Thanks again Annhig for your continuing interest. Your comment suggests to me that I should retain my resistance to using a GPS. You're right, it could happen, but it never has and I'm happy to keep on relying on my research and map reading skills.

Thanks also to easytraveler for your comments. For us, basing ourselves for a few days isn't a need but a preference. We enjoy getting to know a town - usually not a city - over a few days while still heading out to explore the surrounding region. It allows us to prepare some meals "at home" - saving money certainly, but also eating out every night pales a bit over several weeks. As for Vienna, it looks superb but we have to stop somewhere - hopefully we'll get another chance.

Russ, thanks again to you as well, I've book-marked the train tickets site and we will certainly try and use that when the time comes. Prien & Aschau look promising and I'll do a bit of research into distances & accomodation. I've heard about Neuschwanstein and understand its provenance but it may be one of those things that we go and see anyway. We'd certainly like to visit the residences.

We're thinking now of dropping Konstanz/Lindau from our itinerary and substituting 2 days at Salzburg; So we would have a week somewhere around the northern end of the Romantic Road, a week maybe around Prien/Aschau, 2 nights in Salzburg, followed by either 1 or 2 nights in Innsbruck, then Fussen on our way north to Heidleberg.

Happy to hear more.

Fuessen or Füssen
Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Heidelberg

yes, logos, but Wien, or Vienna?

München or Munich?

Genf or Geneva?

Basel or Basle?

Local or English,both do make it clear what is meant but never fantasy names like "Munchen" which isn't German nor English. "Minga" otoh would be correct too but needs to be explained. But then, if someone isn't capable of spelling the name of a place correctly (where she/he has visited), can you expect any other knowledge about that place. Imagine someone having visited Berchtesgaden and the Koenigssee several times not able at all to spell KOENIGSSEE or even bothering to look it up. You should expect more. If someone is constantly writing "Noo Yorg", would you take advice from him about "New York"?

logos - the OP is giving advice, he's seeking it.

also, his computer may not [easily] allow him to use umlauts etc. the convention to replace the umlaut with an E [as in Muenchen] is not obvious to those who are not german speakers. I can sympathise with your frustration at seeing German place names mis-spelt, but i think you are being a bit hard on the OP.

If it were just the OP... I guess the people on this forum that are able to spell "Koenigssee" are less than 3%. Yet they all visit.

I guess the people on this forum that are able to spell "Koenigssee" are less than 3%. Yet they all visit.>>

AND manage to find it, Logos, without an apparent knowledge of the importance of those two little dots.

honestly, I do sympathise. the mangling of other peoples' languages seems to be a national sport for the British. I have lost count of the number of times i have heard "Doppelganger" instead of "Doppelgänger" even on the BBC, or " paninis" or bruschetta pronounced brushetta, but what can you expect from a race who will tolerate "potato's"?

"What belongs to the potato?" I long to ask.

logos - It's a curse of the supremacy of English - in other circumstances Europeans may be no better - as it happens, this colonial of mainly bog Scots ancestry has made more of an effort with the rudiments of other languages, including German, than his LS (long-suffering) who has a German background and name. And it's true that some who should know better don't make much of an effort with pronunciation - like that Spaniard IOC honcho who announced the winning 2000 Olympic Games host as 'Sid-a-nee' (when everyone here knows it as 'Sinnee').

[and the Europeans probably don't even have a word for provocateur]

annhig - yes, Apostrophe Man has much to answer for - here and elsewhere - by those who should know better.

I guess logos999 has a point.

I had a request recently from a german speaker wanting to know "whether it was worth visiting Tangambelanga when travelling between Yackandanda and Talangatta". Of course I could given him some helpful information, knowing well what he meant, but I just replied "Tangambalanga, Yackandandah, Tallangatta".

I'm sure he found that helpful and is a better person for it.

Well, for better or worse we have now decided on our itinerary and made reservations. Thanks to all those who offered us helpful advice - some of which has shaped our route.

This is what we ended up with.

Arrive Frankfurt airport 5:50 am (31st August)

Days 1 & 2 Frankfurt, then train to,
Days 3 - 7 Berlin
Days 8 -9 Quedlinberg (pick up car Berlin)
Days 10-15 Rothenburg
Days 16-22 Prien
Days 23-25 Berchtesgaden
Days 26-28 Oberammergau
Days 29&30 Heidlelberg
Days 31-36 St. Goar
Day 37 Drop off car & fly out of Frankfurt

This will be our first extended visit to Germany and we are now looking forward to our trip.
Thanks again. Greg

This looks like a lot of fun, Gary.

Maybe I missed it above, but were you planning on any side trips out of Rothenburg?

Hi klondiketoo, Gary's out at the moment so I'll reply instead.

Yes, we certainly hope to visit a number of other towns as day trips from Rothenburg - Bamburg, Wurzburg, Nuremburg, Dinkelsbuhl, Nordlingen, for example - time will tell how many we get to.

Generally, each place where we stay more than 2-3 days we hope to use a base for seeing the surrounding regions.
Greg

We have just returned after a very enjoyable 5 weeks in Germany and I expect to start posting a trip report in the next day or so.

Once again, thanks to all who provided input into our planning of this trip; we didn't take up all suggestions but they were very helpful in helping us make decisions.