We will be traveling in June to Germany. We plan to travel by train from Mittenwald to Berlin, stopping in Rothenburg-ob-der-Tauber on the way. Since we will arrive in Rothenburg late in the day, we plan to stay two nights. Would it be better to stay just one night and take a short trip to another town on the way to Berlin? What town would be most interesting? Thanks!

If for you Rothenburg ob der Tauber is the most interesting city between Tyrol and Berlin, go to Rothenburg.
There is nothing wrong with that. Other people would have other preferencies, of course!

Bamberg is an incredibly cute town with a river gushing down its centre - for me one part of one day was enough in Rothenburg - way too tourist-oriented than Bamberg a real regional city.

https://www.google.com/search?q=bamb...iw=858&bih=526

book train tickets ASAP at www.bahn.de/en - German Railways site where you can easily book your own tickets but those discounted tickets can sell out way early. If doing more long-distance train travel in Germany check out the Germany Railpass (Twin for 2) that lets you hop just about any train anytime - you can make optional seat reservations and are suggested to do so in 2nd class - first class more likely to have seats. Great sources of info on German trains: www.seat61.com; www.ricksteeves.com and BETS: Germany

Bamberg's older buildings escaped bombing during WWII, whereas, some of Rothenburg obT is relatively newer construction. Rothenburg seems to be a big day-tripper destination so spending the night there will give you a nicer view of it than simply being there for a few hours during the busiest part of the day.

The Night Watchman's tours are fabulously popular in Rothenberg:
https://www.rothenburg-tourismus.de/...r-individuals/

https://www.google.com/search?q=roth...w=1097&bih=535

If nto Martin Luther Lutherstadt-Wittemberg is worth a stop though a slight detour off direct from from Rothenberg. Lots of Luther-associated things like the church door where Luther apocryphally nailed his demands of the Reformation. The town is nice.

Few things to take into consideration:

1. In June, sunset will be quite late - at around 9:30pm. Even if you arrive in Rothenburg ob der Tauber "late in the day", there could still be enough daylight hours to explore the (very) small town. So, one night could be enough to see it all. Depends on your actual arrival time in Rothenburg.

2. Check bahn.com for rail connections from Rothenburg to Berlin, and extent the view of each connection to show the stops along the route. These are the destinations you can easily squeeze in, e.g. Bamberg, Erfurt, Leipzig, Lutherstadt Wittenberg.
Bamberg is probably seen as the "ye cutest olde one" of those, Erfurt the less travelled, Leipzig the largest one (a city of half a million) but also with more museums and more recent history). Wittenberg is also nice, but more a stop for half a day, IMO.
Not all long-distance trains on the Nuremberg-Berlin main line call at all those stations, though. Some skip A, some skip B.
The alternative routing from Nuremberg via Fulda, Kassel, Göttingen, Hildesheim can be an option, but - aside from Würzburg - I think that the possible stops along the more direct Nuremberg - Erfurt - Berlin highspeed line are bit more attractive.

3. Since construction works to turn the main line from Munich via Nuremberg to Berlin into a true highspeed line all the way have been finished last fall, this route has become extremely popular. You should always consider seat reservations, regardless of day and time of travel. Unless, perhaps, you travel in 1st class.

Thanks for your help, everyone. We decided to go to Rothenburg-ob-der-Tauber, and we want to travel from there to Berlin by train on a Saturday. We were advised to get advance reservations.

We’re finding a bit confusing to book tickets on the Bahn web site. Once we are in Germany, can go to a station and we buy ticket for a future date?

We are two older people traveling with medium-size suitcases (not carry-on size). Is it reasonable to select a route in which the transfer time between trains is only 4 or 5 minutes?

What happens if we buy a ticket and can’t make the transfer in time? Is it better to just get reservations for the Berlin leg of the trip and make the trip from Rothenburg-Nurnberg without reservations? We could allow extra time in case we miss a connection.

Thanks again!
Susan

Nurnberg-Rothenberg can be done by regional train with no reservations possible - just buy at station and board any regional train that day.

www.bahn.de/en is pretty easy to use IME - you can adjust the transfer times - check bahn.de/en for conditions of use of discounted tickets as restrictions may apply - with full-fare ticket if miss train just board the next one I believe. Best to sort out conditions of use before buying. You can always buy full-fare tickets at stations and get seat reservations with them.

Just what problems are you having with www.bahn.de? The home page of BETS-European Rail Experts has lots of tips on using www.bahn.de/en - www.seat61.com has god advice too.