Alsace France and Bavarian Germany

we enjoyed our visit of Riquewhir, we stayed in Colmar, both towns are very quaint. we also visited a restored castle just north of riquewhir, very interesting. on another trip we also stayed at rotherburg ob der tauber. at all of there we were lucky to experience an annual festival, which really was great. they are touristy but if you take time to walk some of the back streets ( particularly when all the day trippers have left) it can be a great experience.
we usually have a car and book accommodation either just outside the city walls ( rotherburg etc) or at the edge of the town and walk around.
hope this helps.

Is August 31 your departure from the States, or your arrival in Frankfurt?

Just thinking that including travel time, you probably have fewer than 12 days (think of nights that you'll have to be somewhere, that is usually a better measure. Your departure day from Europe is only getting to the airport and can't count as a visiting day as you won't get to see anything.).

I wish Munich and Frankfurt were even farther apart. If it weren't for probably drop-off fees, you might better fly home from Basel or Zurich, depending on what areas of Germany you actually choose to visit. I say that not just to second guess your plan, but because you don't have time for the Rhine itinerary items in your short visit. I personally would not drive from Munich to Alsace, France. But if you actually allow time for two (three?) hour stops in interesting places along the way, perhaps the drive is justified.

In fairness to your plan, I drove from Zurich to Vitznau, but I made three stops along the way. You should add 20% to the driving times estimated on Google Maps, which naturally does not include stops. In my experience, train rides are more scenic than modern highways in Europe. Most BF visitors use a free transit ticket from the hotel, so they don't have to retrieve the car after walking through the forest to another town. (This offer does not apply in Freiburg!)

After doing some more research, you might consider changing from Alsace to the Rhine. Even though we bought through United, we got Lufthansa to throw in a domestic flight between Cologne and a German hub city (I forget which one, but it doesn't matter, does it?) for nothing.

All the places you name are very nice, although the cities can be hard or expensive to park inside. (Make sure there's an Umwelt sticker on the car you rent.) We were lucky enough to find small hotels that actually had parking in Alsace. On another trip, we stayed in Mulheim, but I found the drive to Trier for the day and back to be tedious. OTOH, that was great for a daytrip to Bernkastel-Kues and Traben-Trarbach. But if you taste a lot of wines, you could get into trouble with your mighty steel steed of freedom.

Watch for wine festivals (and check in advance online) at that time of year. I wouldn't want Neuer Susser every day, but it's an interesting new taste for wine lovers.

Tim, thank you for your reply. Our flights are already booked. Alsace region is top on our list, but we want to spend half our time in Germany. Do you have a favorite area of the Black Forest or best 2 nights near the Rhine?

Be sure to take a boat ride on the Rhine through the castle rich areas near there. And be sure to take time for Strasbourg which is wonderful. I'd stay in Strasbourg rather than Riquewher which we also visited along with Colmar ---

Michael, You have given a great itinerary. Is there something about Wurzberg that you prefer as a base instead of Rothenburg? Also, have you been to Trier or the Black Forest? If so, would you included of them in our trip?
thanks so much!!

Regrettably, I haven't seen enough comprehensively, in either place, to properly answer your question. Any old edition of Rick's Germany book will serve your needs, in the Library. I only saw the southern BF, and we only slept in Andernach, with does not represent the historic middle-Rhine. I did wish we'd had more than an afternoon in Boppard. I enjoyed Freiburg on a wine festival day.

I would point out that there are some nice destinations right along the Swiss-German border to consider, if you select BF over the Middle Rhine. There are two or three really attractive old town centers, plus a Roman ruin, Augusta Raurica. I also wanted to see the Vitra Design Museum and showroom museum, but that is a special interest-Weil am Rhein, Germany.

All great information! Now I just need to put it in a workable itinerary. Thanks so much for all the help.