So, one city or bigger town in addition to our 4 night Rhine stay and our 2 night Rothenberg stay. What should that be?>

Heidelberg is one of Germany's nicest cities IME - one of the rare ones not blitzed to rubble in WW2 - and a lively university town - has the castle of your dreams looming high above town - walking - take the Philosopher's Path that climbs a hill opposite the town center. Lovingly set on the sweet Neckar River - and Heidelberg is right between Rothenburg and the Rhine/Mosel areas.

If we arrive at Frankfurt airport at 8:45 pm (from Cairo, Egypt), will we have enough time to get our luggage, pass through customs, find the train station at the airport, and make the last train to Mainz by 10:30? I can't stand worrying about whether we make the last train. What are our options? Stay at an airport hotel or go into Frankfurt (how to do that?).

Well yes if the plane were on time - the train station you want for Mainz would be i believe the Regional Bahnhof (not the long-distance station called the Fernbahnhof) which is the older airport station and much closer to where you come out of Customs - takes about 5 mins to reach it.

But with the flight possibly being late, etc. i would probably stay at the airport or be prepared to pay for a taxi to Mainz, which is not that far away. Perhaps there are airport transfer like in other airports that take you to your hotel? Check out the Frankfurt Flughafen web site for that.

In Rothenburg, I liked this hotel and the food was good.

http://www.markusturm.de/

will we have enough time to get our luggage, pass through customs, find the train station at the airport, and make the last train to Mainz by 10:30?>

a quick check on www.bahn.de shows trains going from Frankfurt Flughafen (airport) to Mainz until well after midnight - about 2-3 an hour - check schedules again.

I can only speak about Rothenburg part of the trip (you are going there...correct?)

If coming by train this wonderful BB is run by a very energetic woman who will pick you up and drop you off at the train station. The BnB is just outside the wall. Good value and excellent breakfast.

http://www.bensbauernhof.com/hauskar...enburgodt.html

-john

Any suggestions for hotels in Rothenburg and Cochem?>

not specifically but Cochem overflows with cozy down-comforter equipped family-run guesthouses - serving hearty breafkfasts - i do not think you can go wrong - i would consider staying all four days in Cochem - you can get to any part of the Rhine by train in less than an hour and from Cochem you could also day trip to Trier - one of Germany's most intriguing cities IMO - Roman ruins - including the Porta Negra - an intact 2,000-yr-old Roman Gate, from when Trier was capital of the Western part of the Roman Empire - also an old Roman temple turned into a basilica eons ago and the Karl Marx Haus - a museum to Marx in the house he grew up in - plus just a pleasant pedestrian only shopping drag and a Vine Teaching Path that meanders thru vineyards smothering the town and teaches one about vinticulture.

Skip Berlin. Too far. We have been going to Europe for almost 40 years now since I was in the Army in Germany. It is still easy for me to forget the traffic you always run into approaching a large city and crowds...be it car or train. I would stick to the smaller areas this trip. Still traffic, but not as bad.

We have arrived Frankfurt and driven to Rothenburg many times. It is about 2 hours by car. Great town to explore. We have been back many times since 1970. Last trip was in 2007 with friends. The Hotel Markusturm is great. Built into the old walls, updated rooms and easy walk to the center of the city. You want to stay within the walls of the city.

Heidelberg: Again, we always drive in Germany. We usually stay our last night in Heidelberg as it is not that far from the Frankfurt airport....about 45 minutes to 1 hour on a weekend day. We use Heidelberg as our final stop then drive to the airport to leave. It beats staying at the airport on your last day of vacation.

One More thing: Bruge is great. If you are thinking about visiting Bruge rent the movie IN BRUGE

See above. I lost my internet in mid type. The movie IN BRUGE is with Colin Farrel. We watched it prior to our vist in 2008. It is not that bad of a movie and it filmed completely in Bruge. You will get a good feel for the city by watching this movie...then go see the sites yourself.

Again, thank you all!

Is it easy to get to Heidelberg from Cochem or Trier? Train or cruise boat?

Easy - do you mean as a day trip - yes easy - from Cochem, IMO a much more dreamier base than Trier - Cochem IME is the type of place Americans dream of staying in but never really do - sticking more to large famous cities like Munich.

anyway from Cochem (or Trier) hop the train to Koblenz and then take a train probably to Mannheim, a short train ride from Heidelberg - would take max 2 hours each way including a few changes of trains. Easily done. And IMO Heidelberg is well well worth it.

