We are planning a trip for about 11 days and plan to fly into Frankfurt, do the Mosel and Rhine and maybe through the Black Forest to Northern Switzerland (St. Gallen) at Lake Constance and then back to Frankfurt via Rothenburg.

These plans are tentative and I was wondering how far the Eagle's Nest would be on the itinerary? Is this itinerary in general too ambitious?

Any suggestions would be welcomed. We are traveling by car.

I too am going to Eagles nest, and lake constance
Eagles nest is about a 4 hour drive from Lake Constance

It should only tkae you a couple hours to see The eagles nest, so why not spend the rest of the day in Salzburrg, huh?

You can try www.viamichelin.com for driving distances and maps.
If in Rothenburg, I would try to be in the town in the evening, when all the tourists have left. Also, try to catch the "Night watchman's tour" (in english). It is an hour's walk thru the town, with some interesting history tales told by a local. I think they meet in the town square at 8pm by the water fountain. You'll see a tall guy in a black cloak, carrying a long scythe or staff. It's worth it.
EK

Thanks for the suggestion about Rothenburg.

Unfortunately, Salzburg will have to be another trip.

if you are at eagle's nest, salzurg is a 15 minute drive....
i would not drive for 4 hours to go to eagle's nest...it is not open all year, have you checked??
it is nice, but there isn't much there, just a building on top of a hill...the elevator is the most interesting, imho..i would spend more time in sw germany and going up to rothenburg and save se germany for another trip...it is a marvelous area and you could spend quite a bit of time there alone...

you have packed quite a bit into 11 days...you don't want to spend all your days on the road....??

I agree there's not much to the Eagle's Nest, unless you wanted to do one of the full historic Hitler tours in the area. If you go you should take a boat ride on the nearby Konigsee which is simply beautiful. So either go and spend a couple days in the area, or forget it all together.

I wouldn't get to Rothenburg too late in the day. There's much to see and they have some lovely shops also.

We spent almost 2 full days in Rothenburg on our trip in May 2002. This was our 3rd visit. We still didn't get to see all of this lovely town. Most people never get off the main streets, so that area is usually crowded until after lunch when a lot of the tour buses leave. But if you venture out away from the main areas, you will definitely see fewer tourists.

Thanks to all responders. It's the information I needed.