look at the old town in Ulm (painted old town hall and multi-timbered houses down by the "docks", all look old and inside those buildings are stainless steel and wifi.

As well as the middle Rhine (which is lovely and easily accessible by train) look at the Pfalz and the Mosel, both wine growing regions and the Mosel train route is dead easy to take.

The medieval times ended in the 15th century, some say, with Gutenberg's invention of the mechanical movable type printing. We still have a lot of truly medieval architecture in Germany, most notably hundreds of castles, several dozen cathedrals and a few monasteries. We have also several hundred small towns and villages which have survived the wars and where you still find townhouses, walls, towers and other structures from the middle ages.

For a tourist from abroad who is looking for romantic, picturesque architecture it is a mere academic question wether the structures are truly medieval (from before 1450 AD) or renaissance (15th to 16th century) or baroque (16th to 18th century). Usually, around a marketplace, you find a row of buildings from all periods in perfect harmony and you have to be an expert to identify the exact building time.

But this is all wise ass talk. You want to see romantic old towns and villages and you find them abundantly all over Germany - but most of this not in the big cities.

You are coming from Strasbourg.

The I would suggest at first visiting Gengenbach, a fine romantic town which is just 35 minutes from Strasbourg on the other side of the Rhine.

http://www.stadt-gengenbach.de/en/tourism/

From Gengenbach, it is another 30-minute drive to the Vogtsbauernhof, an open-air museum of historical black forest houses, dating from 1599 to 1756. This is not quite medieval, but old enough, especially considering that it are wooden structures which have survived that long. I cannot recommend this museum strong enough because you will see a lot of old towns on your trip but few farmhouses, so it will add to the diversity of your trip.

http://en.vogtsbauernhof.de/

From the Black Forest, do a larger leap to the Middle Rhine Valley, as recommended (about 3 hours). Visit the Monastery of Eberbach, which is truly medieval (from the 13th century). It belongs to the most authentic structures of the Middle Ages in Europe and this was reason enough to film "The Name of the Rose" (with Sean Connery), based on Umberto Eco's novel, there. Make sure to watch the film before you travel. The monastery operates a winery which makes one of the best rieslings in Germany.

http://kloster-eberbach.de/en/monastery.html

Then work up your way along the Rhine northwards. Oberwesel has been mentioned, I would add Rüdesheim, the epitome of a romantic village, however touristy:

http://www.ruedesheim.de/en/

For a truly medieval castle, visit the Marksburg (from the 12th century and practically unchanged).

http://www.marksburg.de/english/frame.htm

From there, you drive a bit into the countryside until you reach Monschau, one the most picturesque old towns in Germany:

http://www.monschau.de/de/ (click on Monschau Impressionen for a picture gallery)

If you are in search of the Middle Ages, your next destination, Aachen is a must. Aachen's centerpiece is the cathedral, dating from 800 A.D. It was exactly the place where Charlemagne was crowned and his throne is still there. See also the rich treasury of the cathedral and the historic City Hall.

http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/3

From Aachen, you drive to Cologne to see the masterpiece of a gothic cathedral. Beyond the Cathedral, Cologne has 12 (!) romanesque churches which are even older. You can't miss them because they make Cologne's skyline. There is much more to find in Cologne, even Roman traces, including the ruins of the Roman Palace and a walkable sewer which is 2,000 years old (no smell anymore).

http://www.cologne.de/what-to-do

I will continue soon.

for even half those train trips in Germany a German Railpass Twin is a no-brainer - lets you hop any train anytime with a very few exceptions - full-fare tickets are very expensive often on high-speed trains - the pass would be your cheapest ticket by far for all those trains and IME pay extra for first class where you cn always just hop on the train and IME find empty seats - in 2nd class you may want to make an optional seat reservation for a few euros.

For lots of great info on German trains: www.ricksteves.com; www.seat61.com; www.budgeteuropetravel.com.

Passes are valid on K-d boats on the Rhine too is you get over that way - one of the most popular things to do in Germany - the best part of the Rhine between Rudeshweim/Bingen and Boppard/Koblenz.

I am back after some work.

We stopped in Cologne, right?

You are now heading in the direction of Berlin. A good hour northeast from Cologne, you find the Münsterland - a flat agricultural stretch of land where you find farms, horse breeding and dozens of castles.

A cute medieval castle is Vischering:

http://www.burg-vischering.de/ (sorry, in German only)

Münster is the capital of Westphalia. You can visit the City Hall where the Westphalian Treaty was negociated which ended the war of 30 years which raged all over Europe in 1648. You get an impression how a city looked in the old times. There is a splendid cathedral and many fine baroque structures. Also an open-air farmhouse museum, the Mühlenhof.

http://www.muenster.de/en/

From Münster, make a bigger leap to the Harz. With Quedlinburg (UNESCO World Heritage) and Wernigerode, you find two most picturesque historical towns in Germany.

http://www.quedlinburg.de/en/unesco_world_heritage.html
http://www.wernigerode.de/en/

From there, you might drive to Berlin. Schwerin with its splendid (but not very old) castle would make an easy daytrip from Berlin.