<i>"Any suggestions for hotels in Rothenburg and Cochem?"</i>

In Cochem, I can recommend the Hotel Alte Thorschenke, which is built right into the original city wall/gate. It's a short walk from the train station, located at the foot of the bridge crossing the Mosel. The receptionist showed us two different rooms to choose from. We could have chosen the room with the hand-painted wooden sleigh bed, but instead chose Room #7, with the wooden canopy bed. Breakfast, which was included with the room, was excellent, with selections of meats & cheeses, soft-boiled eggs, seasoned scrambled eggs, fresh cut fruit, cereals, bread, yogurt, jams, etc...

http://www.castle-thorschenke.com

In Rothenburg I can highly recommend Gastehaus Edith, which is located inside the city wall, on the Milchmarkt, right down the street from the Markusturm, and a block away from the Markt square. We booked Edith's two-night Romantic Days package, which included breakfast and half-board (dinner served at 6:30), and tickets for the Night Watchman's tour, the Kriminalmuseum, and the City Museum.

Edith is a wonderful host, and an excellent cook/chef. Our first meal was noodle soup stuffed with mincemeat, spinach & herbs, a salad, pork filet with mushrooms & spaetzle, followed by raspberry ice cream with fruit in a liqueur sauce for dessert. Our next dinner started with soup, a beef broth with slivered slices of crepes, then a salad, followed by Sauerbratten (sp?) & dumplings. Edith started pickling the Sauerbratten in red wine a week before we arrived. Dessert was battered fried apple slices with whipped cream & cherries. Breakfast was just as good, particularly my hot soft-pretzel. We dream about going back to Edith's just to have her feed us again. This was our first experience with a half-board; we really liked the fact that you showed up at 6:30 and Edith started feeding you. There was no decision to make, nor did you have to wait any time for the meal to be served. We will definately try the half-board again, if offered at a hotel.

http://www.spaetzle-schwob.de/

I agree with Russ's suggestion about visiting Franconia, which includes Würzburg, Nuremberg & particularly Bamberg. It's not that far by train from Rothenburg.

Here's a link to my trip report through Germany, which might have some helpful information.

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...rip-report.cfm

Have a fun time in Germany, where ever you decide to go.

Robyn :)>-

Luxembourg City is another easy day trip from Cochem - about an hour by train -one of Europe's most very unique cities- gorgeous IMO as it is bisected by a deep wide gorge - take a tour thru the casemates - tunnels hewn out in the cliffs for centuries for military reasons.

Check out the stately Grand Place - a typical French-looking main town square peppered in fine weather with outdoor cafes.

So for something different check out the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg - yup there is still a Grand Duke in this, one of the world's most prosperous countries.

Thank you all. I'm floored by the response and the specific information you're all providing. You've all helped me narrow down our trip! With your recommendations, we're not going to Frankfurt or Cologne and will stay with the little towns. Both Heidelburg and Rothenberg will stay on the list. Actually Heidelburg just got put on the list! And, the Franconia area! I appreciate ANY advice! Thank you!

Rothenburg and Heidelburg are two of our favorite places. In Rothenburg we stayed at the Burg Hotel and really enjoyed our room and views. Don't miss the Christmas Shops in Rothenburg and Heidleburg.

http://www.romanticroad.com/burghotel/

Heidelberg - Philosophers Walk - cross the ornate bridge over the Neckar and take this path that goes up to big hill to a viewpoint over the whole town, with its dreamy castle protruding gloriously from it- the path was named after philosophers from the famous Heidelberg University who used to trek along it for inspiration (and perspiration as well i guess.)

Thank you all again!

Any suggestions for a hotel in Heidelberg? Walking distance to center of town, walking distance to train station, breakfast included, charming, convenient, great service, nice rooms.

Also, any suggestions for hotels in Wurzburg, Bamberg?

I stayed at the Eisenhut in Rothenburg. It is very charming and has a perfect location, almost across from the town hall.

Walking distance to center of town, walking distance to train station>

very few in this category as Heidelberg's Hbf (main train station) is a good poke from the town center - unusual for a German town - there is a secondary station right (Karlstor ???) near the town center but not that many trains to where you may want to go. A tram runs from the town center to the train station

I'd stay in the town center and take the above tram to the train station. Heidelberg is great fun to walk around. But don't know where, we weren't overwhelmed with the place we stayed at.