111op-

About 1 week in Rhine- it's not that long at all! I was there last summer with my mother for 5 full days and we were dashing like mad from one place to another. Wish we had more time there to tour at a more leisurely pace.

This was what we did:
Tues- arrived in FRA, toured in FRA
Wed- trained to Luxembourg City, toured all day, then trained to Trier in the eve.
Thurs- Toured Trier, trained to Cochem, afternoon cruise on Mosel from Cochem to Koblenz
Fri - short visit to Bonn, back to Koblenz around noon, cruised down Rhine to Bingen
Sat - quick hop to Rudesheim, then back to Bingen, trained to Mainz, toured Mainz, trained to Heidelberg, toured Heidelberg, trained back to FRA
Sun- flew out of FRA

I definitely wish that we had time to stop at 1 or 2 of the Mosel towns (we were so out of time we didn't get to tour Burg Eltz - well just have to go back!), and also wish I had time to get off the cruise boat to stop in a few of the Rhine towns as well.

As far as Loire Valley is concerned, I toured it by myself using public transport (trains for the most part). It was doable, though only for the castles that are within walking distance (or short bus ride) from the train station.

I don't think you can go wrong with any of your choices.

Thanks, yk, for the itinerary. There was actually just an article on Heidelberg in NYT about two weekends ago -- it was quite interesting. You should search for it if you're interested.

Rick Steves likes Burg Eltz a lot too (no, I'm not a fan, but I use all sources of information). I'll have to somehow work it in if I can.

Anyway, a friend jokes that I'm the one who tours with a checklist rather than visits anywhere in great detail. I'm probably the one you've seen somewhere rushing to catch trains or visiting the Louvre in ten minutes. :-) And also I'm more of a city person. So a week in the Rhine will be too long, but I do want to see it since I don't think that I've been anywhere quite like it.