texasbookworm

Oh, don't make my decision harder!!! Bamberg is the longest of the trips I'm looking at, over 2.5 hours each way. Then the station is not really near center of town so some walking or taking a bus to just get to stuff I'd want to see. So over 6 hours just in travel time. I think I'll relegate it to end of second week and see if I change my mind or decide to skip something. I'm kinda looking forward to comparing some of the major cathedrals I'll be able to see in Germany (to compare them with the ones I've seen in the UK--not in a rating way, but just in historical/appreciative way) so Speyer is attractive to me. Speyer is going to make an easy first Monday, I think; lots of places aren't open on Mondays, so my choices are limited. It looks like easy travel, will allow me time in Frankfurt Hbf to get used to that place and get my RailPass validated, and get me "home" not too late on my jet-lagged first full day. But as I said, I haven't ruled out Bamberg (although, contrary to my OP, I have reluctantly ruled out Maulbronn.)