3 weeks in Europe

Thanks, but Munich is a definite. We plan on visiting Dachau. Before we changed our plans a bit, we were told the Salzburg and Fussen were great day trips from Munich. We want to be in Germany at the end of our trip to visit the Christmas markets.

We also were planning on seeing the Rhein by train, not boat

With 3 weeks, I think you have plenty of time to do what you want. You do have a couple of long rail days going to Munich from Paris with a (6 hour?) stopover in Strasbourg, and the Rothenburg to Cologne with a (3 hour?) stopover in Bacharach. Assume everyone will be up for that. From your other posts, my understanding is just want to see the Rhine Valley from the train.

Keep in mind that the daylight will be short that time of year, so get an early start (7 am train) for that Rothenburg-Cologne trip to insure plenty of daylight to see the sights. And yes, warm clothes are in order.

Jot down how many nights in each destination. That will give you a better idea of how time you have in each spot.

And don't through Nuremberg out just yet. Maybe a stopover on the way to Rothenburg.

"...we were told the Salzburg and Fussen were great day trips from Munich."

I think Salzburg is doable in a very long day from Munich during the summer months but not terribly rewarding with so little time - or when it's winter. Same with Fuessen. A lot of folks do the 5 hour round trip on trains and buses to do the 30-minute tour of Neuschwanstein but it gets dark there early in late November and IMO it's a mostly wasted day.

Munich and Cologne, both essentially flattened and rebuilt after WW II, have earned 7 nights on your itinerary. Sounds like you have 1 night in Rothenburg (probably enough there.) So IMO your idea of a day trip to Fuessen and a ride through the Rhine Valley seem a bit of a token effort to see "old-world" Germany... So I could easily see just 3-4 nights in Munich (including day trip to Dachau) and in lieu of Salzburg and Fuessen, 2-3 nights in some smaller Bavarian cities... Regensburg and Bamberg both have UNESCO World Heritage status for their medieval old towns - beautiful places, interesting sightseeing - and Christmas markets as well. Nuremberg is good too but does get overrun during Christmas market season.

So after Munich it might be Regensburg - (Nuremberg?) - Bamberg - Rothenburg (Regensburg could be a stopover on the way to Nuremberg for the night; Bamberg could be a day trip from Nuremberg or vice-versa.) You can still make your train trip through the Rhine Valley (preferrably with a stop at a real medieval castle - Marksburg in Braubach - and/or a night in Ruedesheim, which has a terrific Christmas market; just riding through the Rhine Valley is not enough, IMO.) It would in fact be my preference to overnight in Ruedesheim or in pretty Braubach for one night - and to make Cologne a stopover of several hours on the way to your ancestral home of Moers.

@sam and @russ - great ideas!! Thank you! I'm excited to rethink our Germany portion!!

Disagree with Ron, stick with your schedule

I would wiggle in Belgium first up, and save Amsterdam til the end.
*Fly into Amsterdam, then to Antwerp (3 nights) side day trips to Gent and Bruges
*Paris (4 nights)
*Munich (5 nights) side day trips to Fussen and Salzburg
*Nurnberg (1 night)
*Rothenburg (2 nights)
*Bacharach-Rhine Valley (2 nights)
*Cologne (1 night)
*Moers (my maiden name)
*Amsterdam (3 nights).

I know this is not the general opinion of the posters on this forum, but one of my favorite places in the Rhine valley is the town of Rudesheim. Sure it is a bit kitchy, but that may be just exactly what many tourist came to see. I have never done it in the winter, but I think if you bundle up the ride up to the Germania statue is well worth it.

Seeing the Rhine valley from the Germania statue (the historical Niederwald Denkmal) is well worth it, great view, makes going to Rüdesheim worth your time. I've only done this in the summer and fall.

Fussen & Neuschwanstein is very doable in one day from Munich, but Salzburg is really not doable especially in the winter. I highly recommend you visit Neuschwanstein even in the winter (so long as the weather is not bad) which we did last winter and had really enjoyed. You can do the day visit either on your own via train or by bus offered by many tour companies.