I'm taking a trip to Germany in September. After the first day of Oktoberfest, we're taking a trip down the Romantic Road, and hope to end up at Rothenburg ob der Tauber. I have heard that renting a car is the way to go, but that's really not an option for me. Not only does it cost an arm and a leg, but I'm 6'9", and I can't guarantee I'll physically be able to drive the car we get. I have two questions:

1) With one day on the Romantic Road (we want to be at Rothenburg to check into our hotel by nighttime), where along the way should we stop? Are there any specific towns that are best?

2) Assuming we take the train, will a Bayern pass cover our trip all the way to Rothenburg ob der Tauber? Is there a source for a map of stations the Bayern pass covers? I would like to see if it will get us to Frakfurt from Rothenburg after we leave there.

3) I will need a place to stash our luggage when we get off the train at each station along the Road. Can someone tell me how I can find out if there are baggage lockers at each station?

Thanks for all your help!

You don't need to see every town or follow the road exactly. The RR is a marketing concept that attracts visitors - not really a route containing the best towns or the best scenery. The scenery and towns in the rest of Bavaria to the east and west are just as interesting or more so. The train doesn't follow the RR exactly but it doesn't matter. The Bayern Ticket's got you covered to Rothenburg and almost to Frankfurt - it ends at Kahl. So you need a regular ticket from Kahl to Frankfurt for that stretch.

Rothenburg is must see. I'd stop in Nördlingen too. Augsburg is a larger city you'll need to pass through, worthwhile if you have time but you don't. With only one day you'll bypass many other interesting non-RR towns like Eichstaett, Nuremberg, Bamberg, and Würzburg, but maybe you'll come back someday.

Here's a map of all of Bavaria's train lines:

http://www.bayern-takt.de/media/PDF-...samtnetz07.pdf

Lockers: Nördlingen has no lockers. The TI offices in Germany will often allow you to leave your bags for a short while. If you can get to the town center from the station with your bags, you might try that. Maybe others have a suggestion? Augsburg does have lockers.

There is no train line _along_ the Romantic road. Many towns on it are connected by rail but no single line connects the towns to each other. You can visit pretty much everything by local trains and buses, but you need some planning and understanding of the rail/bus network.
http://www.bayern-takt.de/media/PDF-...Gesamt0608.pdf

..is the train network of bavaria, with the frequency of service indicated by line color.

Oops, didn´t see the link aready posted.