This itinerary would skip Hamburg (which has, sadly, not much medieval history) and Lübeck (which has).

From Berlin, you might visit Dresden, which has some splendid baroque buildings.

A worthy detour would be Eisenach. The Wartburg is an impressive castle and is historically significant, because it is the place where Martin Luther did the revolutionary act of translating the Bible. You can see the room where he worked, his desk and the famous inkstain - he threw the inkpot after the devil.

http://www.wartburg-eisenach.de/frame_sn.htm

On the way from Dresden to München, you will have the opportunity to visit several romantic towns. Iphofen has been mentioned, also Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Dinkelsbühl and Nördlingen.

There, you will get another good dose of picturesque towns.

München will make a fine end of your trip.

One final remark: Although the German train system is quite powerful if you want to travel between big cities, a rental car will be the best option to do such a trip, especially when you want to visit small towns and castles.

Your post is a thing of beauty, Traveller1959!

You are welcome, Trophywife007! - I like your screenname, albeit your photo is a bit different...

What... you don't think little Cosette is a trophy too?

Awesome thankyou, Traveller1959. You have more or less planned out our trip and I am very grateful. My head spins with the all those great suggestions. I do read travel books avidly, watch a few Rick Steve DVD's and look at internet travel sites but sometimes you need people who have been there to say - go there you will love it. Armchair travel has it's limitations.

Aargh - Rick Steves! This guy is ridiculously prejudiced against the northern half of Germany. He even manipulates the maps in his guidebook in order make the part he writes about look bigger.

The Fodor's guidebook about Germany is not much better, and, consequently, here in this forum much of Germany is ignored. I included in my recommendation some true gems - Gengenbach, Monschau, Quedlinburg, Wernigerode are beauties which will satisfy your longing for romantic German villages as well as the Bavarian towns on the Romantic Road (the road is not romantic - it is an ordinary highway that connects romantic towns). And the suggested itinerary has a lot of diversity - romantic towns, historic farmhouses, castles, cathedrals, cities - so will get a good impression of my country.

Browse the websites and do some research. Planning a trip is already half of the fun.

You do not need to rent a car however to enjoy some of Germany's lovely natural spots as trains do go everywhere and buses pick up te slack - the Mosel Valley, the Rhine Gorge, Saxon Switzerland, the Harz mountains, the Neckar Valley and all of Bavarian are places easily reached by public transit.

I have nothing against driving buy OP said they did not want to drive so just saying you can get to many nice rural areas sans driving.

We are thinking of a 3 week loop around Germany .......Frankfurt - Hamburg (4/5 nights with day trips to Lubeck and Schwerin) - Berlin (4/5 nights) - Dresden or Nuremberg - Munich (4/5 nights) then some Romantic Road villages on the way back to Frankfurt>

If those are you choices and they are all great places then definitely go by rail - and instead of Romantic Rd villages on way back to Frankfurt hit Rothenburg from Munich - top tourist city on Romantic Road then take the Castle Road bus down the Neckar Valley - dotted with ancient castles and old towns that are IME more nice than the other Romantic Road towns and the Castle Road is a lot nicer than the Romantic Road too IMO.

Castle Road buses will take you to Heidelberg, to me one of Germany's nicest cities - the rare one not destroyed in war and a castle of your dreams hovering over it - Heidelberg to Frankfurt Airport is a short train ride.

thank you PalenQ - great suggestions. I have not heard of the Castle Road so will check it out.
We are hesitant to drive because here in NZ we drive on the left and while we are good drivers here at home the idea of driving on the other side while navigating German roads/autobahns not to mention finding car parks where ever we go adds a dimension of stress to the holiday. I think I would much rather just go on public transport and gaze out the window worry free.

Thanks again traveller1959. I have been googling your gems and they are truly delightful - I must go to them all especially Quedlinburg. It's about 4 different train connections from Munster but so won't be overrun with Rick Steve fans.
Schwerin I saw on a Youtube video on German castles and fell in love with it (even though it is not medieval)and probably won't have the crowds of tourists Neuschwanstein
attracts. North Germany looks full of delightful places.

Meissen, near Dresden, has a gorgeous old town and castle, with a terrific porcelain history (sounds dull, I know, but actually fascinating.
We avoided the hordes at Neuschwanstein by walking from the Tegelberg (go up cablecar) and walking the hiking trail around to the rear of the castle, about 2.5 hrs. Didn't go in, but the setting is spectacular and we got a gorgeous mountain / forest walk as well.
Don't know if you have time while in Strasbourg (which I love) but a visit to Colmar is easy by train, everyone heads to the canal part which is lovely, but wandering off the beaten path was just delightful, beautiful buildings all around. Or Wissembourg, north of Strasbourg.